Clear Lake Falconhoops

Like most Milby/Lake games, it was a good ball game. Both teams were playing well. Milby was shooting very well from outside and dishing off and scoring in the paint just as well. The  Milby bunch at times seemed as if they were playing with five guards who could not miss. As usual, the well coached Buffalos presented a balanced attack but there was something a bit different about the Buffs. No Alton Ford, no Larry Posey, no Jawaan McClellan. Lacking a big man, they compensated with plenty of hustle, excellent outside shooting, consistent play, and doing exactly what they were told. Five players scored in double figures. Lake was noticeably out hustled in the second and third quarters but the difference for Clear Lake was mainly turnovers and free throws. The Falcons had 16 turnovers and missed 8 free throws. Some of the turnovers were due to Milby's quickness; too many were just mistakes. Rebounding was fairly even.

Milby out shot Lake and took a 7 point lead, 8-15, mid-way through the first quarter. Armie Lewis hit a three, then stole the ball. Jimmy Witten, on his way to a double double, got a put-back to bring it to 12-15 with 2:04 remaining in the first quarter. Justin Kurtz hit a three to tie it at 17 with 1:20 left in the first period but Milby quickly answered with one of their own. Andy Leveque then hit a trey to tie it at 20 before the quarter ended.  Milby was 9 of 11 from the field in the first quarter! The referees started out calling a very tight game with several traveling calls in the first quarter. Overall for the game, the officiating was consistent and good. Surprising, considering the relative inexperience of all three referees.

In the second quarter the game was tied three times before Brandon Wynn hit a three to put Lake up 27-26. Then, after a tie at 27, Milby maintained a two to six point lead for the remainder of the quarter. With 15 seconds remaining in the half, Fulton Brisco scored to close out the half at 37-41, Lake down by 4.

In the third quarter Milby wanted it more than Lake did. Three Lake turnovers at the start of the second half did not help. Milby increased their lead to ten with three minutes left in the third quarter and then increased their lead to 13. In the second portion of the third quarter Milby was scoring every time down the court but we were not. The quarter closed at 52-65.

In the final period the Falcons decided they wanted to win. Two successive baskets by Jimmy Witten fired up the Falcons, 60-67, with 5:30 left in the game (Witten scored 10 points in the fourth quarter). With 3:50 remaining Armie hits both free throws to make it 66-71. Justin hits another three to narrow the gap with 2:43 left (69-73). At 1:56 Kendrell sank a trey from the right corner to bring it to 73-75, Lake down by 2.  A missed three point attempt at the one minute mark gave them the ball with the score 73-79. After Milby missed a free throw Justin hit another three with 6.12  seconds remaining to bring it to 76-79. Lake called time out then Milby inbounded the ball. After we fouled they made a free throw.
 The final score was 76-80.   In the last minute it could have gone either way. A typical Lake-Milby barn burner.


Individual Scoring:
Kendrell Thompson 18, Jimmy Witten 14 (11 rebounds, 3 steals), Justin Kurtz 12
Andy Leveque 9, Fulton Brisco 6, Armie Lewis 6, RJ Turner 3, Brandon Wynn 3, John Gilmer 3, Ross Maha 2

Falcon Stats	FG made	FG attempts	%
2's	24	47	51%
3's	7	21	33%
free throws	7	15	47%

Score by Quarter	1	2	3	4
Clear Lake	20	17	15	24
Milby	20	21	24	15

Linescore	1	2	3	4	Final
Clear Lake	20	37	52	76	76
Milby	20	41	65	80	80

Total Rebounds	US	THEM
Offensive	14	7
Defensive	18	20