Clear Lake Falconhoops

Pearland 35- Clear Lake 34 

In the first quarter Clear Lake dribbled the ball very well and passed the ball a lot but they did not shoot the ball very well. In fact they barely shot the ball at all. Only five Lake attempts were launched in the first quarter. With an average number of almost 14 shots in the first quarter of each game this season, Lake’s only shooting the ball 5 times might seem hard to believe. It certainly was for many of those who witnessed it. 

It was as if Lake’s game plan was to whip the Oilers with purposeful deliberation. With almost no attempts to penetrate inside and very few shots going up, Pearland’s excellent 2-3 zone defense got even better. Lake’s first (and only) first quarter score was a basket by Jay Williams with 2:45 left in the first quarter. Lake shot 1 of 5 from the field in the quarter, had 7 turnovers and scored 2 points in the first quarter. OMG

With 4:17 left in the first half the score was 2-10 in Pearland's favor. In the first 11 minutes and 42 seconds Lake scored one basket! Then Andrew Gorie’s first of two successful free throws made it 3-12 to break one of the longest dry spells in Clear Lake basketball history. Not since the early days when Krueger would let some air out of the ball and stall for most of an entire quarter or two has anyone seen this much time elapse without a Clear Lake score. But those were intentional. Baskets by Kyle and Jay and a free throw by Kyle brought the Falcons all the way to 9 points for the first half. 2 of 9 shooting from the field in the second quarter. 0 for 6 from 3 point range in the first half. At the half it was 9-12. Not exactly a barn burner. You would have to go back more than two decades to find a Clear Lake score that low.  I doubt if you could find one.

In the third quarter Clear Lake cranked up a bit. With 4:13 remaining in the third quarter a second free throw by Jay tied it at 16. An immediate basket by the Oilers and then another made it 16-20. A free throw by Andrew with 3:16 remaining in the quarter made it 17-20. With under a minute left in the period, a long overdue three by Cody tied the game at 22. Then Brian Campbell dished off to Cody for a difficult layup to make it 24-22. Then a steal by Brian and his layup made it 26-22 before Pearland’s Lanny Phillips (#22) nailed his second three of the game (a 30 footer) at the buzzer to make it 26-25. In three quarters #22 was the only Oiler to hit a three pointer.  

The fourth quarter was not just a defensive contest between the two teams. The first score of the final period came with just over 7 minutes remaining in the game when Cody kicked it out to Kyle on the left wing. Kyle nailed a three pointer to make it 29-25, Lake up by 4. Pearland immediately sank another three by #22. 29-28, Lake by 1. With 4:18 remaining a Pearland free throw tied the game at 29. With a second free throw miss but a Pearland rebound by Darien Harris and a Lake foul, two more free throws by Pearland made it 29-31. With just under 4 minutes remaining in the contest a basket by Jay tied it at 31. With just over 2 minutes remaining and the game still tied, Clear Lake missed three tries at the hoop.  

With 1:06 showing on the clock a questionable Clear Lake foul call put the Oilers at the line. 1 of 2 made it 31-32. Lake’s Andrew Gorie rebounded the second free throw before Pearland fouled Brian Campbell with 53.9 seconds showing on the scoreboard clock. A missed free throw gave Pearland the ball back. Still 31-32. With 15 seconds remaining Cody nailed a trey from the right side to give Clear Lake the lead, 34-32. A quick time out by Pearland with 14.4 seconds remaining was called. Now if Pearland needed 3 to win and there had only been one Oiler to hit a trey and he had hit three of them earlier in the game (one from over 30 feet), who might the Oilers go to in the waning seconds? You guessed it, #22. Pearland’s successful play to Lanny Phillips, who was virtually unguarded, on the right wing and with 3.4 seconds remaining he nailed his 4^th trey of the evening to make it 34-35 with just over 3 seconds remaining. A Lake timeout and then a last ditch attempt hurled at the rim missed its mark. Final score 34-35, Pearland by 1. 

Those who enjoy the defensive aspects of basketball would have liked this game. With a noticeable lack of enthusiasm and an obvious lack of mental preparedness Lake played their most lackluster game of the season. Clear Lake had possession of the ball almost  65% of the time because they were slow to score but they did not stink up the gym. Pearland was mentally better prepared to defend against Clear Lake than Clear Lake was against Pearland. The Falcons barely got outplayed and outcoached by an inferior team renowned for their defense. Clear Lake did not shoot much from the field and they shot poorly when they did shoot (especially in the first half). They shot poorly from the free throw line as well. From a Lake team with two of the top three free throw shooters in the Greater Houston Area, five different Falcons missed free throws. In this game one free throw would have made a huge difference. Perhaps plenty of rest before game day and PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.

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

 

Individual Scoring:

Cody Kinsey 11 (3 steals in the fourth quarter),

Jay Williams 7, Kyle Ashton 6, Steve Hartman 3, Jason Hollis 2, Brian Campbell 2 (4+ steals), Andrew Gorie 2.

 

FALCON STATS	FG made	FG attempts	%
2's	7	25	28.0%
3's	4	14	28.6%
free throws	8	14	57.1%

SCORE BY QUARTER	1	2	3	4
Clear Lake	2	9	26	34
Pearland	10	12	25	35

LINESCORE	1	2	3	4
Clear Lake	2	7	17	8	34
Pearland	10	2	13	10	35

REBOUNDS	LAKE	Them
Offensive	11	7
Defensive	15	17

This information reflects the leaders in each category.
Stats through  February 24, 2009 (Game 35 - Hightower)

TOP THREE IN EACH CATEGORY

Scoring	Kyle (15.2)	Jacob (14.2)	Mark (9.7)
Free Throw %	Jacob	Jake	Matt
Assists	Matt	Mark	Nick
Rebounds	Kyle	Mark	Jared
Steals	Mark	Matt	Brick
Blocked shots	Brick	Kyle	Jake
Charges drawn	Jared	Matt	Kyle

 

 

Clear Lake 70 – Brazoswood 45 

When the Falcons traveled to Brazoswood three weeks ago to play the first round district game against the Buccaneers the Falcons came away with a narrow 60-56 victory because the Falcons, a much better basketball team, allowed the Buccs to outplay them in the third quarter and outshoot them the entire game. Since the Lake squad is sometimes known for playing down to their opposition not too much was said about the narrow victory other than it was the worst off night of the season for the Falcons.  

Buoyed by the possibility of a win over the ranked Falcons the Buccs came into Krueger Field House hopeful but outmanned and outgunned Friday night. Clear Lake took control of the game from the outset, dominated on defense and led by 20-8 at the end of the first quarter. Good team basketball, plenty of hustle, and superior talent and depth kept the Buccs in check as the Falcons allowed only 7 points in the second quarter to lead 36-15 at halftime.

But the determined Buccs were not ready to quit so they noticeably outplayed the Falcons for over four minutes of the third period before the talented Lake squad had had enough. With the win easily within reach the Falcons relaxed a bit too much after halftime but once the Falcons made up their collective minds it was all over.  

With the exception of too many turnovers, some lethargy in the third quarter and mediocre free throw shooting, it was a good night for the Falcons. Jay Williams had a career best 18 points for the outing. Andrew Gorie had on his rebounding shoes with eight, his season best. Steve Hartman recorded another double digit scoring performance as he pleased the crowd with his quickness and aggressive play. Jason Hollis had another rock solid outing with 4 assists and two steals. Filling in for reserve guard Nick Arrington, who is finally home from the hospital, Brian Campbell had 5 assists as he sped about the floor. Mark McCollum had a good night with 4 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists as he made his presence known. Kyle Ashton continued to amaze most everyone with his rebounding skills. Out of necessity the Buccs were overplaying Cody Kinsey so he gave his teammates some latitude on offense.

With a Lake lead as much as 26 points in the third quarter it was about what one would expect for a Brazoswood game in the Lake gym - easy victory, good stats building game, not too exciting. 

The Falcons host Pearland Tuesday night.

Photos for this game can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/falconhoops200708  . There is also a falconhoops Album of selected photos for this game.

Individual Scoring:

Jay 18 (career high,3 blocked shots), Steve 17, Andrew 11 (8 rebounds), 

Kyle 6, Mark 5, Brian 4, Jason 3, Cody 3, Jacob 3

 

FALCON STATS	FG made	FG attempts	%
2's	16	39	41%
3's	5	12	41.6%
free throws	23	33	69.7%

SCORE BY QUARTER	1	2	3	4
Clear Lake	20	36	46	70
Brazoswood	8	15	28	45

LINESCORE	1	2	3	4
Clear Lake	20	16	10	24
Brazoswood	8	7	13	17

REBOUNDS	LAKE	Them
Offensive	7	11
Defensive	17	12

Final Varsity District Standings  for 2007-2008

District Win/Loss Record

School	W	L	District Position
Galveston Ball	10	2	1
Clear Brook	10	2	2
Clear Lake	8	4	3
Pearland	7	5	4
Clear Creek	5	7	5
Alvin	1	11	6
Brazoswood	1	11	7
Clear Springs**

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

top 4 teams entered playoffs

*TBD
**does not compete on the varsity level yet.

With the score at 41-24 in Lake's favor and 3:40 remaining in the third quarter, Jay Williams went to the bench to allow more reserve play. Williams had just tallied a career best 21 points in a lopsided 78-43 victory over Alvin and had just scored over half of Clear Lake's points up to that point in the game. Clear Lake had four players in double figures when the game concluded. 

The difference in talent between the two teams was even more obvious than the 69-40  first round Lake victory indicated.

In other district action in the struggle to claim the district championship, the game between Galveston Ball and Clear Brook resulted in an 80-79 score. Despite what the Chronicle website reported at 1 a.m., according to the Houston Chronicle newsprint early morning edition Clear Brook won. 

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

Individual Scoring:

Jay Williams 21 (8 of 10 field goals, 7 rebounds, 4 blocked shots),

Cody Kinsey 14, Andrew Gorie 14, Kyle Ashton 12,

Brian Campbell 8, Kevin Anderson 4, Jason Hollis 2, Steve Hartman 2, Mark McCollum 1.

 

FALCON STATS	FG made	FG attempts	%
2's	27	40	67.5%
3's	3	9	33.3%
free throws	15	19	78.9%

SCORE BY QUARTER	1	2	3	4
Clear Lake	20	30	52	78
Alvin	9	18	26	43

LINESCORE	1	2	3	4	Final
Clear Lake	20	10	22	26	78
Alvin	9	9	8	17	43

REBOUNDS	LAKE	Them
Offensive	6	9
Defensive	26	12