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Clear Lake 70 – Alvin 58
February 7, 2006
Tonight in the Alvin gymnasium the Clear Lake Falcons secured a victory and by doing so, quelled the need for revenge after losing to Alvin for the first time ever in Lake’s gym in the first round of district play. Despite Alvin’s 3-5 district record this season to date, the Yellow Jackets seem to always be able to get up for the Falcons so the outcome of tonight’s game was not certain. This was a must win game for Clear Lake if they hope to make the playoffs and they rose to the occasion.
Clear Lake took an early lead in the game and never trailed. Alvin came within three points several times but could not close despite some help from the zebra brigade.
Highlights of the game
1. Some smooth moves by Kendrell Thompson as he showed that Alvin could not stop him. Thompson scored a game high 24 points, 16 in the second half.
2. A technical foul called on Coach McDonald at the start of the second half when he very mildly expressed his disdain for a stupid call by a ref when the Falcons ran their classic opening mid-court in-bound play at the start of the second half. This is only the third technical I can remember on our coach. The last was in a Duncanville game about eight years ago.
3. Justin Kurtz got ejected early in the second half. The ref called Justin for a flagrant foul (throwing an elbow to the face of his opponent while they were awaiting a free throw rebound) and justifiably ejected him. The ref was one of the few who saw the infraction but it was a vicious, intentional payback type foul. Surely the official was trying to send a message to Justin that such behavior is not tolerated. Justin’s removal did not make a difference in the outcome of the game but it could have.
The referees should never be the main focus of the game but unfortunately it happened in this game. A few real stinkers and enough frequent bad calls were made to raise the ire of the Lake fans and keep it raised. There were a total of 44 fouls called in the game. That is a large number of fouls. The officials were probably doing their best but they just weren’t seasoned enough to call a 5A game like this one. The Lake crowd was generally not pleased with the officiating especially in the second half (like that is anything new).
4. Eleven unanswered points by the Falcons in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach (nine free throws).
5. Six consecutive free throws and some key rebounds by Christian Enriquez in the fourth quarter (Lake shot 17 of 24 in the quarter).
6. Seven rebounds and four steals by Armie Lewis.
7. Rock solid play by Fulton Brisco. Once again Brisco demonstrated smart, dependable, almost error free basketball. How can we get Fulton more playing time?
8. Good team basketball with mostly sound judgment in shot selection but too much casual passing against some quick Alvin guards. Unlike Alvin’s performance in the first game, they failed to fully capitalize on many Lake passes which were "interceptable". Lucky for Lake. This will probably not be true for a team which Lake might meet in the playoffs so Lake needs to clean this up quick.
This was a good win for the Falcons diminished by bad officiating and some poor individual sportmanship. With noticeably lesser talent, the effort by Alvin to attempt to defeat Clear Lake must be admired. They really tried hard.
In other district action Clear Creek defeated Clear Brook 66-41 and Galveston Ball beat Brazoswood 60-49.
Individual Scoring:
Kendrell Thompson 24,
Armie Lewis 13 (7 rebounds, 4 steals),
Justin Kurtz 8, Jimmy Witten 6, Fulton Brisco 6, Christian Enriquez 6 (6 of 6 free throws in the fourth quarter), RJ Turner 4, Andy Leveque 3
Turnovers: 15
February 7, 2006
Tonight in the Alvin gymnasium the Clear Lake Falcons secured a victory and by doing so, quelled the need for revenge after losing to Alvin for the first time ever in Lake’s gym in the first round of district play. Despite Alvin’s 3-5 district record this season to date, the Yellow Jackets seem to always be able to get up for the Falcons so the outcome of tonight’s game was not certain. This was a must win game for Clear Lake if they hope to make the playoffs and they rose to the occasion.
Clear Lake took an early lead in the game and never trailed. Alvin came within three points several times but could not close despite some help from the zebra brigade.
Highlights of the game
1. Some smooth moves by Kendrell Thompson as he showed that Alvin could not stop him. Thompson scored a game high 24 points, 16 in the second half.
2. A technical foul called on Coach McDonald at the start of the second half when he very mildly expressed his disdain for a stupid call by a ref when the Falcons ran their classic opening mid-court in-bound play at the start of the second half. This is only the third technical I can remember on our coach. The last was in a Duncanville game about eight years ago.
3. Justin Kurtz got ejected early in the second half. The ref called Justin for a flagrant foul (throwing an elbow to the face of his opponent while they were awaiting a free throw rebound) and justifiably ejected him. The ref was one of the few who saw the infraction but it was a vicious, intentional payback type foul. Surely the official was trying to send a message to Justin that such behavior is not tolerated. Justin’s removal did not make a difference in the outcome of the game but it could have.
The referees should never be the main focus of the game but unfortunately it happened in this game. A few real stinkers and enough frequent bad calls were made to raise the ire of the Lake fans and keep it raised. There were a total of 44 fouls called in the game. That is a large number of fouls. The officials were probably doing their best but they just weren’t seasoned enough to call a 5A game like this one. The Lake crowd was generally not pleased with the officiating especially in the second half (like that is anything new).
4. Eleven unanswered points by the Falcons in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach (nine free throws).
5. Six consecutive free throws and some key rebounds by Christian Enriquez in the fourth quarter (Lake shot 17 of 24 in the quarter).
6. Seven rebounds and four steals by Armie Lewis.
7. Rock solid play by Fulton Brisco. Once again Brisco demonstrated smart, dependable, almost error free basketball. How can we get Fulton more playing time?
8. Good team basketball with mostly sound judgment in shot selection but too much casual passing against some quick Alvin guards. Unlike Alvin’s performance in the first game, they failed to fully capitalize on many Lake passes which were "interceptable". Lucky for Lake. This will probably not be true for a team which Lake might meet in the playoffs so Lake needs to clean this up quick.
This was a good win for the Falcons diminished by bad officiating and some poor individual sportmanship. With noticeably lesser talent, the effort by Alvin to attempt to defeat Clear Lake must be admired. They really tried hard.
In other district action Clear Creek defeated Clear Brook 66-41 and Galveston Ball beat Brazoswood 60-49.
Individual Scoring:
Kendrell Thompson 24,
Armie Lewis 13 (7 rebounds, 4 steals),
Justin Kurtz 8, Jimmy Witten 6, Fulton Brisco 6, Christian Enriquez 6 (6 of 6 free throws in the fourth quarter), RJ Turner 4, Andy Leveque 3
Turnovers: 15
|
Clear Lake |
Alvin | |||
|
made |
attempts |
made |
attempts | |
|
2's |
17 |
32 |
16 |
31 |
|
3's |
3 |
8 |
4 |
14 |
|
free throws |
27 |
36 |
14 |
21 |
|
SCORE BY QUARTER |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
Clear Lake |
17 |
32 |
46 |
70 |
|
Alvin |
12 |
24 |
43 |
58 |
|
LINESCORE |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Final |
|
Clear Lake |
17 |
15 |
14 |
24 |
70 |
|
Alvin |
12 |
12 |
19 |
15 |
58 |
|
REBOUNDS |
LAKE |
THEM |
|
Offensive |
7 |
7 |
|
Defensive |
17 |
11 |
Clear Creek Leaves No Doubt About Who Should Win the District
Posted by Donald Wilkerson at Feb 2, 2006 4:00PM PST
( 0 Comments
)
Clear Creek 58 – Clear Lake 47
February 3, 2006
With Clear Lake defeating Clear Creek in the CCISD Tournament by 5 points back in December and Creek winning by 6 over Lake in the first round of district play, it was clear that anything might happen in the final meeting between the two teams tonight in the Lake gym. In the last matchup Clear Lake had noticeably outplayed Creek but Creek won on free throws (29 of 35) and a 25 point performance by Lance Pevehouse. Creek has steadily improved over the season so they would be even harder to beat. Clear Lake has improved as well but the most consistent attribute of their game has been inconsistency.
First Half
Clear Lake knew they would have to bring their “A Game” to beat Creek but it did not happen. The Wildcats came out strong and dominated the first half. Creek presented a focused inside attack with very limited success outside. Similar to the first half in the last game when the two teams met, Lake had no inside game in the half but rather chose to shoot almost exclusively from outside due only partly to solid defense inside by Clear Creek. Based on how well they had shot in their last outing against Brazoswood, Lake’s strategy might have worked. There were, however, two problems with that approach. First, the Falcons could not hit the side of a barn in the first half. They shot an abysmal 1 of 15 in the first quarter from the field and 3 of 15 in the second quarter. Since they only shot two free throws in the half that could not redeem them either. Secondly, they only got one shot at the basket in the first quarter (3 rebounds total). Clear Creek got 10 offensive rebounds in the first quarter. TEN. Little wonder that the score was 3-14, Lake down by 11 at the end of the first quarter. The Falcons were lucky it was not more lopsided.
In the second quarter with 2 ½ minutes gone it was 3-18. In what could be described as the worst eleven minutes of Clear Lake basketball shooting in recent memory (probably ever), the Falcons scored 3 points in 10 ½ minutes of basketball. Second quarter rebounding was also one-sided (5 total rebounds for Clear Lake, 6 offensive and 3 defensive for the Wildcats). Thanks to excellent defense by Armie Lewis and Fulton Brisco, Clear Creek’s outside shooting in the first half was causing the Falcons only minimal grief but their inside game was a back breaker. Creek shot no three point attempts in the second quarter (1 of 4 in the first quarter) and enjoyed over 50% from the field in the first half. The Falcons, despite having the lowest number of turnovers of their season, embarrassed themselves with absolutely terrible shooting from the field and weak rebounding (Boy, do we miss Jon Gilmer). Kendrell Thompson was 1 of 7 from the field in the first half. Was this the same Kendrell who had gone 10 of 12 from the field at Brazoswood on Tuesday? Justin Kurtz was 0 for 4 in the half. RJ Turner was 1 of 6 and Armie Lewis was 1 of 3 from the field. Andy Leveque was 0 for 4. Jimmy Witten was 1 for 4. It was just a nightmarish first half with the score at 10-28 when the buzzer sounded.
Second Half
In the third quarter the Falcons slowly tried to make a game of it with little success. At 6:45 remaining in the quarter, the #13 area ranked Wildcats went up by 10-30, their first 20 point lead. Solid play by Fulton Brisco helped as did improved shooting by Kendrell. The score was 26-42 at the end of three.
In the final period a couple of the Falcons turned their game around offensively and got on tract. Outstanding play by Fulton and accurate shooting by Kendrell (19 points in the second half) helped provide a spark to ignite a glimmer of hope. With 2:58 remaining in the game, the Falcons narrowed the lead to 12 when the score went to 37-49 on a free throw by Kendrell. With 2:21 left, Kendrell nailed a three to make it 40-51. Another trey by Kendrell with 2 minutes remaining made it 43-51. The hopefuls in the crowd in the mostly packed gym began to sense the possibility of a different outcome but it was not to be. Baskets by Jimmy Witten and Fulton helped the cause but the Falcons could not stop the scoring by Clear Creek. Final score was 47-58. The Falcons had 15 steals in the game and at times displayed solid defense and excellent ball handling. Unfortunate that it was overshadowed by such a lackluster shooting performance.
The Wildcats looked very beatable but left little doubt about who is the best team in the district despite not having much of an outside game in this outing. In other district action, Galveston Ball defeated Pearland 47-35 and Clear Brook beat Brazoswood 78-51. Alvin was off. Clear Lake will be at Alvin on Tuesday in a critical game for the Falcons if they hope to make the playoffs.
Individual Scoring:
Kendrell Thompson 21 (game high), Fulton Brisco 10,
Armie Lewis 5 (7 steals), Jimmy Witten 4, Justin Kurtz 3, Ross Maha 2, RJ Turner 2
6 Turnovers
February 3, 2006
With Clear Lake defeating Clear Creek in the CCISD Tournament by 5 points back in December and Creek winning by 6 over Lake in the first round of district play, it was clear that anything might happen in the final meeting between the two teams tonight in the Lake gym. In the last matchup Clear Lake had noticeably outplayed Creek but Creek won on free throws (29 of 35) and a 25 point performance by Lance Pevehouse. Creek has steadily improved over the season so they would be even harder to beat. Clear Lake has improved as well but the most consistent attribute of their game has been inconsistency.
First Half
Clear Lake knew they would have to bring their “A Game” to beat Creek but it did not happen. The Wildcats came out strong and dominated the first half. Creek presented a focused inside attack with very limited success outside. Similar to the first half in the last game when the two teams met, Lake had no inside game in the half but rather chose to shoot almost exclusively from outside due only partly to solid defense inside by Clear Creek. Based on how well they had shot in their last outing against Brazoswood, Lake’s strategy might have worked. There were, however, two problems with that approach. First, the Falcons could not hit the side of a barn in the first half. They shot an abysmal 1 of 15 in the first quarter from the field and 3 of 15 in the second quarter. Since they only shot two free throws in the half that could not redeem them either. Secondly, they only got one shot at the basket in the first quarter (3 rebounds total). Clear Creek got 10 offensive rebounds in the first quarter. TEN. Little wonder that the score was 3-14, Lake down by 11 at the end of the first quarter. The Falcons were lucky it was not more lopsided.
In the second quarter with 2 ½ minutes gone it was 3-18. In what could be described as the worst eleven minutes of Clear Lake basketball shooting in recent memory (probably ever), the Falcons scored 3 points in 10 ½ minutes of basketball. Second quarter rebounding was also one-sided (5 total rebounds for Clear Lake, 6 offensive and 3 defensive for the Wildcats). Thanks to excellent defense by Armie Lewis and Fulton Brisco, Clear Creek’s outside shooting in the first half was causing the Falcons only minimal grief but their inside game was a back breaker. Creek shot no three point attempts in the second quarter (1 of 4 in the first quarter) and enjoyed over 50% from the field in the first half. The Falcons, despite having the lowest number of turnovers of their season, embarrassed themselves with absolutely terrible shooting from the field and weak rebounding (Boy, do we miss Jon Gilmer). Kendrell Thompson was 1 of 7 from the field in the first half. Was this the same Kendrell who had gone 10 of 12 from the field at Brazoswood on Tuesday? Justin Kurtz was 0 for 4 in the half. RJ Turner was 1 of 6 and Armie Lewis was 1 of 3 from the field. Andy Leveque was 0 for 4. Jimmy Witten was 1 for 4. It was just a nightmarish first half with the score at 10-28 when the buzzer sounded.
Second Half
In the third quarter the Falcons slowly tried to make a game of it with little success. At 6:45 remaining in the quarter, the #13 area ranked Wildcats went up by 10-30, their first 20 point lead. Solid play by Fulton Brisco helped as did improved shooting by Kendrell. The score was 26-42 at the end of three.
In the final period a couple of the Falcons turned their game around offensively and got on tract. Outstanding play by Fulton and accurate shooting by Kendrell (19 points in the second half) helped provide a spark to ignite a glimmer of hope. With 2:58 remaining in the game, the Falcons narrowed the lead to 12 when the score went to 37-49 on a free throw by Kendrell. With 2:21 left, Kendrell nailed a three to make it 40-51. Another trey by Kendrell with 2 minutes remaining made it 43-51. The hopefuls in the crowd in the mostly packed gym began to sense the possibility of a different outcome but it was not to be. Baskets by Jimmy Witten and Fulton helped the cause but the Falcons could not stop the scoring by Clear Creek. Final score was 47-58. The Falcons had 15 steals in the game and at times displayed solid defense and excellent ball handling. Unfortunate that it was overshadowed by such a lackluster shooting performance.
The Wildcats looked very beatable but left little doubt about who is the best team in the district despite not having much of an outside game in this outing. In other district action, Galveston Ball defeated Pearland 47-35 and Clear Brook beat Brazoswood 78-51. Alvin was off. Clear Lake will be at Alvin on Tuesday in a critical game for the Falcons if they hope to make the playoffs.
Individual Scoring:
Kendrell Thompson 21 (game high), Fulton Brisco 10,
Armie Lewis 5 (7 steals), Jimmy Witten 4, Justin Kurtz 3, Ross Maha 2, RJ Turner 2
6 Turnovers
|
FALCON STATS |
FG made |
FG attempts |
% |
|
2's |
15 |
44 |
37.5% |
|
3's |
3 |
23 |
13.0% |
|
free throws |
8 |
11 |
72.7% |
|
SCORE BY QUARTER |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
Clear Lake |
3 |
10 |
26 |
47 |
|
Clea Creek |
14 |
28 |
42 |
58 |
|
LINESCORE |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Final |
|
Clear Lake |
3 |
7 |
16 |
21 |
47 |
|
Clear Creek |
14 |
14 |
14 |
16 |
58 |
|
REBOUNDS |
LAKE |
CREEK |
|
Offensive |
11 |
10 |
|
Defensive |
12 |
24 |
Will the trip be worth it?
Most years when the annual trek to Brazoswood is made, one wonders "Is the drive down going to be worth the effort?" Will the game be close enough to be exciting? Will Clear Lake dominate the game as they usually do because of the obvious disparity in talent between the two squads or will the Falcons play down to the level of competition and allow Brazoswood to stay in the game? Will this year's Buccaneers, who played Clear Lake to a five point game after three quarters in Lake's gym, prevail on their home court? Or will the Falcons come out early, dominate the game as they should, and have their way with the lesser Buccaneers to dispel the notion floating around in the minds of the Bucs that they can beat Clear Lake? What kind of a game will it be?
Falcons dominate every aspect of the game.
Most years the game is one-sided with Clear Lake taking control very early and never looking back. This year's game was exactly that, a carbon copy of almost every Brazoswood/Clear Lake game at Brazoswood except Clear Lake was even more dominant than usual. This was the easiest win of the season for Lake (the other two were in Kentucky in the first two games in the Paintsville Classic). The Falcons took control immediately and left little doubt about who should win (at the half, it was 31-11). The Bucs' 6'5" center, Taylor Parrett, was sidelined with an injury (arm still in a hard cast) and this certainly affected the outcome to a small degree but it is doubtful that he could have made that much of a difference. The Falcons' Andy Leveque was suited up but saw no action since he was not needed. His ankle injury had caused him to not practice since the last game until the shoot-around today but he was ready if the need arose. His teammates insured that Andy got more recuperation time.
Embarrassing Officiating
With one almost intermediate official and two very inexperienced officials calling the game, some would hope that the refs would not do too bad a job (there could have been three very inexperienced refs). Sometimes they just do very poorly. Tonight they had what could kindly be called an "off night" The officiating was not good. The more senior official had a decision to make. Will he lay back and allow the beginners to make most of the calls to help them learn and be there if they need him? Or will he play the most active role, make most of the calls, and "show them how it is done" as he controls the tempo of the game and the tendency to blow the whistle by all the refs? (The referee should never control the tempo of the game!!). The more senior ref (which is a real misnomer) tonight made most of the calls but unfortunately he made a lot of bad calls. I mean, a lot. Judgment errors, rule interpretation errors, oversights, just a badly officiated game. The senior ref of the three (who is not very senior) proved tonight that he is not quite ready for the challenge of being the lead official. Fortunately it did not determine the outcome of the contest.
Game Recap
Halfway through the first quarter the score was 1-8. Clear Lake scored at will while Brazoswood did a lot of standing around and watching. Then the Bucs sorta woke up and got into the game a little more. After two free throws by Armie to put the score at 3-10, a team steal by RJ Turner, Kendrell Thompson, and Jimmy Witten at mid-court made it 3-12 at the 2:55 mark. At 2:04 remaining in the first quarter, Fulton Brisco and Ross Maha entered the game. Good timing since Ross got a steal immediately upon entering the game. A free throw by Jimmy and a three pointer by Kendrell on an assist by Jimmy made it 5-16 to close the quarter.
How did the other Clear Lake teams do?
Clear Lake teams won all the games by wide margins with the exception of the Freshman A Team which lost by 4 in the last few seconds. In the Freshman B Team game, Falcon Ben Hardy scored 10 three pointers (unofficially, a school record)
In other district action Clear Creek beat Alvin at Creek by 33-31 on a tip-in by Lance Pevehouse with 5 seconds remaining in the game. It was his only basket of the game. In the first quarter Creek was held scoreless. In the fourth quarter Alvin scored 3 points and Clear Creek scored 4. In other action, Clear Brook lost at Pearland 42-31.
Individual Scoring:
Kendrell Thompson 21 (10 of 12 from the field) (8 rebounds), Fulton Brisco 11 (7 rebounds, 5 of 6 from the field), Armie Lewis 10 (6 rebounds),
Justin Kurtz 6, RJ Turner 6, Ross Maha 3, Jimmy Witten 3, Christian Enriquez 1.
Turnovers 16
Most years when the annual trek to Brazoswood is made, one wonders "Is the drive down going to be worth the effort?" Will the game be close enough to be exciting? Will Clear Lake dominate the game as they usually do because of the obvious disparity in talent between the two squads or will the Falcons play down to the level of competition and allow Brazoswood to stay in the game? Will this year's Buccaneers, who played Clear Lake to a five point game after three quarters in Lake's gym, prevail on their home court? Or will the Falcons come out early, dominate the game as they should, and have their way with the lesser Buccaneers to dispel the notion floating around in the minds of the Bucs that they can beat Clear Lake? What kind of a game will it be?
Falcons dominate every aspect of the game.
Most years the game is one-sided with Clear Lake taking control very early and never looking back. This year's game was exactly that, a carbon copy of almost every Brazoswood/Clear Lake game at Brazoswood except Clear Lake was even more dominant than usual. This was the easiest win of the season for Lake (the other two were in Kentucky in the first two games in the Paintsville Classic). The Falcons took control immediately and left little doubt about who should win (at the half, it was 31-11). The Bucs' 6'5" center, Taylor Parrett, was sidelined with an injury (arm still in a hard cast) and this certainly affected the outcome to a small degree but it is doubtful that he could have made that much of a difference. The Falcons' Andy Leveque was suited up but saw no action since he was not needed. His ankle injury had caused him to not practice since the last game until the shoot-around today but he was ready if the need arose. His teammates insured that Andy got more recuperation time.
Embarrassing Officiating
With one almost intermediate official and two very inexperienced officials calling the game, some would hope that the refs would not do too bad a job (there could have been three very inexperienced refs). Sometimes they just do very poorly. Tonight they had what could kindly be called an "off night" The officiating was not good. The more senior official had a decision to make. Will he lay back and allow the beginners to make most of the calls to help them learn and be there if they need him? Or will he play the most active role, make most of the calls, and "show them how it is done" as he controls the tempo of the game and the tendency to blow the whistle by all the refs? (The referee should never control the tempo of the game!!). The more senior ref (which is a real misnomer) tonight made most of the calls but unfortunately he made a lot of bad calls. I mean, a lot. Judgment errors, rule interpretation errors, oversights, just a badly officiated game. The senior ref of the three (who is not very senior) proved tonight that he is not quite ready for the challenge of being the lead official. Fortunately it did not determine the outcome of the contest.
Game Recap
Halfway through the first quarter the score was 1-8. Clear Lake scored at will while Brazoswood did a lot of standing around and watching. Then the Bucs sorta woke up and got into the game a little more. After two free throws by Armie to put the score at 3-10, a team steal by RJ Turner, Kendrell Thompson, and Jimmy Witten at mid-court made it 3-12 at the 2:55 mark. At 2:04 remaining in the first quarter, Fulton Brisco and Ross Maha entered the game. Good timing since Ross got a steal immediately upon entering the game. A free throw by Jimmy and a three pointer by Kendrell on an assist by Jimmy made it 5-16 to close the quarter.
Clear Lake displayed very good ball movement consistently in the game. At the 4:48 mark in the second quarter, Kendrell passed to Fulton on the left wing. Fulton, on his way to going 5 of 6 from the field, jacked up what appeared to be a three attempt but was only recorded as a two. Shortly afterward, Justin was fouled as the Bucs were bringing the ball down. It should have been called as a double foul (there were two other double fouls called in the game). Our less than adored more experienced ref, who was not really looking directly toward the situation, called the foul on Justin. Crazy call. At our end of the court then Justin was nailed again on a rebound but this time the refs did call the foul on Brazoswood. With 3 minutes remaining in the first half the score was 7-23. With back-to-back assists from RJ, two scores by Kendrell and Fulton made it 7-27. Two free throws by RJ made it 7-29. With the sympathy vote certainly favoring Brazoswood by this point, once again our favorite ref makes an astounding call. With 39 seconds left in the first half, he called a technical foul on Jimmy for not getting off the court fast enough. Huh? Not a team technical foul for having six men on the court once the ball is in play but a technical foul on Jimmy. He saw that somewhere in an NBA game and wanted to use it, I suppose. The score at the half was 11-31.
At 5:35 in the third quarter, Kendrell, shot an awkward, off balance, 15 foot jumper from the left side and was fouled. There was no arch on the ball and no way it would go in but the ball had eyes and went straight to the rim and rattled in for a surprising basket to make it 15-35. Is it any wonder with shots like that how Kendrell went 10 of 12 from the field? The next score came quickly when Ross fed Kendrell under the basket for a 15-37 score. Then Ross found Justin in the paint for a jump shot to make it 15-39. Next, Armie drove the right side of the baseline to about eight feet from the bucket, jumped up, made an overhead, one hand hook pass to Ross awaiting under the basket. Ross’s score brought it to 15-41. With 1:44 remaining in the third quarter it was 19-45. RJ then hit a jumper from the left side to make it 17-47. At the close of the quarter it was 21-51.
In the final period Clear Lake was again up by 30 when a pretty play by Kendrell, as he fed Fulton coming across the lane, allowed Fulton to cut to the basket and score on a right side layup (Fulton broke into double digits for the first time this season. Got to play him more). That made it 23-53 two minutes into the fourth quarter. With the score at 28-56 and 2:20 remaining in the game, Lake started their stall. Brazoswood then really started acting like they wanted to play and got even more into the game. Several baskets by the Bucs ensued. Final score was 41-61.
Lake had too many turnovers, allowed the other team too many offensive rebounds in the third quarter(8), and got played even in the second half (each team scored 30 points) due partly to the kindness of the Lake squad. The Falcons have plenty of areas to work on in preparation for their big game with Creek on Friday night.How did the other Clear Lake teams do?
Clear Lake teams won all the games by wide margins with the exception of the Freshman A Team which lost by 4 in the last few seconds. In the Freshman B Team game, Falcon Ben Hardy scored 10 three pointers (unofficially, a school record)
In other district action Clear Creek beat Alvin at Creek by 33-31 on a tip-in by Lance Pevehouse with 5 seconds remaining in the game. It was his only basket of the game. In the first quarter Creek was held scoreless. In the fourth quarter Alvin scored 3 points and Clear Creek scored 4. In other action, Clear Brook lost at Pearland 42-31.
Individual Scoring:
Kendrell Thompson 21 (10 of 12 from the field) (8 rebounds), Fulton Brisco 11 (7 rebounds, 5 of 6 from the field), Armie Lewis 10 (6 rebounds),
Justin Kurtz 6, RJ Turner 6, Ross Maha 3, Jimmy Witten 3, Christian Enriquez 1.
Turnovers 16
|
FALCON STATS |
FG made |
FG attempts |
% |
|
2's |
24 |
45 |
53.3% |
|
3's |
1 |
4 |
25.0% |
|
free throws |
10 |
18 |
55.5% |
|
SCORE BY QUARTER |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
Clear Lake |
16 |
31 |
51 |
61 |
|
Brazoswood |
5 |
11 |
21 |
41 |
|
LINESCORE |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Final |
|
Clear Lake |
16 |
15 |
20 |
10 |
61 |
|
Brazoswood |
5 |
6 |
10 |
20 |
41 |
|
REBOUNDS |
LAKE |
THEM |
|
Offensive |
13 |
12 |
|
Defensive |
18 |
7 |
Clear Lake 49 – Pearland 37
It is always a very good sign if Justin Kurtz hits his first three point attempt or Kendrell Thompson makes a basket on his first shot or Jimmy Witten starts out with the first steal of the game. Tonight, in a must win contest in Clear Lake’s gym, all three of these happened and then some. The Falcons had prevailed over Pearland in first round action by a score of 62-51 in Pearland but the outcome of tonight’s game was not a lock for Lake. The two teams were tied for second place with 4-2 district records coming in to tonight’s game so a spot in the playoffs might be determined with this meeting. With the three top teams in the district advancing to the playoffs (which begin the third week in February), one thing is certain, a win would definitely improve the team’s chances of making it to the playoffs.
Because they understood what was at stake, both teams came ready to play. The game started on a positive note for Clear Lake when Kendrell hit a trey on his first shot after Jimmy Witten stole the ball. The Oilers answered with 5 points of their own to take the early lead but it would not last. A basket by RJ Turner tied it at 5 before Pearland scored at the 2:27 mark. With just over 2 minutes remaining in the first quarter Justin hit his first shot, a signature three pointer, to put Lake back in the lead 8-7. It went to 12-8 when Armie Lewis drove the baseline from the right side, went under the basket, and passed over to Fulton Brisco on the left wing. With 1:20 remaining Fulton hit a jumper from 14 feet. Throughout the game the Falcons played the best defense they have played since district played started and they protected the baseline better than they have all season. Ironic considering Pearland is consistently known as one of the best defensive teams around. Double teaming payed off when Lake was awarded the ball after a closely guarded five second call at mid-court on Pearland. Justin hit a jumper from the center before the quarter closed at 14-8. So far, so good.
In the second quarter back-to-back steals by Ross Maha and Andy Leveque helped the crowd breathe a little easier after Andy made a great spin move to score from the left side. 16-11, Lake up by 5. Pearland scored four unanswered points to narrow the gap to 16-15 before Kendrell shot the first Clear Lake free throw with 3:25 remaining in the half. With the foul count at 8 and 7, Kendrell hit the first of two charity tosses. Another steal and a pass to Kendrell led to a basket and a successful free throw to put Lake back up by 5, 20-15. Lake went to the dressing room at halftime with the score a close 23-19. No offensive rebounds but the Falcons shot 50% from the field during the first half and from the free throw line (9 of 18, 2 of 4 FT’s). Pearland got numerous offensive rebounds so the score was a real testament to Clear Lake’s defense. In the half the Oilers went 3 of 8 from the charity line which helped Lake’s cause.
In the third quarter the Falcons shot a dismal 3 of 11 from the field. With less than a minute gone in the quarter, RJ was relegated to the bench on his third called foul. Pearland scored 5 points before Justin hit a three pointer from the top of the arch to make it 26-21. Just before midway through the quarter Pearland got repeated offensive rebounds and attempts before Justin had enough and leaped up to take command of the ball (man, do we miss Jon Gilmer). After a basket by Armie Lewis off Justin’s rebound, with 2:40 remaining in the quarter and Pearland playing really good defense, Kurtz again displayed his quick leaping and strong release when he nailed another three pointer despite being closely guarded. When Justin is on, there are times when he appears unstoppable from outside. He can be closely guarded, with no apparent shot, and still leap up and sink a three pointer. With this shot, Kurtz again displayed that only Justin can stop Justin. 31-23, Lake up by 8. With 2:20 left in the third quarter Andy was fouled on a three point attempt. He hit two of three from the line to make the score 33-23. Some of the Lake crowd breathed a premature sigh of relief. With 1:34 remaining in the quarter, Andy left the game with an ankle injury and Pearland on their way to scoring 7 unanswered points. The quarter concluded with Lake barely ahead, 33-30.
Twenty six seconds into the final period Pearland sunk a three and tied the ball game for the third time. Another Oiler basket put them in the lead by 2. A good free throw by Kendrell and then one by Armie tied the game at 35. The second by Armie put Lake back up by 1. The Falcons played some hully gully ball in the fourth quarter which finally ended when Armie hurriedly brought the ball down and passed to RJ at the 3:05 remaining mark. RJ hit a jumper from the right side to make the score 40-35. This would be Lake’s only field goal of the quarter. With 1:49 remaining and desperation beginning to creep in, Pearland called time out with the score 40-35. Four consecutive free throws by Jimmy, three by RJ, and two by Armie increased the lead to 12 but the score does not indicate how close the game was until Pearland went into desperation mode and began fouling. The final score was 49-37. A good, close ball game and a very good win for the Falcons. In the final period Clear Lake went 1 of 11 from the field. 1 of 11 and they still won the ball game. Jimmy Witten played the best defensive game he has played all season and perhaps so did the team. In the fourth quarter the Falcons hit 14 of 16 free throws and held the Oilers to 7 points.
Jon Gilmer had knee surgery today and will not return this season. He is expected to be ready for football in August. The status of Andy Leveque is not yet known.
In other district games, Galveston Ball beat Clear Brook 58-48 and Alvin beat Brazoswood 69-55. In the region the Humble Wildcats upset the not-so-humble #2 Kingwood Mustangs 52-42.
Individual Scoring:
Justin Kurtz 13,
Kendrell Thompson 8 (5 rebounds), RJ Turner 7, Andy Leveque 6, Armie Lewis 6, Jimmy Witten 4 (5 rebounds), Christian Enriquez 3, Fulton Brisco 2
11 turnovers ( lowest all season)
It is always a very good sign if Justin Kurtz hits his first three point attempt or Kendrell Thompson makes a basket on his first shot or Jimmy Witten starts out with the first steal of the game. Tonight, in a must win contest in Clear Lake’s gym, all three of these happened and then some. The Falcons had prevailed over Pearland in first round action by a score of 62-51 in Pearland but the outcome of tonight’s game was not a lock for Lake. The two teams were tied for second place with 4-2 district records coming in to tonight’s game so a spot in the playoffs might be determined with this meeting. With the three top teams in the district advancing to the playoffs (which begin the third week in February), one thing is certain, a win would definitely improve the team’s chances of making it to the playoffs.
Because they understood what was at stake, both teams came ready to play. The game started on a positive note for Clear Lake when Kendrell hit a trey on his first shot after Jimmy Witten stole the ball. The Oilers answered with 5 points of their own to take the early lead but it would not last. A basket by RJ Turner tied it at 5 before Pearland scored at the 2:27 mark. With just over 2 minutes remaining in the first quarter Justin hit his first shot, a signature three pointer, to put Lake back in the lead 8-7. It went to 12-8 when Armie Lewis drove the baseline from the right side, went under the basket, and passed over to Fulton Brisco on the left wing. With 1:20 remaining Fulton hit a jumper from 14 feet. Throughout the game the Falcons played the best defense they have played since district played started and they protected the baseline better than they have all season. Ironic considering Pearland is consistently known as one of the best defensive teams around. Double teaming payed off when Lake was awarded the ball after a closely guarded five second call at mid-court on Pearland. Justin hit a jumper from the center before the quarter closed at 14-8. So far, so good.
In the second quarter back-to-back steals by Ross Maha and Andy Leveque helped the crowd breathe a little easier after Andy made a great spin move to score from the left side. 16-11, Lake up by 5. Pearland scored four unanswered points to narrow the gap to 16-15 before Kendrell shot the first Clear Lake free throw with 3:25 remaining in the half. With the foul count at 8 and 7, Kendrell hit the first of two charity tosses. Another steal and a pass to Kendrell led to a basket and a successful free throw to put Lake back up by 5, 20-15. Lake went to the dressing room at halftime with the score a close 23-19. No offensive rebounds but the Falcons shot 50% from the field during the first half and from the free throw line (9 of 18, 2 of 4 FT’s). Pearland got numerous offensive rebounds so the score was a real testament to Clear Lake’s defense. In the half the Oilers went 3 of 8 from the charity line which helped Lake’s cause.
In the third quarter the Falcons shot a dismal 3 of 11 from the field. With less than a minute gone in the quarter, RJ was relegated to the bench on his third called foul. Pearland scored 5 points before Justin hit a three pointer from the top of the arch to make it 26-21. Just before midway through the quarter Pearland got repeated offensive rebounds and attempts before Justin had enough and leaped up to take command of the ball (man, do we miss Jon Gilmer). After a basket by Armie Lewis off Justin’s rebound, with 2:40 remaining in the quarter and Pearland playing really good defense, Kurtz again displayed his quick leaping and strong release when he nailed another three pointer despite being closely guarded. When Justin is on, there are times when he appears unstoppable from outside. He can be closely guarded, with no apparent shot, and still leap up and sink a three pointer. With this shot, Kurtz again displayed that only Justin can stop Justin. 31-23, Lake up by 8. With 2:20 left in the third quarter Andy was fouled on a three point attempt. He hit two of three from the line to make the score 33-23. Some of the Lake crowd breathed a premature sigh of relief. With 1:34 remaining in the quarter, Andy left the game with an ankle injury and Pearland on their way to scoring 7 unanswered points. The quarter concluded with Lake barely ahead, 33-30.
Twenty six seconds into the final period Pearland sunk a three and tied the ball game for the third time. Another Oiler basket put them in the lead by 2. A good free throw by Kendrell and then one by Armie tied the game at 35. The second by Armie put Lake back up by 1. The Falcons played some hully gully ball in the fourth quarter which finally ended when Armie hurriedly brought the ball down and passed to RJ at the 3:05 remaining mark. RJ hit a jumper from the right side to make the score 40-35. This would be Lake’s only field goal of the quarter. With 1:49 remaining and desperation beginning to creep in, Pearland called time out with the score 40-35. Four consecutive free throws by Jimmy, three by RJ, and two by Armie increased the lead to 12 but the score does not indicate how close the game was until Pearland went into desperation mode and began fouling. The final score was 49-37. A good, close ball game and a very good win for the Falcons. In the final period Clear Lake went 1 of 11 from the field. 1 of 11 and they still won the ball game. Jimmy Witten played the best defensive game he has played all season and perhaps so did the team. In the fourth quarter the Falcons hit 14 of 16 free throws and held the Oilers to 7 points.
Jon Gilmer had knee surgery today and will not return this season. He is expected to be ready for football in August. The status of Andy Leveque is not yet known.
In other district games, Galveston Ball beat Clear Brook 58-48 and Alvin beat Brazoswood 69-55. In the region the Humble Wildcats upset the not-so-humble #2 Kingwood Mustangs 52-42.
Individual Scoring:
Justin Kurtz 13,
Kendrell Thompson 8 (5 rebounds), RJ Turner 7, Andy Leveque 6, Armie Lewis 6, Jimmy Witten 4 (5 rebounds), Christian Enriquez 3, Fulton Brisco 2
11 turnovers ( lowest all season)
|
FALCON STATS |
FG made |
FG attempts |
% |
|
2's |
8 |
26 |
30.7% |
|
3's |
5 |
14 |
35.7% |
|
free throws |
18 |
23 |
78.2% |
|
SCORE BY QUARTER |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
Clear Lake |
14 |
23 |
33 |
49 |
|
Pearland |
8 |
19 |
30 |
37 |
|
LINESCORE |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Final |
|
Clear Lake |
14 |
9 |
10 |
16 |
49 |
|
Pearland |
88 |
11 |
11 |
7 |
37 |
|
REBOUNDS |
LAKE |
THEM |
|
Offensive |
6 |
16 |
|
Defensive |
14 |
18 |
Clear Lake 56 - Galveston Ball 54
Posted by Donald Wilkerson at Jan 23, 2006 4:00PM PST
( 0 Comments
)
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 |
