Announcement
Item 2 - Our district’s second place Clear Springs lost by 14 to District 23 third place Travis 62-48. Travis led the entire game.
Item 3 - Our district’s third place team, Clear Brook, took a shellacing from District 23 second place Fort Bend Bush. Brook was down 40-20 at the half and lost by 26.Item 4 - And then there was the Clear Lake - Hightower game. Fourth place Clear Lake faced first place Hightower. Based on the games mentioned above and Lake’s unranked fourth place finish in district play, Clear Lake should have been annihilated by a team ranked in the top 15 in the state of Texas. Instead Clear Lake was ahead at the end of the first, second and third quarters and lost by 3, 49-46
The common expectation going into this game by most onlookers was probably that Clear Lake had little chance against the #2 regionally ranked Hightower Hurricanes. With Hightower’s size, quickness, and speed, certainly Lake was a noticeable underdog. But there were Lake games during the season that tended to make some grandstand stalwarts think that it might not be the blowout many predicted – the Galveston Ball game being the most recent example (Lake upset a Ball team who came into Krueger Field House undefeated in district play, 10-0).
Throughout the season quicker teams who hurriedly moved the ball down the court and applied constant pressure on defense caused the slower, more deliberate Falcons considerable grief. Hightower is certainly one of those types of teams. All season the Falcons were easy to score on, easy to spot their weaknesses, and somewhat easy to defend against due in part to their almost total lack of strong inside play, no midrange game and glaring absence of real quickness on the floor. So it was only natural that a very quick, talent laden team like the Hurricanes would be the odds on favorite in the matchup. But there are attributes about this Clear Lake team that could come into play to make it a close game and it happened.
Why was this the best game Clear Lake played all season?
1. The team’s preparedness for the contest was superb and it was evident immediately after the opening tipoff. Coach McDonald had his team so ready and it is doubtful that Lake, as a team, could have been much more ready for this game based on how well they defended against the taller, quicker, more athletic Hightower bunch and the adjustments and tweaks Clear Lake made to their offensive strategy. Clear Lake controlled the tempo of the game which is still astounding sportswriters. More on that later.
2. In the first half Hightower had no answer for senior Kyle Ashton as he almost single-handedly kept Clear Lake close or ahead with a first half performance of 16 points and 8 rebounds – his best half-game showing of his high school career. Not bad for a 6’1” player up against 6’8’ and 6’6”. The last time Clear Lake had a player with the size and rebounding ability comparable to Kyle’s was over 15 years ago in the early nineties.
3. Another aspect of the game that Hightower should have really dominated was their guard play. But thanks to the intelligence, grit, and determination of senior Matt McCollum on both ends of the court Hightower only slightly dominated late in the game. Matt is not the most athletically gifted guard around and his imbalanced shot is all wrong but Matt has heart as wide as the Sam Houston Tollway and he is so smart. There are very few guards as heady as Matt McCollum and it showed throughout the season and in this game. Without a single turnover, the gritty McCollum nailed some crucial threes to keep the contest close and ignored and outmaneuvered the defensive pressure brought by the quicker Hurricane defenders. It also helped that Lake’s strategy throughout almost the entire the season was changed so Matt did not have to wear himself out bringing the ball down the court and was more liberated to position himself for long range shooting
4. Lake’s wings and post man, anchored by Mark McCollum, cranked it up a couple of notches and did exactly what they were told to do. For those of you who might wonder, high school players don’t always do what they are instructed to do on the court. But this night was exceptional. They did mostly do as told and it paid off throughout most of the game. Combined with Kyle’s athleticism Mark has been the rock that the squad has relied on throughout the season. With only a few exceptions Mark’s absence when he was not in the game was noticeable. His influence on the court, especially with the interconnection that he shares with his twin brother Matt, created many opportunities for his teammates.
After a rock solid performance his junior year Mark has struggled with his shot this entire season. He has averaged just under 10 points per game and he probably knows he should have been averaging at least 17. Who knows why? What we do know is Mark’s versatility consistently made him one of the most valuable members of the team.5. Clear Lake controlled the tempo of the game until there was six minutes remaining. If he had it to do over Hightower coach David Green might go with the run-and-gun strategy which has allowed them to dominate their opponents. Perhaps Clear Lake denied their opponents that option.
Seven of the nine losses suffered by Hightower were when all five of their starters were out at the beginning of the season (four were suspended, one still in football). This means they were practically unbeatable with their starting five. In this game they were without the services of 6’8” Johnny Richardson (13.4 ppg), their fourth leading scorer but that probably adds little to explain why they had to come from behind to defeat a determined Clear Lake team.
Since a team either loses their last game in the playoffs or wins all the marbles, a final loss is in the cards for almost every team. But there are losses and there are losses. Ask Clear Brook coach Jason Pillow. Yes, Clear Lake lost by 3 points to a team ranked in the top 15 in the state in most rankings. But it was the best game the Lake squad played all year and it was the best loss it could have been. With only a couple of exceptions the boys played as well as they could have played and showed why they were picked to win the District at the start of the year. It is difficult to not have a lot of pride in a team that went out exemplifying what Clear Lake team basketball is really all about.
--Don Wilkerson
