News and Announcements
Clear Lake Outlasts Brazoswood 80-62
January 6, 2006
Tonight in the first round of district play the Clear Lake Falcons took on the Brazoswood Buccaneers in what some described as an ugly foul fest of a win. Armie Lewis led all scorers with a game high 20 points. Perhaps the Falcons assumed an easy win over the Buccs? In what might be described as a temporary lapse, the Falcons came out relaxed and confident and proceeded to trail the Buccs most of the first half due partly to pinpoint shooting by Brazoswood. But the notion of losing to Brazoswood plus a caustic half time “discussion” in the locker room seemed to jolt the Falcons back on track as they picked up the pace and got back on track most of the very close second half.
In the first quarter Justin Kurtz got two quick steals to start things off. With 4:30 left in the quarter Lake led 6-4 before the Buccs took the lead 6-8. Armie Lewis’s first of four steals enabled Kendrell Thompson to drive down and tie the game at 8. It was tied again at 10 but then the Falcons would trail the Buccs for most of the first half. The first quarter ended with Brazoswood up 12-16.
In the first two minutes of the second quarter the Buccs stretched their lead to 7 when they went up 13-20. While they continued to enjoy a very high shooting percentage in the first half the Buccs increased their lead to 10 when the score went to 15-25 at the 5:20 mark. With the notion of losing to Brazoswood beginning to creep into people’s consciousness as Lake made several trips down the court without scoring, Kendrell Thompson hit a three to bring it to 18-25 before Andy Leveque nailed a trey to make it 21-25. With 2:50 left in the half a steal by Armie and a basket by Jimmy Witten made it 25-29. Two free throws by Witten made it 27-29 as a lot of sloppy ball in the last two minutes of the first half of the “foul fest” was witnessed. The half closed with Lake down by 1, 32-33.
In the first minute of the second half Armie came out and hit a quick basket enabled by Justin’s third of five steals. Lake took the lead and would not trail again. Three successive baskets and a free throw by RJ Turner brought the score to 41-35. Brazoswood closed the gap to 2, 46-44 when their number 5, Justin Thursby, who seemed to hit everything he threw up there, nailed another field goal (Thursby, the Buccs only scorer in double figures with 16 points for the outing, seemed unstoppable until Fulton Brisco was assigned to stop him). A basket by Kendrell and two very timely assists by Ross Maha to Jon Gilmer under the basket brought the score to 50-46 (Gilmer had 7 of his 9 points in the third quarter). With 1:03 remaining in the third, the score at 50-48, and the Buccs at the free throw line, they missed two free throws but made the next two to tie the score at 50. So far, one of the most exciting Lake/Brazoswood games in about 16 years. 2+1 from Kendrell plus a jumper from the paint by Jon Gilmer closed the quarter at 55-50. The foul count was 7 and 6.
In the first fifteen seconds of the final quarter Armie hit a three to set the tone (Lewis scored 15 points in the fourth quarter), 58-50, but the Buccs countered with a quick basket as well. The score went to 64-55 at the 4:55 mark when Armie found Jimmy wide open under the basket for a layup. Then five successive free throws by Armie, baskets by Armie and Jon and then five more free throws by Armie brought it to 78-62. Final score was 80-62 after RJ nailed a couple of free throws.
The final score did not indicate how close this game was. The ultimate dominance by the Falcons in the final quarter was exemplified by better team play, the strength of Clear Lake’s reserves off the bench throughout the game, the offensive prowess of Armie Lewis (fifteen points,10 of 12 free throws, four rebounds, a steal , and two assists in the fourth quarter), better free throw shooting in the second half, and the noticeably outstanding defense of Fulton Brisco. The Falcons scored 32 points on free throws in the game. The Buccs went 18 of 22 from the free throw line. Officiating was mediocre at best.
In other district action, Pearland defeated Clear Brook and Clear Creek beat Alvin.
Individual Scoring:
Armie Lewis 20 (4 steals, 6 assists, 4 rebounds),
Kendrell Thompson 19, RJ Turner 12, Jimmy Witten 10,
Jon Gilmer 9, Andy Leveque 6, Ross Maha 2, Justin Kurtz 2 (5 steals)
12 steals, 11 turnovers
|
FALCON STATS |
FG made |
FG attempts |
% |
|
2's |
18 |
47 |
38% |
|
3's |
4 |
14 |
29% |
|
free throws |
32 |
45 |
71% |
|
SCORE BY QUARTER |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
Clear Lake |
12 |
32 |
55 |
80 |
|
Brazoswood |
16 |
33 |
50 |
62 |
|
LINESCORE |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Final |
|
Clear Lake |
12 |
20 |
23 |
25 |
80 |
|
Brazoswood |
16 |
17 |
17 |
12 |
62 |
|
REBOUNDS |
US |
THEM |
|
Offensive |
11 |
|
|
Defensive |
17 |
Clear Creek Edges Clear Lake 76-70
January 10, 2006
George Carlisle Field House
After the Clear Lake Falcons defeated the Clear Creek Wildcats in the semifinal round of the CCISD Tournament back in early December, Creek’s astute coach, Buddy Carlisle, knew what he had to do to prevent another defeat by Clear Lake. He had to stop Lake’s scoring from the wings by Justin Kurtz and Kendrell Thompson and he had to get better production out of his big man, 6’9” Coy Custer. In the first match-up Custer had been neutralized and Lake’s defensive quickness had minimized their shooting ace, Lance Pevehouse. Carlisle knew his team was better now and Custer has been averaging 14 rebounds per game for the last few games.
Creek came out in a rarely seen 1-3-1 defense which proved to be effective (probably beyond Carlisle’s expectations). With Creek scoring almost each time down the court and Lake having only a passing drill to try to find a weakness in Creek's defense, Lake’s repeated turnovers due to the intense defensive pressure from Creek spotted the Wildcats 12 points before the Falcons got on the board. At this point it was beginning to look like it would be a long night for the Falcons. Finally, baskets by Armie Lewis and Jimmy Witten helped a little. Six Lake turnovers in the quarter did not. Consistently poor officiating in the quarter did not help either. The Falcons went six minutes and twenty seconds in the first quarter before they made their first basket. By the end of a tense first quarter, Creek was eligible to shoot 1 and 1 free throws and the score was 12-4, Creek up by only 8.
Fifty seconds into the second period Creek’s Lance Pevehouse, on his way to a game high 25 points, hit one of his signature three’s to make it 15-4. The score went to 22-9 with 5:21 remaining in the second quarter. At this point the strategic changes made by Lake’s coaches started to kick in and the Falcons decided they had had enough so they started their comeback. Jon Gilmer, who has shown steady improvement in almost every game in the last three weeks, hit a basket followed by one from Andy Leveque. A basket by Armie Lewis before Justin Kurtz hit his second of three three’s in the quarter and a free throw from Justin made it 25-20, Lake down by 5 with 3:17 remaining in the quarter. Then a clever steal by Fulton Brisco on Creek’s in-bounds pass made it 25-22. A steal by Armie and a basket by Kendrell Thompson made it 27-26 with 1:06 left in the half. A free throw by Kendrell tied it at 27. Lake went ahead for the first time 27-29 when Jon Gilmer hit a jumper from twelve feet. What a comeback. Talk about making us proud! With seconds left in the half Andy Leveque tried to get position to take a charge when Creek drove to the basket from the left side but the official called it a block. Too much disapproval of the call by Leveque when he displayed his emotions resulted in a technical foul on Lake. Creek made all four free throws and scored on the possession, a costly six point mistake but hopefully a valuable lesson. At the half Creek led 33-29. The foul count was 4 and 10 (10 on Clear Lake).
In the third quarter three treys by Creek and three by Lake made it 41-38. A basket by Fulton and two free throws by RJ Turner tied it at 47 with 2:52 remaining in the quarter. This was the fourth of five ties in the game. A steal by Armie enabled Fulton to drive to the basket for a layup (see the picture on the Welcome Page of the web site) but Creek’s Pevehouse blocked the shot. Armie was there to retrieve the ball and put it in to bring the score to 53-49. A rebound and score by Jon after a missed layup by RJ ended the quarter 54-51.
Thirty six seconds into the final period Justin hit his fifth three of the game to tie the game at 54. At 6:54 left in the game, Jimmy Witten fouled out. The foul count was 3-8. Each team traded three point baskets when Creek hit two three’s and Kendrell (at 6:10 left) and Jon hit three’s to make it 62-60. With 4:10 remaining the foul count was 4-10 so Creek went to the double bonus. Clear Lake shot 8 of 9 free throws in the game; Clear Creek shot 29 of 35! Talk about the refs stinking up the gym. Come on fellas, you gotta try harder. It was a very physical game. Surely there were many fouls Lake committed that the refs did not call but the same is true for Creek. The calls were just too one-sided at times. Three junior refs, none of whom had four seasons of varsity experience, will do that. With 2:38 remaining, 67-62, Creek continued their stall. At 1:20 it was 70-66 with a foul count of 6 and 12. Two missed shots by Kendrell but a rebound by Armie Lewis over Creek’s 6’9” Coy Custer and Armie’s shot over Custer made it 71-68. With 20 seconds showing on the clock it was 73-70 when RJ made an exciting layup. Still a thriller of a game despite missed shots by Lake in the final seconds and an imbalance in the fouls called. Final foul count was 6 and 14 in the second half. Lake shot 3 of 10 three’s in the fourth quarter. The final score was 76-70. Creek outscored Lake 29 to 8 from the free throw line.
Clear Creek is ranked 15th in the region this season by the Houston Chronicle. Lake is unranked and not even supposed to make the playoffs. Yeah, right. In other district action Pearland beat Galveston Ball and Brazoswood defeated Clear Brook. The district is very balanced this season.
Individual Scoring:
Justin Kurtz 17, Kendrell Thompson 15, Jon Gilmer 11, Armie Lewis 11 (5 rebounds, 5 steals)
RJ Turner 8 (6 assists), Fulton Brisco 4, Jimmy Witten 2, Andy Leveque 2
|
FALCON STATS |
FG made |
FG attempts |
% |
|
2's |
16 |
34 |
47% |
|
3's |
10 |
28 |
36% |
|
free throws |
8 |
9 |
89% |
|
SCORE BY QUARTER |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
Clear Lake |
4 |
29 |
51 |
70 |
|
Clear Creek |
12 |
33 |
54 |
76 |
|
LINESCORE |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Final |
|
Clear Lake |
4 |
25 |
22 |
19 |
70 |
|
Clear Creek |
12 |
21 |
21 |
22 |
76 |
|
REBOUNDS |
US |
THEM |
|
Offensive |
10 |
|
|
Defensive |
7 |
It was Friday the 13th. It was ugly. We lost.
Individual Scoring:
Jimmy Witten 12, Kendrell Thompson 10,
RJ Turner 8, Armie Lewis 5 , Justin Kurtz 4, Andy Leveque 3, Jon Gilmer 3, Fulton Brisco 1
|
FALCON STATS |
FG made |
FG attempts |
% |
|
2's |
15 |
29 |
51.7% |
|
3's |
1 |
9 |
11.1% |
|
free throws |
13 |
30 |
43% |
|
SCORE BY QUARTER |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
Clear Lake |
13 |
29 |
35 |
46 |
|
Alvin |
14 |
34 |
39 |
51 |
|
LINESCORE |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Final |
|
Clear Lake |
13 |
16 |
6 |
11 |
46 |
|
Alvin |
14 |
20 |
5 |
12 |
51 |
|
REBOUNDS |
US |
THEM |
|
Offensive |
7 |
13 |
|
Defensive |
8 |
13 |
January 3, 2006
Tonight in the district 24-5A opener between the Pearland Oilers and the Clear Lake Falcons an unusual thing happened. The Oilers got 38 rebounds in the game; the Falcons got 11 but won the game. The rebounding was not surprising but to some the Falcon win was (the jumping jack Oilers are taller and have longer arms than the Falcons. This will be true for most of the teams the Falcons face this year in district play). For the Falcons to beat teams who will surely out-rebound them, the key is to play smart basketball with good ball control, accurate shooting from the field overall, making their free throws count, and getting as many steals as possible, in other words, controlling the tempo of the game. If you let down in any one aspect of the game, it will be especially tough to win because you will usually only get one shot at the basket before the other team gets the ball. Lead by Armie Lewis, tonight the Falcons pulled back the covers in the first round of district play just enough to show what they are capable of. Yes, they did only get 11 rebounds (one or two offensive rebounds depending on whose stats you believe), but they got 11 steals, hit 6 of 10 from three point land, and 14 of 21 from the free throw line. Armie Lewis went 7 for 7 from the charity stripe to lead all scorers with a game high 19 points. The closely contested game was tied four times and the lead changed five times. In the first quarter the Falcons went 1 of 6 from two point range but went 4 of 6 from three point land. Justin Kurtz hit two threes and Armie hit two as well. At the 1:20 mark with an assist from RJ Turner, Jon Gilmer drove to the basket to make it 10-11, Lake’s only two point basket of the period. Armie’s second trey brought it to 12-14, Lake up by two. A basket by the Oilers tied it at 14 to close the quarter. With 6:20 remaining in the second quarter the Oilers took the lead for the first time 19-18. Then Justin got the ball on the right wing and quickly flicked it in to Jon Gilmer to score underneath.19-20, Lake by 1. With the score 22-20 at 5 minutes remaining in the first half, speed demon Andy Leveque drove to the basket in heavy traffic to tie it at 22, the third tie of the game. The Oilers’ leading scorer in the game,Kendrick Thompson, not to be confused with the Falcons’ Kendrell Thompson, drained another trey to put Pearland back in the lead. With a lot of hard work in the trenches, Jimmy Witten laid it in to make it 25-24. Another hard earned basket by Witten put Lake ahead 25-26 with 2:25 left in the first half. After a successful free throw by Kendrell Thompson, Lake was up by two. The next time down the court Kendrell made an impressive swiveling spin toward the basket on one of his in-close, unstoppable moves and a last second dish off to Armie eagerly awaiting the ball to the left side of the hoop. After the basket and a free throw by Armie the score was 27-30, Lake by 3, with 1:27 left in the second quarter. Kendrell then nailed his only trey of the game to make it 29-33 with 50 seconds remaining. The half closed with Lake ahead 31-35. A productive 21 point quarter for Lake but only 4 defensive rebounds in the half and no offensive rebounds (this from a team that averages 26 rebounds per game). In the second half RJ Turner stole the ball and passed to Justin in the paint to score and make it 31-37. Almost halfway through the third quarter it was a two point ball game 35-37. A steal and a basket by Kendrell made it 36-39. With 2:20 remaining in the third period, RJ Turner, on a sweeping cross court drive from right to left, sliced around to the basket and made an underhanded layup to make it 38-42. With 1:20 showing on the clock a hard fought basket by Jon Gilmer on an assist from Jimmy Witten made it 38-44 before Pearland hit a quick three to narrow the gap. An impressive three point shot by Andy Leveque off the glass made it 41-47 to close the quarter with Lake ahead by 6. The fourth quarter opened with a basket by Andy, a free throw by Jimmy Witten and a really slick play by Andy on the wing with a pass in to Armie for the layup to made it 45-52. A Pearland fast break charge to the basket and an obvious two points was then spoiled by Andy when he took the charge and got knocked down (Leveque leads the team in charges taken). Plenty of smart basketball by Lake. With just under two minutes remaining in the intense game, Armie stole the ball, drove the length of the floor closely guarded by two Oiler defenders but scored the layup anyway (49-56 Lake). Then Andy took another charge to deny Pearland’s big man a basket in the paint. Pearland started intentionally fouling with 1:11 left and the score at 49-56. With 51 seconds remaining in the game and Lake in their stall offense, the Falcons worked the ball in to Jimmy Witten for an easy, open layup. Witten was massively fouled at the height of his jump and fell to the floor head first. Both players lay motionless as the hush fell over the crowd after the gasps subsided. Apparently unconscious for awhile, Witten was revived and helped off the court after almost eight minutes passed. The blood from the puncture in his head may have been from his opponent’s tooth. With 31 seconds remaining Lake was up by 10, 49-59. Final score was 51-62 despite the Falcons missing 5 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter. A good win from a team that some expected to finish in the bottom half of the standings in the district. (Smiley face goes here).
Individual Scoring:
Armie Lewis 19 (4 steals), Justin Kurtz 10
Andy Leveque 9, Kendrell Thompson 8, Jimmy Witten 6, Jon Gilmer 6, RJ Turner 4.
|
FALCON STATS |
FG made |
FG attempts |
% |
|
2's |
15 |
35 |
43% |
|
3's |
6 |
10 |
60% |
|
free throws |
14 |
21 |
0% |
|
SCORE BY QUARTER |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
Clear Lake |
14 |
35 |
47 |
62 |
|
Pearland |
14 |
31 |
41 |
51 |
|
LINESCORE |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Final |
|
Clear Lake |
14 |
21 |
12 |
15 |
62 |
|
Pearland |
14 |
17 |
10 |
10 |
51 |
|
REBOUNDS |
US |
THEM |
|
Offensive |
1 |
18 |
|
Defensive |
10 |
20 |
