Clear Lake Falconhoops

Clear Lake 67 - Clear Brook 62 

24-5A district play began Wednesday night, January 2, for Clear Lake when they faced arch-rival Clear Brook in the opening round of play at Bill Krueger Field House. The Clear Brook Wolverines brought with them a record of 12-10 but don’t let that fool you. Brook had lost several games by very close scores and their 10 loss record is not indicative of how good their team is. They also brought with them their ace guard, Anthony Miles (#12) who happens to be the leading scorer in the region. Miles is averaging over 25 points per game and was a major factor when Brook defeated Lake 56-45 back on November 11 in the Texas InvitationalTournament. That 11 point spread is the largest point difference of any of Clear Lake’s five losses this season so the Falcons knew the challenge they faced.

What the Clear Lake Falcons brought with them into the Field House was confidence and assurance along with the belief that they were a better team than the one Brook had bested six weeks ago. Despite noticeably missing one of their guards (Nick Arrington still out due to injury), the much improved Falcons knew they could set things right with a victory in their first district game.  

The game started in an unusual manner. There was no playing of the National Anthem and no introduction of the players. This is the first time in this writer’s recollections (which span over thirty years of Falcon basketball) that this omission has occurred for a district game. In fact, I cannot remember the last time it happened for any Varsity game. Perhaps this is because there is no flag hanging in the gym. Could it be because the giant flag (the largest flag ever flown in space) which is supposed to be hanging in the gym has still not been re-hung? After a controversy which played out over several weeks the decision was ultimately made to re-hang the flag at the beginning of the season but it has yet to be done. Anyone familiar with the bureaucracy typical of a large school district might understand this. But the fact remains that at the JV tournament two weeks ago we fans had to stand and face a blank wall and the scoreboard when the National Anthem was played and last night there was no National Anthem played at all. JSC Center Director Mike Coats, his wife, and his son were in the crowd for the game last night. Is this the way we show our appreciation for the extra effort and accomodation NASA made to get the flag flown and returned before the dedication of the Field house? For a school with the pride and tradition of Clear Lake High School and its close association with NASA and the manned space program, this does not meet the standard of excellence many from the community have come to expect. With the basketball season past the midway point and district play underway, it is past time for the flag to be hanging in the gym. 

Back to the game. It was a close game tied four times in the first half. Clear Brook took their first lead with 2:37 remaining in the half and again just before the buzzer to end the first half to make the score 27-30. In the third quarter after a tie at 32 almost two minutes into the second half, Brook increased their lead to 7, their largest lead of the game. Free throws by Lake’s Cody Kinsey, a basket and a free throw by Jay Williams, and outstanding play by Kyle Ashton resulted in his two baskets and a free throw to narrow the gap to 2 points before another trey by Brook closed out the third quarter with Brook up by 5. 

Early in the fourth quarter Brian Campbell and Andrew Gorie came on strong. Timely steals and two baskets from each of them put Lake up 52-51. Another basket by Brian made it 54-51. Campbell led his teammates with 12 points, his high so far this season. When he fouled out late in the contest he received a standing ovation from many Lake fans. 

With Lake ahead by a narrow three point margin the Falcons went to their control game to run the clock with just over four minutes remaining in the game. That is a lot of time but most teams cannot get behind in the fourth quarter and expect to win against a team like Clear Lake who handles the ball so well and shoots so well from the free throw line. Good outside shooting by Brook was no match for the 14 consecutive points from free throws by Clear Lake in the last four minutes. 

In this classic match-up Clear Brook relied mostly on the outside shooting of their guards while Lake went with a combination of their inside game, their mid-range game, and the most impressive free throw shooting anyone is likely to see for quite awhile (30 of 32). That is unless you made the trek to Midland where the Falcons shot 55 of 62 free throws in the tournament. With back-to-back games of 90.9% free throw shooting over the last two prior games from the tournament, many probably expected excellent free throw shooting from the Lake squad but did anyone really anticipate 93.8% success for 32 free throws? WOW! Clear Lake scored 30 of 67 points on free throws. Combined with almost 49% success from two point baskets and little need to rely on outside shooting from beyond the arc the Falcons improved their season record to 17-5 with this 67-62 victory.

Footnote: Despite what many in the crowd might have thought, two of the three officials assigned to the game are among the best referees in the region. That is highly unusual for an opening round district game in the Lake gym. Overall, compared to most we will see in the Lake gym this season, the officiating was very acceptable in my opinion. 

Photos for this game can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/falconhoops200708  shortly

Individual Scoring:

Brian 12, Kyle 11 (7 of 7 free throws),

Steve 8, Cody 8 (6 of 6 FT's), Andrew 8, Mark 8, Jay 6, Jason 4, Kevin 2