Clear Lake Falconhoops

When veteran fans face the first game of the season with the trepidation that only comes from being told that a young Clear Lake varsity team might not be as good as Clear Lake tradition demands, it makes it all that much sweeter when the team proves that untrue on their first outing. Coach McDonald knew but he couldn’t state it until his team proved it. Tonight they did. Tonight it became apparent why the coach thinks so highly of his squad. From people who are suppose to know these things came exaltations about the #3 state ranked Fort Bend Marshall Buffalos and their numerous Division I scholarship bound athletes, their outstanding guards, and their abundance of tall, talented players (6 players ranging from 6’4” to 6’10” on their roster). These things are all true. The Buffs tout their recent Clements transferee, 5'9" guard David Devizen, Chronicle preseason Player of the Year (committed to A&M, averaged 21 pts, 10 assists last year), as one of the top players in the Houston area. They glow with pride at their 6’7” post C. J. Webster (bound for Texas State or Southwest Texas to some generations) who can move like a ballerina despite size approaching Evander Holyfield’s not so little brother. As well they should. There is definitely something to be said for “magnet” schools and its effect on one’s ability to build a winning team. But the experts should never underestimate the Clear Lake Falcons. Sure, their squad only had four seniors in the gym and they were missing starter Scott Oswald due to a little thing called the football playoffs. Sure, the Falcons were suppose to lose by 25 points or more. But the Falcons never got that message. They packed a lunch and came to play against the powerhouse Buffalos on Tuesday night’s season opener. When you stack up the talent and compare the two squads, sure Marshall comes out on top. But with all that talent it should have been a runaway. It wasn’t. Instead what was witnessed was an extremely well prepared, disciplined Lake squad with tenacity and fortitude. A team that already plays with confidence and poise. A team that makes some mistakes but will correct them early in the season. Their confidence tells you they can and will. What was witnessed was a masterfully coached Lake team who will surprise a lot of teams this year if they underestimate the Falcons. All that is needed is to sustain the level of tonight's play and to polish off the edges a bit. Coupled with the quality displayed in tonight's game and the steady improvement that we know will come, it suggests a team of over achievers not seen since the 1995 squad ended up in Austin! The Buffalos took an early lead and never trailed in the exciting game. At the end of the first quarter, the score was 21-15. Almost immediately in the game the Falcon’s big man, Mark Murphy got in foul trouble. It looked like it might be a long night. But a couple of quick 3’s by Falcon junior guard Brandon Wynn made the crowd relax a little. With consistently outstanding play from 6’4” junior wingman Justin Kurtz playing the post often in the game, those big 6’7” and 6’8” Marshall boys must have thought they were playing against a much taller squad at times even though they did dominate the glass. Late in the second quarter, the Buffs pulled away to a 45-29 lead at the half, their largest lead of the game, I believe. The confident Buffs knew they could win the game. At times they acted as if they were just toying with the Falcons, assured that they could pull away whenever they wished. But they could not pull away. The unheralded Falcons refused to let them. Hard play and determination at both ends of the court enable the Falcons to outscore the Buffs 23 to 19 in the third quarter. Sophomore Kendrell Thompson shook off any early game jitters he might have had and went to work scoring 12 points in the second half. At the end of 3 the Falcons were down by 12, 64-52. Still not out of reach. In the fourth quarter it was time to pull out all the stops for both teams. It was fun to watch. The Buffs could score at will but the Falcons, with their deliberate, focused attack, could also score. Lake chiseled away at their imposing opponents until they narrowed the gap down to 3 points with just over 3 minutes remaining when Armie Lewis coolly hit a 2 pointer. Lake outscored the Buffs 23 to 20 in the fourth quarter. Wow! This against what is supposed to be the third best team in the state at this juncture. Wonder what that means about the Lake squad. One sure thing it means is the Falcons appear to play better under pressure. The Buffs won the game 84 to 75 but they knew they had some very formidable competition tonight. The Marshall Buffalos are a better team than the Falcons, maybe even good enough to win the region and go all the way. It’s always fun to watch a team as talented as that. The Clear Lake Falcons announced tonight that they are a team to be reckoned with though. This is not just a rebuilding year as some expected. The play from the Falcons was impressive. Sophomore Armie Lewis was supposed to be intimidated going up against David Devizen, the best guard in the region and one of the top guards in the state. He wasn’t. As you watched he grew from the experience. Rock solid Gordon Abner, Lake’s “go to guy” led all scorers with 21 points despite going scoreless in the first quarter. Four Lake players scored in double figures. Against a very quick team turnovers were a problem but you sense it will be corrected. Free throws are an area for improvement but we knew that because of the scrimmages. That also will be corrected. It is going to be an exciting season with many great games thanks to a team that is already better than they should be according to some people. Scoring for the Falcons was as follows: Gordon Abner 21, Justin Kurtz 16, Brandon Wynn hit 4 3’s for 12, Kendrell Thompson 12, Armie Lewis 8, Mark Murphy 3, Lee Mazurek 2, Jordan Villarreal 1. The Falcons unofficially went 20 of 28 from the free throw line. (Stats on the stat page are incomplete).