Clear Lake Falconhoops

CCISD Tournament December 4, 2004 Day 3, Game 3 Nacogdoches (Pictures are on FALCONS ON THE COURT PAGE) Facing a team ranked sixth in the state in 4A can be a formidable challenge especially a team with one of the top junior big men in the state who plays all over the court and one of the best senior power forwards in the state as well. The Clear Lake Falcons knew they had their work cut out for them when they came up against the heralded Nacogdoches team. But the Lake boys were there to play. Nacogdoches did not dominate as some expected. They squeaked by. In the first quarter the score was tied at 11 when Gordon Abner hit two 3’s. He vigorously attacked the basket every time he got the ball. After Gordon missed both free throws after being fouled while driving, Mark Murphy stole the rebound and made the layup to put the Falcons up 13-11 with 55 seconds remaining in the quarter. Murphy made another basket to finish the quarter Lake 15, Doches 17. Both teams played tough defense at times. Lake scored one basket in the first 4 minutes and 20 seconds of the second quarter to bring the score to 17-21. With 1:10 remaining the score was 18-26 in favor of Doches. Nacogdoches increased the lead to 10, 18-28 with just under a minute left in the first half. A steal by Jordan Villarreal with 25 seconds left enabled Justin Kurtz to launch a trey which missed to close out the half 20-30, Lake down by 10. At 6:13 remaining in the third, Nacogdoches big man, #51, Jinsky Grigsby, got his third foul and had to sit out. Outstanding teamwork by Lake during this part of the game impressed the crowd. Kendrell drove to the hoop for two and then at 3:20 in the third Gordon made one of his signature moves in the paint to make the score 27-34 Doches. Gordon then blocked a shot under their basket and ran the length of the floor where a long pass from Armie Lewis found him. Gordon scored and was fouled (29-34) with 2:54 remaining in the third. Gordon hit the free throw to make the score 30-34. What a good ball game! A bit later Lewis hit two free throws to make the score 32-36. A very grueling third quarter closed out with the score 34-39 Nacogdoches. Both teams worked their butts off in this quarter. It was fun to watch. Early in the fourth quarter Nacogdoches #53, Jamarcus Skillern, was ejected after a flagrant foul on Lee Mazurek during a dead ball (at the start of the fourth quarter the foul count was Doches 7, Lake 1). At 5:47 remaining the score was 37-43, still with Doches up. Just before the five minute mark after a Doches score, the Dragons #55 Damion James (ranked #6 in the state among the juniors), coming down from a rebound and a putback in front of the basket delivered to Justin Kurtz a forceful, swift, intentional left elbow, which was not called by the refs, across Justin's face. Kurtz, wearing a face mask to prevent further injury to his nose which had been broken four times already, did not take kindly to the cheap shot, classless act. In an instant, reflex action, after he quit staggering from the elbow, Kurtz spun and delivered a very hard right punch to James’ abdomen which sent James to the floor in a crumpled heap. The officials did not see the elbow from James but they saw the punch from Kurtz. Concerned about the pain and further facial injury, Kurtz quickly removed his face protection and voluntarily started leaving the floor while raising his hand as he passed the scorer’s table almost before the refs could blow their whistle. After the game, Kurtz apologized to James but James did not acknowledge Kurtz and he did not apologize for the elbow he threw. Hopefully the popping noise heard when James’ elbow hit Justin was the mask and not Justin’s nose. After the game James refused to line up and respectfully acknowledge his competitors as we try to teach these boys. When the Nacogdoches coach, despite having already won the tournament’s "greatest complainer" trophy (awarded by me), showed some class and insisted James go acknowledge his rivals. James approached the Lake bench, but rather than speak to Kurtz, he acknowledged only Gordon Abner and then walked away. Back to the game. At 4:20 remaining 40-46. At 3:33, Gordon made two free throws to make it 43-48 before Doches sunk two quick baskets. At 2:23 remaining 43-52 Doches still in front. Another of Abner’s soon-to-be-famous moves across the paint from the right side of the basket to the center of the lane where he put up his signature shot and scored to make it 45-52 with two minutes remaining. Later, two successful free throws by G made it 47-52 with 1:20 left. With 33 seconds left, Mark Murphy hit a jumper from the free throw line to make it 49-56. Armie Lewis drove to the basket for a layup and was fouled but missed the free throw. Final score Lake 53- Nacogdoches 59. Gordon Abner finished with a game high 23 points. Nacogdoches had not played well in their two previous games in the tournament and had to come from behind in both games to win. They played much better in this game. Lake tends to bring out the best in some teams. This was a close ball game. It was a well “fought” contest but the Falcons could not quite overcome the advantage enjoyed by the ‘Doches bunch. In a game with this caliber of competition where a close contest is expected, free throws become very, very important. Lake could not hit key free throws when it mattered. The Falcons missed 10 free throws and lost by 6 points. This was a hard fought contest with excellent basketball played by both teams, reduced only by a few classless acts performed by more than one player on each team. How many times have we seen sneaky, intentional acts by players go unnoticed by the officials? Violence should never be encouraged or condoned, especially during a sporting event on the high school level, where young minds and young bodies are in a crucial, developmental stage. On the other hand, a frustrated player such as Damion James, may remember how it feels lying on the floor in agony gasping for breath due to the consequences of his malevolent actions. Perhaps a positive result of this incident will be that James, and hopefully some other players so inclined, will think twice before they consider throwing an intentional, possibly devastating elbow at someone's face. The Falcons next face Clear Brook to determine third place on the championship side of the bracket. Scoring for the Falcons: Abner 23 (7 of 11 FT’s), Murphy 12, Lewis 7, Mazurek 4, Leveque 3, Kurtz 2, Thompson 2 2’s: 15 of 39 (38%) 3’s: 3 of 8 (38%) Free throws: 14 of 24 (58%)ouch!!