Announcement
Clear Lake 56 – Galveston Ball 54
Tuesday night, January 24
This recap was revised on Thursday, January 24, 2006, after a review of the game tape.
This game was the completion of the first round of District 24-5A competition. Prior to this game, Clear Creek was out in first place with a three way tie existing among Pearland, Galveston Ball, and Clear Lake. This game and the next with Pearland (at Lake) are both crucial wins for the Falcons if they hope to make the playoffs this season.
The Falcons knew how crucial this game was against the Tors from Galveston but early in the first quarter it did not appear so. You do not win basketball games if your opponent gets almost twice as many rebounds and if you shoot poorly from the field and from the free throw line (see the stats below). Pile that on top of mediocre officiating and that can spell defeat. Despite all this the Falcons came away Tuesday night with a victory. The game was expected to be a good close contest not decided until the last few seconds and it was exactly that. If you were just a fan and not rooting for either team it was a great basketball game to watch but there are not many folks in that category attending games at Clear Lake these days (unless you count some of the parents of the Flares who leave after the half time ceremony concludes).
The Falcons drew first blood on a bucket from RJ Turner when he drove the left side of the basket on an underhanded layup and was fouled. A successful free throw made it 3-0 but that would be the last time Clear Lake would lead in the first half. Throughout the first half the Ball High Tors scored at will from ten feet or closer. It was almost embarrassing how easily and often they could score. Repeatedly, short jumpers or last second dishing off under the basket worked for them. At 4:25 remaining in the first quarter, Justin Kurtz had an awesome block on the right side of the basket which seemed to invigorate the Falcons who had brought a bit of lethargy with them onto the floor as the Tors made Clear Lake look somewhat unprepared during the first five minutes of the game. Lake’s shooting was off and the defense was just not working because they did not match up well against a couple of the Ball High players. At the 3:31 mark, Ball hit a three and the score went to 5-11 (5 points from Lake in 4 ½ minutes). A steal and a dunk by Kendrell Thompson, on his way to a game high 16 points, made it 10-15 with 55 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Just before the buzzer, Kendrell nailed a trey to bring it to 13-17 to close out the period. The Falcons went 5 of 14 from the field in the first quarter and 2 of 6 from the line. It was beginning to look like it might be a long, painful evening. Kendrell’s seven points (3 for 3 from the field in the quarter) kept the Falcons closer than it seemed.
At 5:40 left in the second quarter, Ross Maha got a rebound and a put-back from a missed shot by Armie Lewis to make it 17-23. All of Galveston’s shots were from eight feet or less. At the midway point of the second quarter it was 21-27 when Justin Kurtz hit a free throw. At this point the Tors were dominating their offensive boards. A steal by Armie and a basket by RJ made it 24-27 with 3:06 left in the first half. With 1:40 remaining, Justin casually nailed a very timely three to make it 27-30. With 30 seconds left in the half Justin rocketed a pass in under the basket to Kendrell who missed the lay-up but got the rebound and the put-back to make it 29-30 before the half was done. The Falcons went 4 of 10 from the line in the first half.
With one minute and one second gone in the second half, Jimmy Witten fed Justin who moved down the lane toward the left side of the basket for a lay-up to put Lake ahead 31-30, their first lead since the opening basket of the game. Justin’s free throw made it 32-30. A jumper in the paint by Galveston’s leading scorer for the outing, Dannon Wafer, tied it at 32 before Justin fed Kendrell who nailed a three to put Lake up again 35-32. A steal by RJ and a pass to Armie who drove for the lay-up but missed before RJ got the put-back made it 37-32. The score stayed at 39-35 for what seemed like 10 minutes but was less than three minutes. With 24 seconds remaining in the quarter, the score went to 42-36 when Kendrell made the second of two free throws. A basket by the Tors closed the third quarter at 42-38.
Forty-five seconds into the final quarter, Kendrell shot and missed but RJ, who had in-bounded the ball to him, came around under the basket and got the rebound to put it back and raise the score to 44-38. Another basket by RJ brought it to 46-39, Lake’s largest lead of the game. With 4:55 remaining in the game, a ridiculous foul called on RJ put the Tors at the line for two successful free throws and brought the score to 49-46. Still a heart stopping contest. Then on a steal and a fast break by Armie, who was brutally clobbered as he went up, the ref called an intentional foul (or flagrant foul, it does not have to be intentional per se). Two free throws by Armie made it 51-46. The Galveston coach, Jerald Temple, was not happy about the call. 52-50 with 3:30 left in the game after Justin hit a free throw. With 3 minutes remaining, Galveston hit the second of two free throws to make it 52-51. Alert court awareness by Andy Leveque as he crossed the mid court line bringing the ball down enabled him to find Justin alone under the basket for an instant. A quick pass in to Justin and a score made it 54-51. The foul count at this point was 13-7 (the foul count favored Galveston throughout the second half). With two minutes remaining aggressive Falcon defense resulted in a tie ball and gave Lake Possession so the Falcons started their stall offense. It worked and RJ made a layup to bring it to 56-51. Galveston then calmly nailed a trey to make it 56-54. With 38 seconds remaining and Lake attempting to in-bound the ball, RJ calls time out but a Galveston player, (#5, Michael Littleton) was called for a holding foul on Andy. Andy missed the free throw and the Tors got the rebound. Several passes by the Tors before an errant pass was intercepted by Justin. They quickly fouled RJ with 7.5 seconds remaining but RJ missed both free throws. In the last seconds the Tors could not come up with a final basket due to good defense by the Falcons. Final score 56-54. Clear Lake shot 3 of 8 from the line in the fourth quarter. Thriller of a game.
I am not sure how we won the game. Most of the stats say we should have lost. Lake’s half time defensive adjustments, (switching to a 2-3 zone) helped to slow down the easy scoring by Ball High. Increased defensive pressure by Clear Lake in the second half forced some turnovers. Well timed substitutions from the bench made a difference. Some luck including a few missed free throws by Galveston Ball in the second half made the difference as well. A couple of timely calls in Lake’s favor also helped. RJ Turner had his best game of the season. It was almost like he was a secret weapon kept under wraps until we needed him. Maybe now I know how we won.
In other district action, Clear Creek defeated Brazoswood 81-63 and Pearland squeeked by Alvin 53-50.
Review of game tape results.
An earlier version of this recap stated RJ had scored 16 points. A review of the game film revealed he actually scored 14. Two of Fulton Brisco's points were incorrectly assigned to RJ.
It should also be mentioned that a slow motion review of the game film showed an obvious mistake by the official when he called Jimmy Witten for being across the free throw line before the ball reached the rim. Human error prevails again. What if we had lost by one point?
Individual Scoring:
Kendrell Thompson 16, RJ Turner 14, Justin Kurtz 13 (2 blocked shots, 4 steals)
Armie Lewis 7, Fulton Brisco 4, Ross Maha 2
Tuesday night, January 24
This recap was revised on Thursday, January 24, 2006, after a review of the game tape.
This game was the completion of the first round of District 24-5A competition. Prior to this game, Clear Creek was out in first place with a three way tie existing among Pearland, Galveston Ball, and Clear Lake. This game and the next with Pearland (at Lake) are both crucial wins for the Falcons if they hope to make the playoffs this season.
The Falcons knew how crucial this game was against the Tors from Galveston but early in the first quarter it did not appear so. You do not win basketball games if your opponent gets almost twice as many rebounds and if you shoot poorly from the field and from the free throw line (see the stats below). Pile that on top of mediocre officiating and that can spell defeat. Despite all this the Falcons came away Tuesday night with a victory. The game was expected to be a good close contest not decided until the last few seconds and it was exactly that. If you were just a fan and not rooting for either team it was a great basketball game to watch but there are not many folks in that category attending games at Clear Lake these days (unless you count some of the parents of the Flares who leave after the half time ceremony concludes).
The Falcons drew first blood on a bucket from RJ Turner when he drove the left side of the basket on an underhanded layup and was fouled. A successful free throw made it 3-0 but that would be the last time Clear Lake would lead in the first half. Throughout the first half the Ball High Tors scored at will from ten feet or closer. It was almost embarrassing how easily and often they could score. Repeatedly, short jumpers or last second dishing off under the basket worked for them. At 4:25 remaining in the first quarter, Justin Kurtz had an awesome block on the right side of the basket which seemed to invigorate the Falcons who had brought a bit of lethargy with them onto the floor as the Tors made Clear Lake look somewhat unprepared during the first five minutes of the game. Lake’s shooting was off and the defense was just not working because they did not match up well against a couple of the Ball High players. At the 3:31 mark, Ball hit a three and the score went to 5-11 (5 points from Lake in 4 ½ minutes). A steal and a dunk by Kendrell Thompson, on his way to a game high 16 points, made it 10-15 with 55 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Just before the buzzer, Kendrell nailed a trey to bring it to 13-17 to close out the period. The Falcons went 5 of 14 from the field in the first quarter and 2 of 6 from the line. It was beginning to look like it might be a long, painful evening. Kendrell’s seven points (3 for 3 from the field in the quarter) kept the Falcons closer than it seemed.
At 5:40 left in the second quarter, Ross Maha got a rebound and a put-back from a missed shot by Armie Lewis to make it 17-23. All of Galveston’s shots were from eight feet or less. At the midway point of the second quarter it was 21-27 when Justin Kurtz hit a free throw. At this point the Tors were dominating their offensive boards. A steal by Armie and a basket by RJ made it 24-27 with 3:06 left in the first half. With 1:40 remaining, Justin casually nailed a very timely three to make it 27-30. With 30 seconds left in the half Justin rocketed a pass in under the basket to Kendrell who missed the lay-up but got the rebound and the put-back to make it 29-30 before the half was done. The Falcons went 4 of 10 from the line in the first half.
With one minute and one second gone in the second half, Jimmy Witten fed Justin who moved down the lane toward the left side of the basket for a lay-up to put Lake ahead 31-30, their first lead since the opening basket of the game. Justin’s free throw made it 32-30. A jumper in the paint by Galveston’s leading scorer for the outing, Dannon Wafer, tied it at 32 before Justin fed Kendrell who nailed a three to put Lake up again 35-32. A steal by RJ and a pass to Armie who drove for the lay-up but missed before RJ got the put-back made it 37-32. The score stayed at 39-35 for what seemed like 10 minutes but was less than three minutes. With 24 seconds remaining in the quarter, the score went to 42-36 when Kendrell made the second of two free throws. A basket by the Tors closed the third quarter at 42-38.
Forty-five seconds into the final quarter, Kendrell shot and missed but RJ, who had in-bounded the ball to him, came around under the basket and got the rebound to put it back and raise the score to 44-38. Another basket by RJ brought it to 46-39, Lake’s largest lead of the game. With 4:55 remaining in the game, a ridiculous foul called on RJ put the Tors at the line for two successful free throws and brought the score to 49-46. Still a heart stopping contest. Then on a steal and a fast break by Armie, who was brutally clobbered as he went up, the ref called an intentional foul (or flagrant foul, it does not have to be intentional per se). Two free throws by Armie made it 51-46. The Galveston coach, Jerald Temple, was not happy about the call. 52-50 with 3:30 left in the game after Justin hit a free throw. With 3 minutes remaining, Galveston hit the second of two free throws to make it 52-51. Alert court awareness by Andy Leveque as he crossed the mid court line bringing the ball down enabled him to find Justin alone under the basket for an instant. A quick pass in to Justin and a score made it 54-51. The foul count at this point was 13-7 (the foul count favored Galveston throughout the second half). With two minutes remaining aggressive Falcon defense resulted in a tie ball and gave Lake Possession so the Falcons started their stall offense. It worked and RJ made a layup to bring it to 56-51. Galveston then calmly nailed a trey to make it 56-54. With 38 seconds remaining and Lake attempting to in-bound the ball, RJ calls time out but a Galveston player, (#5, Michael Littleton) was called for a holding foul on Andy. Andy missed the free throw and the Tors got the rebound. Several passes by the Tors before an errant pass was intercepted by Justin. They quickly fouled RJ with 7.5 seconds remaining but RJ missed both free throws. In the last seconds the Tors could not come up with a final basket due to good defense by the Falcons. Final score 56-54. Clear Lake shot 3 of 8 from the line in the fourth quarter. Thriller of a game.
I am not sure how we won the game. Most of the stats say we should have lost. Lake’s half time defensive adjustments, (switching to a 2-3 zone) helped to slow down the easy scoring by Ball High. Increased defensive pressure by Clear Lake in the second half forced some turnovers. Well timed substitutions from the bench made a difference. Some luck including a few missed free throws by Galveston Ball in the second half made the difference as well. A couple of timely calls in Lake’s favor also helped. RJ Turner had his best game of the season. It was almost like he was a secret weapon kept under wraps until we needed him. Maybe now I know how we won.
In other district action, Clear Creek defeated Brazoswood 81-63 and Pearland squeeked by Alvin 53-50.
Review of game tape results.
An earlier version of this recap stated RJ had scored 16 points. A review of the game film revealed he actually scored 14. Two of Fulton Brisco's points were incorrectly assigned to RJ.
It should also be mentioned that a slow motion review of the game film showed an obvious mistake by the official when he called Jimmy Witten for being across the free throw line before the ball reached the rim. Human error prevails again. What if we had lost by one point?
Individual Scoring:
Kendrell Thompson 16, RJ Turner 14, Justin Kurtz 13 (2 blocked shots, 4 steals)
Armie Lewis 7, Fulton Brisco 4, Ross Maha 2
|
FALCON STATS |
FG made |
FG attempts |
% |
|
2's |
16 |
35 |
46% |
|
3's |
5 |
15 |
33% |
|
free throws |
9 |
21 |
43% |
|
SCORE BY QUARTER |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
Clear Lake |
13 |
29 |
42 |
56 |
|
Galveston Ball |
17 |
30 |
38 |
54 |
|
LINESCORE |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Final |
|
Clear Lake |
13 |
16 |
13 |
14 |
56 |
|
Galveston Ball |
17 |
13 |
8 |
16 |
54 |
|
REBOUNDS |
LAKE |
THEM |
|
Offensive |
7 |
17 |
|
Defensive |
11 |
17 |
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