Clear Lake Falconhoops

Clear Lake 79 - Brazoswood 50 In the first half Clear Lake's performance against a much weaker team was casual and unenthusiastic. In the second half it was more focused and deliberate. After a lackluster first half, the Falcons played much better basketball with more forced errors on the Buccaneers. With only 2 wins this season for the Bucs, Lake knew it should be an easy win and their casual attitude showed it. In the first quarter Armie Lewis started things off with two successive three pointers. Early defensive breakdowns allowed Brazoswood to score. It was 11-5, Lake up by 6 with three minutes remaining in the period. The Falcons were 5 of 15 from the field but a perfect 5 for 5 from the free throw line in the quarter. Not at all an intensive quarter ending with Lake ahead 18-12. Three and ½ minutes into the second quarter Lake went up by 10 points when Fulton Brisco fed RJ Turner for a bucket to make it 24-14. RJ has just returned from a dislocated shoulder injury which kept him sidelined for two games. He still wore a soft shoulder brace and favored his left shoulder. With 2:32 remaining in the second quarter the Bucs narrowed the lead to 1 point due to casual Falcon play. The Falcons displayed lots of dribbling and passing and very casual defense but some scoring when they really wanted. You sensed it was almost like a cat toying with a captured mouse whose future looked hopeless. It was not the focused, polished game that Lake fans have come to expect from this team. RJ hit a jump shot from the left side to get Lake back on track. Then he stole the ball and passed to Kendrell for another score. Kendrell went 1 for 5 from the free throw line in the quarter (which will probably be the only time this season we see that). Brazoswood’s outside shooting was surprisingly good and another trey by them made it 28-25 with 1:30 remaining in the first half. With 37 seconds remaining Christian Enriquez’s free throw made it 32-25. At the end of the half with the clock about to expire, Jimmy Witten launched a successful three to close the quarter at 35-27. So far not the kind of ball game you would drive very far to see. In the third quarter the Falcons, whose ears may have been burning a bit from the halftime “lecture” they received in the dressing room, stepped it up a couple of notches. They started scoring more easily and started working more on defense. Some inspired defense by Armie and some consistently high output from Jimmy Witten may have been the sparks they needed to light the fire. Increased defensive pressure and more aggressive offense allowed Lake to continue to pull away as the quarter progressed. 12 points by Armie in the quarter helped to make it 64-40 by the end of the period. With 4:40 left in the ball game Clear Lake was up by 30, 72-42. The final score was 79-50.

Individual Scoring:
Armie Lewis 21, Kendrell Thompson 15, Jimmy Witten 12,
Cody Kinsey 7, RJ Turner 6, Fulton Brisco 6, Andrew Gorie 5, Anthony Bilcic 4, Christian Enriquez 3.

FALCON STATS	FG made	FG attempts	%
2's	20	47	42.6%
3's	8	20	40.0%
free throws	15	20	75.0%

SCORE BY QUARTER	1	2	3	4
Clear Lake	18	35	64	79
Brazoswood	12	27	40	50

LINESCORE	1	2	3	4	Final
Clear Lake	18	17	29	15	79
Brazoswood	12	15	13	10	50

REBOUNDS	LAKE	THEM
Offensive	13
Defensive	17

Pearland 44 - Clear Lake 41

On Friday night, January 12, 2007, two excellent basketball teams met to do battle in the new Krueger Field house on the campus of Clear Lake High School. With Clear Lake as the fourth most prolific scoring team in the region and Pearland's defensive prowess (second in the region), everyone in the large crowd expected a great basketball game between the two regionally ranked teams. Pearland is ranked 6th while Lake is in the #7 spot. At stake was the lead in District 24-5A and possibly the district championship which is expected to be a close race between Pearland and Clear Lake.

What the crowd saw in the Lake/Pearland match was not a great basketball game but it was a very good game between two worthy opponents. Pearland, with its 19-5 record (4-0 in district) started its twin towers, 6’ 8”  Justin Reynolds and 6’8” Anthony Gatlin. The shorter Clear Lake squad (20-5, 3-0 in district) knew it would be a long night if their outside shooting percentage from three point land wavered even a little.

Pearland had done their typically good job of scouting Clear Lake and knew they must shut down Lake’s ace, Kendrell Thompson (17.8 ppg), if they hoped to prevail. Their answer to the rest of Clear Lake’s team, who are also solid outside shooters, was pressure defense. Since Pearland is perennially a defensive powerhouse (currently ranked second in the region in team defense), they knew they had a good chance against the Falcons.

To the surprise of many, Pearland started the game in a zone defense even though they believed they outmanned the Falcons. Clear Lake hit their opening shot when RJ Turner passed over to Fulton Brisco for what looked to be a three pointer but was only a two before the start-of-the-game jitters took hold. Clear Lake missed their next five shots. At the 4:11 mark remaining in the first quarter when Lake called time out it was 2-10 (on Pearland’s first possession they got two offensive rebounds which did not bode well for Clear Lake. See the rebounding stats below). On the next possession a Lake miss and an Oiler trey made it 2-13 in the next 15 seconds. Another Clear Lake timeout was necessary. A basket by Armie Lewis and the second of two free throws by RJ made it 5-15, Lake down by 10, at the 2:12 remaining point. Then Cody Kinsey, who really made a difference when he was in the game, passed to Christian Enriquez on the right wing for one of Christian’s signature treys to make it 8-15. Then Christian fed Andrew Gorie on the left side of the basket for a ten foot jump shot to make it 10-15. Lake’s increased defensive pressure worked as Pearland committed multiple turnovers without a shot at the basket during this series. Two more Lake misses closed out the quarter at 10-15. In the quarter Clear Lake shot a puny 4 of 16 from the field and 1 of 5 free throws. Despite a really bad offensive quarter, Lake’s defense and good rebounding against the taller Pearland bunch held Lake together.

The second quarter was Lake’s best of the game. A basket by RJ, two by Armie, two by Kendrell, and two by Cody made it an exciting game. Kendrell’s rebounding in the quarter showed the scouts what he can do when the adrenalin is flowing. Multiple Lake steals were offset with bad passes. At the 5:35 mark Lake trailed 17-19 due to the Falcons' excellent defense. With three minutes left in the second quarter it was 18-21. Neither team was scorching the net with baskets. At the 2 minute mark Kendrell made his first basket of the game when he came up with a defensive rebound, drove the length of the court, and made an off-balance seventeen foot jumper from the left side to put Lake ahead 22-21 for the first time since the opening basket of the game. His free throw after the shot added another point. A Pearland basket tied the game at 23 with 1:39 remaining in the quarter. A driving layup on the right side by RJ made it 25-23 Lake. At 1:02 Pearland’s Justin Reynolds made the second of two free throws to make it 25-24. A classic Kendrell Thompson trey on Lake’s next possession made it 28-24 with 42 seconds left in the half. This would be his only trey of the game and his last field goal of the contest. Pearland’s shooting in the first quarter was impressive. Their shooting in the second quarter was not. They went 5 of 14 from the field and their rebounding was not as dominant as some expected. Clear Lake went 7 of 16 from the field. The first half closed with Lake up by 2, 28-26.

In the third quarter Pearland tied the game at 28 at the 6:39 mark and retook the lead at the 6 minute mark Lake scored only 5 points in the quarter on 2 of 10 shooting from the field. Pearland went 3 for 10. Hard work on defense from both squads and excellent officiating up to this point. Perhaps the best officiating we have seen all year in the Lake gym (up to this point in the game, that is ).With 3:21 remaining Pearland was up 28-33 since Clear Lake had still not scored. With 2:50 remaining in the third quarter, Lake’s first score of the quarter came when Cody made a basket and a free throw to put it at 31-33. A clever substitution with Jimmy coming back in the game when Justin Reynolds went out of the game allowed a hard earned basket by Jimmy Witten (tied it at 33 with 1:27 remaining). Pearland did not score in the last 3:21 of the quarter and the quarter closed knotted at 33.

In the first minute of the final quarter it was tied again at 35 when the Oilers matched a basket by Fulton Brisco. It was tied again at 37 with 5:11 remaining when Armie Lewis made a basket. At 4:59 Jimmy Witten got his third foul called and Pearland went ahead by one on a free throw. At 4:12 a free throw put Pearland up 37-41 (Pearland went 5 of 7 from the charity stripe in the final quarter while Clear Lake went 1 of 2). One of two free throws by Kendrell made it 38-41. Moments of brilliant defense by the Falcons highlighted the quarter. In this quarter it seemed as if one official was determined to call Kendrell for charging. With 1:58 remaining Jimmy got his fourth foul called. Justin Reynolds missed both free throws and Jimmy got the rebound. A turnover by Lake gave Pearland the ball and a goal. Then Cody brought the ball across the top of the key from the left side and passed over to Christian. Christian nailed a three from the right wing to make it 41-43 with 1:31 remaining. Those who enjoy good close games were certainly getting their money’s worth. A blocked shot by Kendrell saved an Oiler goal. A Pearland free throw made it 41-44 before Clear Lake got the ball back on a missed free throw with 44 seconds remaining. A costly turnover under their basket gave Pearland the ball. Another missed free throw and a Lake rebound gave Lake another chance. With 27.7 seconds left Lake called timeout. With 8 seconds showing on the impressive field house scoreboard, a three point attempt by Kendrell rimmed out and Pearland got the rebound. Armie stole the ball off a long pass down the floor by Pearland. As he was falling to the floor he passed across the floor to RJ but Pearland intercepted the ball as time expired. 41-44, Pearland holds on to win.

Neither team played well offensively. Both teams showed some great defense but not consistently. Clear Lake's defensive pressure helped keep the Oilers off balance. Clear Lake’s dismal shooting from the field (30%) was only partly due to good Pearland defense. Clear Lake averages almost 69 points per game and was held to 41. Barring any more injuries, the Falcons will shoot better when the rematch occurs on February 6 in the Pearland gym. Pearland will have to play much better basketball if they hope to beat Lake again. Clear Lake had two players out with injuries (Anthony Bilcic has tendonitis in his ankle) and one out with grades.

See photos in ALBUMS Section. Note: there are two Pearland Albums.

Individual Scoring:
Armie Lewis 8, Cody Kinsey 8, Kendrell Thompson 7, Christian Enriquez 6, Fulton Brisco 4, Jimmy Witten 3, RJ Turner 3, Andrew Gorie 2.

FALCON STATS	FG made	FG attempts	%
2's	12	34	35.3%
3's	4	19	21.0%
free throws	5	10	50.0%

SCORE BY QUARTER	1	2	3	4
Clear Lake	10	28	33	41
Pearland	15	26	33	44

LINESCORE	1	2	3	4	Final
Clear Lake	10	18	5	8	41
Pearland	15	11	7	11	44

REBOUNDS	LAKE	THEM
Offensive	6	14
Defensive	12	27

Clear Lake 70 - Dulles 58

In what might be a preview of the first round of the playoffs, Clear Lake met their adjacent district rival 23-5A Dulles Vikings Tuesday night in the Bill Krueger Field House. Teams from our district (24-5A) face District 23-5A teams in the playoffs. But this year, for the first time, the Fort Bend District has been renumbered to be District 23-5A, adjacent to 24-5A. For many years in the past the adjacent district was the Deer Park/Northshore/LaPorte district which is now District 22 5A.

Another change the UIL made starting this season is the number of teams (for 5A and 4A) advancing to the playoffs – four instead of three as in the past. This means the District winners will not get a bye in the first round. Instead, the district winners will face the fourth place team from the adjacent district. For example, if Clear Lake wins the district crown, they would face fourth place team (currently Hightower) from District 23 5A. If Clear Lake comes in second in the district, they would face the third place team from 23 5A, currently either Dulles or Fort Bend Marshall (fyi: Marshall has already defeated Clear Lake twice this season).

In the game tonight the two teams could not have been better matched if it had been scripted in a movie. Entering tonight’s contest the teams had almost identical records (Clear Lake 25-6 and Dulles 25-5). Note also that the Dulles Vikings have the third best defensive team in the region allowing only 49.8 points per game (Offensively, they are impressive as well). Combine that with the Falcons having the third best offense in the region with an average of 69.2 ppg. and you have the makings of a great high school basketball game.

Physically the two teams also matched up well. Dulles is not a tall team but they are a very quick team. Lake’s Jimmy Witten, at 6’ 5” was the closest thing to a dominant big man in the game. Witten, whose play could only be described with words like outstanding and inspirational, did dominate in the first quarter before Dulles decided to double team him in the second half. It had only minimal effect though as Witten, ever the warrior, was not to be denied. In three quarters he had 15 points and 9 rebounds before he fouled out of the game with 1:26 remaining in the final period. By the way, Witten received a standing ovation from many of the crowd as he left the court upon fouling out.

Dulles was missing one of their starters, junior guard Abel Galliguez, who was out due to illness. His identical twin brother, #23 Thomas, gave Lake fits all through the game. Perhaps Dulles would have been more fun to watch and would have played a closer game if the Galliguez brothers had both been there. Almost hard to imagine.

The game was close in the first half, tied four times in the first quarter and two times in the second quarter. Lake was up by only 3 points at half time. Jimmy Witten kept Lake in the game in the first quarter scoring 8 of Lake’s 14 points. I believe Jimmy did not play in the second quarter. Due to excellent play from reserves Andrew Gorie and Cody Kinsey, Jimmy got some well deserved rest and was saved for later in the game. In the second quarter Kendrell Thompson kept Lake alive scoring 5 of the 10 points on the board. Thompson was slow finding his spot with 2 of 6 shooting from the field in the first half but in the second half he was a perfect 5 for 5 from the field (Kendrell led all scorers with 21 points). Armie Lewis, also working to overcome the intense defensive pressure in the first half, scored 14 of his fifteen points in the second half after he made some adjustments. Ditto for RJ Turner. RJ scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half. How frustrating it must be for an outstanding coach like Dulles’s Mike Carrabine, to make the adjustments necessary at half time to regain control of the game from the opponent only to watch the multitalented Clear Lake squad double their shooting proficiency in the second half.

In the second half both teams stepped it up. Lake’s defense was at times superb but often spotty and sporadic. The Falcons complete offense and key rebounding allowed them to really gain control of the game. With 4:44 remaining in the third quarter Lake increased their lead to 10 points, 33-23. Dulles scored one basket in just over three minutes. Lake increased their lead to 15 (40-25) and then Armie really went to work on them. Lewis scored the next 12 Lake points late in the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter. But Lake did not shut down Dulles’s offense so Dulles was not out of it yet. After three quarters it was 45-31 with Lake still in control and dictating the tempo of the game. Lake’s largest lead was 65-47 but Dulles uncorked their three point shooting for some quick scoring to let the Lake fans know it might be too soon to relax.

One of the key elements to a “complete” offense and certainly a major component to Lake’s victory is terrific free throw shooting. Dulles’s defense was forceful, aggressive, almost brutal, in-your-face defense from a squad of cat-quick, hard working, excellent basketball players who were fun to watch. But that kind of pressure can have a price. Too much fouling sometimes. In the second half Lake was shooting 1 and 1 free throws with considerable time left in the third quarter. Lake was 13 of 15 from the free throw line in the second half after going 6 of 7 in the first half. 19 of 22 free throw shooting is much more than respectable. It’s tough to beat a team as versatile as Clear Lake who can shoot the lights out and nail the coffin closed with outstanding free throw shooting as well.

What a great match-up! The game was everything it should have been. Team basketball played the way basketball should be played - defense so aggressive by the Vikings that many in the crowd did not understand why the refs were not calling more fouls. Viking defense and Clear Lake offense running like well oiled machines most of the time. Masterful coaching from both teams. It was impressive high school basketball from both teams on both ends of the court. Clear Lake scored 46 points in the second half against a fine team that allows on 49.6 points in a game. Doubtful if anybody's twin brother could completely stop that! 

FYI: If Clear Lake defeats Pearland in the Pearland gym on February 6 (and they most definitely will), the two teams will be tied for first place in the district. For an explanation of how ties are broken in District 24 5A, see the GENERAL INFORMATION PAGE.

There are 25 action shots of this game in the ALBUMS Section.

Individual Scoring:
Kendrell Thompson 21, Armie Lewis 15, Jimmy Witten 15, RJ Turner 12,
Anthony Bilcic 3, Fulton Brisco 2, Cody Kinsey 2

FALCON STATS	FG made	FG attempts	%
2's	18	36	50.0%
3's	5	15	33.4%
free throws	19	22	86.4%

SCORE BY QUARTER	1	2	3	4
Clear Lake	14	24	45	70
Dulles	13	21	31	58

LINESCORE	1	2	3	4	Final
Clear Lake	14	10	21	25	70
Dulles	13	8	10	27	58

REBOUNDS	LAKE	THEM
Offensive	8	7
Defensive	17	16

Clear Lake 60- Alvin 56

Tonight's victory is a cause for celebration. The Clear Lake Falcons are District 24-5A Co-Champions. In the Alvin gym in the last varsity game of the regular season, the Clear Lake Falcons defeated the Alvin Yellow Jackets 60-56 to cinch the District Championship. Both Pearland and Clear Lake finished district play with 11-1 records and will each be named District Co-Champions. A coin toss will decide the seeding in the playoffs. The first place team from our district will face the fourth place team from District 23-5A, either Fort Bend Marshall or Fort Bend Dulles, in the top half of the bracket. Likewise, the second place team from our district will face the third place team from District 23-5A in the bottom half of the bracket. The tie between Marshall and Dulles has not yet been decided for third and fourth place. Stay tuned.

But much of the Clear Lake crowd departing the Alvin gym after the victory did not seem as if they had just won a district championship because Clear Lake had not delivered another stellar performance. Who knows why Clear Lake does not typically play their best at Alvin? Alvin is usually a thorn in the side of the Falcons and tonight was no exception. For Alvin, with only two district wins, there was nothing but bragging rights for the spoiler on the line. Alvin could have kept Lake from winning the district championship with a win so they were pumped (i.e. motivated to us old folks). For Lake there was a lot riding on this game. Alvin has only beaten Lake twice in the last twenty some odd years in basketball so it is usually Lake’s game to lose. Tonight, with the district co-championship at stake and armed with the knowledge of a 30 point win over Alvin in Lake’s gym in the first round, the Falcons played just well enough to win, no more. Against a team with a 17-16 record, Clear Lake squeaked by.

After a strong offensive first quarter combined with a very good offensive second quarter, the score was 33-40, Lake up by 7 at the half. Lake slightly dominated and controlled the tempo of the game in the first half with their offensive prowess and sporadically effective defense. Does that sound familiar? Alvin pulled to within 3 points,31-34, with just under four minutes remaining in the second quarter. A trey by Kendrell Thompson at the buzzer put Lake up by 7 at the half.

During the halftime break Alvin did a better job of making the necessary adjustments overall but Clear Lake did do a good job of hindering Justin Ledet in the paint in the second half. Alvin scored from outside as easily as they scored from inside but that too, was sporadic, so Lake was able to maintain a slight lead and barely stay in control. Lake had instances of impressive offensive precision while displaying frequent defensive weakness that you could ride a Harley through. With no abundance of talent, the pesky Alvin squad should be proud of how well they played the Falcons to a four point loss. At the end of the third quarter it was a five point game 47-52. Several of Alvin’s losses this season have been close but this one was hard to believe for Lake fans.

In the fourth quarter Alvin pulled to within 2, 52-54, with 5:28 remaining on the scoreboard clock. With 2:37 remaining in the game Alvin tied it at 56 when Justin Ledet, their most talented player, turned and drove to the bucket just as he had several times previously in the game (Ledet had 17 points for the outing). In the last 38 seconds Lake retook the lead on two free throws from Kendrell and a final basket by Fulton Brisco (who had one of his better games of the season) to give Lake the narrow victory.

It is not that the Falcons played badly, they did not, but their defense was weak to non-existent too often. Solid, often impressive offense but this game has to be played on both ends of the court. Any decent 5A coach in the playoffs will quickly spot the Falcon defensive breakdowns and capitalize on them earlier than Alvin did.

Another major deficiency of Clear Lake’s play in this game was their play off the bench. It was not even close to the level displayed previously this season. Few good things happened when a reserve came into the game and not a single goal or free throw scored came from a reserve player (for the first time this season). That is a radical departure from the rest of the season and will contribute to the quick demise of Clear Lake’s playoff hopes if the reserves continue this slump.

Since the reserves did not score and none of the starters other than Fulton scored more than one basket in the second half, alarm bells should be going off in the Lake gym in practice on Thursday. Fulton scored three baskets in the second half on the same successfully executed play that isolates him under the basket. Alert, disciplined play by his teammates caused it to work.

There is the fervent hope among Clear Lake's loyal following that the Falcons got this ugliness out of their system and will be ready to, once again, play premiere basketball in the playoffs. After all, they have been known to step it up several notches when they have to.

Photos for this game can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/falconhoops after 6 p.m. Thursday. 

Individual Scoring:
Kendrell Thompson 17, Fulton Brisco 14, Armie Lewis 13, RJ Turner 10,
Jimmy Witten 6

FALCON STATS	FG made	FG attempts	%
2's	19	31	61.3%
3's	5	16	31.2%
free throws	7	8	87.5%

SCORE BY QUARTER	1	2	3	4
Clear Lake	24	40	52	60
Alvin	16	33	47	56

LINESCORE	1	2	3	4	Final
Clear Lake	24	16	12	8	60
Alvin	16	17	14	9	56

REBOUNDS	LAKE	THEM
Offensive	6	7
Defensive	7	16

Clear Lake 85 – Galveston Ball 57

After a 30 point victory over the Galveston Ball High Tornados back in late December in the first game of the first round of District 24-5A play, the Falcons tonight  appeared confident as they started the game on Galveston’s home turf. But the Tors were up for the Falcons and they made it a close game in the first half. The combination of Clear Lake playing no better than Galveston and the uncertainty of how bad the officiating might be caused more than a few loyal Falcon fans to have a heightened level of concern. When the officiating is not lopsided in Ball High’s favor in their gym, it usually means the officials have been brought in from another chapter. Although the officiating was obviously weak, it has been much worse in the past. The poor officiating was partly due to lack of experience in this game.

Kendrell Thompson started things off by nailing his first shot, a three pointer from the wing, which is always a good sign. Lake took a 7 to 2 lead after baskets by Fulton Brisco and another Kendrell score. At the 4:25 mark in the first quarter Galveston went ahead 8-7. Four points by Armie Lewis put Lake back in the lead 8-11 before Ball High retook the lead again. A put-back by Jimmy Witten with 2:22 remaining in the quarter put Lake up 12-13. Cody Kinsey then drained a trey to make it 12-16. Galveston regained the lead again for the third time in the quarter and went on to score 7 unanswered points to make it 19-16 with one minute remaining. With 12.96 seconds left in the quarter a basket and a free throw by Armie Lewis tied it at 19.

In the second quarter the two teams traded baskets to tie the game three times in the first three minutes of the quarter. With 4:32 left in the second period a basket underneath by Jimmy put Lake ahead 25-27. Ball would never retake the lead again from this point. Two steals and 7 straight points by Armie (team high 22 points for the game) made it 27-34. Baskets by Christian Enriquez and Jimmy closed the quarter at 31-38 at the half.

In the third quarter Lake stepped it up a notch on both ends of the court and widened their lead. A free throw and a basket by RJ Turner and a basket from the free throw line by Jimmy put it at 35-43 as the Tors continued to hang in. The difference in talent between the two clubs began to show more as the Falcons continued their dominance of the game from this point. It was 49-63 at the end of the third quarter after Lake scored 25 points in the quarter.

The Falcons dominated the final period and outscored the Tors 22 to 8. The final score was 57-85 as Lake continued their win streak. After 14 steals in the second half, Clear Lake had a season high 21 steals in the game. This was the second game in a row where the Falcons have scored 85 points. Lake has scored 75 points or more in 10 games so far this season and is fourth in the region in team offense.

Individual Scoring:
Armie Lewis 22 (4 steals), Kendrell Thompson 18 (4 steals),  Jimmy Witten 13 (7 rebounds, 4 steals),
Cody Kinsey 9, RJ Turner 7 (5 assists), Fulton Brisco 6 (5 assists), Andrew Gorie 5, Anthony Bilcic 3, Christian Enriquez 2

FALCON STATS	FG made	FG attempts	%
2's	27	57	47.4%
3's	5	14	35.7%
free throws	16	20	80.0%

SCORE BY QUARTER	1	2	3	4
Clear Lake	19	38	63	85
Ball High	19	31	49	57

LINESCORE	1	2	3	4	Final
Clear Lake	19	19	25	22	85
Ball High	19	12	18	8	57

REBOUNDS	LAKE	THEM
Offensive	7	17
Defensive	14	21