Clear Lake Falconhoops

                            
Birthday: 7/28/91
Jersey number: 2   
Elementary school attended: Ed White Elementary
Intermediate school attended: Seabrook Intermediate
Number of years playing school basketball:5
Graduating Class of 2009
Favorite subject:History
Fave teacher: Jamie Hutchinson
Favorite NBA or college player(s): Ray Allen, Dwight Howard, Shaq
Favorite book: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

Last book I read for fun: Sea Scavenger
Fave dessert: Cheesecake 

Favorite food: Barbeque chicken 

A food I won’t touch is…..onions
Favorite movie of all time: Gladiator
My must-see TV show: ESPN
Hobbies: fishing and video games 

Other sports or school activities I participate in:none 

What makes me laugh is....friends, Steven Colbert 
My family says that I am…..”the nicest person ever” 
If I could change one thing about basketball I would .....make the games longer 
The best player I have ever played with (or against) is ....Anthony Miles
Person I would most like to meet (dead or alive): Michael Jordan
What I like most about Clear Lake High School is History
I would like to attend college at: Texas A&M 

My plans after high school are: go to college and then dental school

What I would like for people to remember about me: my dedication

 Clear Brook 63 - Clear Lake 55

          District 24-5A playoff positioning was on the line in tonight’s matchup. Clear Lake took on Clear Brook to clear up the three way tie that existed entering tonight’s game. The Falcons had a little extra motivation to win tonight with playoff opponents in sight. If Clear Lake won they would face #6 regionally ranked Fort Bend Bush, but if they lost #2 Fort Bend Hightower would be on their schedule. Clear Lake lost to Hightower last year in the first round of the playoffs by 10.          

Clear Brook started out hot behind a full arena and a fast pace. Lake’s Jacob Horton, who had a team high 17 points, hit a three in the first quarter. That three point basket was his 100^th three pointer of the season in just his 34^th game. Kyle Ashton, who finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, dished the ball off to Horton for another three to cut Brook’s lead to 15-12. Jared Miller finished the quarter with a 16 foot jump shot to make the score 16-14 Brook up.         

The game only got tighter as the second quarter heated up. A tip-in by Kyle Ashton tied things up at 18 apiece. This was the second of eight times the game would be tied. The next play Brook’s Aaron Miller threw Bimo Ghogomu an alley-oop pass that he finished with a dunk. The dunk electrified the crowd and ratcheted up the intensity to a completely different level. Jackson Hardage responded with a lay-up to quiet the crowd momentarily. The score remained close with it knotted at 29 at halftime.         

The pace of the first half was fast and the play was physical, Clear Lake needed to try to slow things down to have a chance against Clear Brook’s quicker pace. Mark McCollum gave Clear Lake the lead with a perfect post up-and-under move that put the score at 38-40. The Falcons had numerous points left on the court after missing one of two on their free throw attempts. The third quarter came to a close on an Aaron Miller three point basket that put Brook in the lead 46-43.         

The fourth quarter started with the teams separated by three points, a three pointer is what would decide the game. The final period was played at a much different pace with spurts of fast, run ‘n gun basketball, and other times of half court, designed play offenses. Clear Brook started out the quarter on a 6-2 run. In this close game where every point mattered that was significant. Coach McDonald took a timeout to slow down Clear Brook’s momentum. With 2:10 remaining and the Falcons down by six Mark McCollum made an acrobatic lay-up in which he was fouled as well. McCollum drained the freebie to trim the deficit to four points. The very next possession Aaron Miller came down the court and drilled a three pointer that sealed the deal for Clear Brook. Lake lost by the final score of 63-55.           

In a closely fought game such as this free throws are even more significant. Lake shot 3 of 6 in the game and Brook shot 13 of 21.

          Tonight’s loss brings an even tougher test on Tuesday in the bi-district round of the playoffs. #2 (in the Greater Houston Area) Fort Bend Hightower went 13-0 in District 23-5A, a district which also sported the # 6 ranked team in Fort Bend Bush. Clear Lake will play Hightower for the second straight year in the playoffs, but as Coach McDonald put it “Look at March Madness. Anything can happen. You just have to play the game.”

Martin Dehlinger

Action photos of this game will be posted by Saturday noon. To view photos of any game this season, go to  Current Season Photos   . Use the Browser's "BACK" or "BACK Arrow" to return to this website.

Mark McCollum 11 (3 rebs., 1 blocked shot)

Kyle Ashton 14 (9 rebounds)

Matt McCollum (8 assists, 2 steals, 1 CD)

Jacob Horton 17 (4 rebounds)

Blake Gregorcyk

Nick Arrington - did not play

Brick Pomeroy

Jake McKnight

Jackson Hardage 4

Jared Miller 9 (3 rebs.)

The Graduating Class of 2009 has brought many great people and things to Clear Lake High School. Tonight was a night to honor five of those people: Clear Lake Varsity basketball players Kyle Ashton, Nick Arrington, Mark McCollum, Matt McCollum and Jared Miller. Each player has been working tirelessly since before they were in middle school to get to this point. Finally the countless hours in the gym during the summers have paid off.  

Following the pre-game ceremony honoring seniors and fans there was still a District 24-5A game to be played. Although it was Senior Night Jacob Horton, a junior, got things rolling for Clear Lake. Horton scored 11 of his game high 23 points in the first quarter to get the Falcons going. With at least two games remaining, Jacob has 99 three point baskets this season through 33 games (37.5%), the most since Kendrell Thompson in 2007 who had 98 through 40 games (40.3%) (Thompson, who now plays for Sam Houston State, finished his senior year as the #1 three point shooter in the state of Texas).

The 2009 seniors weren’t left out of the action in tonight's game though. Matt McCollum broke the press and dished off to Kyle Ashton who finished second on the team with 19 points and five assists. The Falcons ran away from the Alvin Yellow Jackets in the first quarter by the score of 19-6.

Alvin’s leading scorer Tylr Archie, who torched Clear Lake in their first matchup with 31 points, came into the second quarter and did most of the scoring for the Yellow Jackets. Archie finished with a team high 17 points. Lake's Jared Miller  had his best game of the season and dropped in two points at the end of the second quarter to draw the half to a close, with Lake winning 27-16.

Matt McCollum began the half giving one of his five assists to Jackson Hardage for the easy hoop. Later in the quarter Mark McCollum drove to the bucket, put the ball in the hole and finished with made a free throw to complete the “And 1 play.” Mark finished with a well-rounded stat line amassing 9 points, five assists, and five rebounds. Immediately after that Alvin showed its resilience by going on an 11-1 run to trim Clear Lake’s lead to 10 with 1:21 remaining in the third quarter. The Krueger Field house fans were getting increasingly nervous. The run brought back memories of the double overtime game Lake won at Alvin in their first matchup this season. Jackson Hardage closed out the third period with a lay-up to put Lake in the lead 41-31.

Clear Lake started the final quarter on a 9-2 run highlighted by Jacob Horton’s slam dunk. The dunk excited the crowd, and with 4 minutes remaining it did not seem as if Alvin would be coming back trailing by 16 points. Kyle Ashton cemented the win with 2:21 remaining by scoring a lay-up off of an Alvin turnover, to put the score at 56-43. Clear Lake beat Alvin by the final score of 64-49.

Due to a win by Clear Springs tonight at Galveston Ball it just made things that much tighter for second place in 24-5A. Clear Lake has one more regular season game to go. The Falcons last regular season game will be played away against Clear Brook High School. In case you forgot, Brook defeated Lake at home on a half court buzzer beater in overtime. That game could possibly be one of the best games of the season. Unfortunately it just didn’t go the Falcons way. The upcoming match-up this Friday is sure to be just as competitive with playoff seeding on the line.

Martin Dehlinger

Action photos of this game should be posted by Wednesday at 5 p.m. To view photos of any game this season, go to  Current Season Photos   . Use the Browser's "BACK" or "BACK Arrow" to return to this website.

Individual scoring: 

Mark McCollum 9 (5 rebs, 5 assists)

Kyle Ashton 19 (5 assists)

Matt McCollum 2 (5 assists)

Jacob Horton 23

Blake Gregorcyk

Nick Arrington - did not play due to health

Brick Pomeroy 2

Jake McKnight - did not play due to injury

Jackson Hardage 7

Jared Miller 2 (6 rebounds, 2 steals, 4 blocks, 1 CD)