Clear Lake Falconhoops

Falcons Rout St. Andrews 72-40 Every once in awhile you need a game like Chavez, or South Houston, or even Pasadena Memorial to boost your morale. Such was the meeting between the Falcons and the St. Andrews Saints from Ridgeland Mississippi in the second round of the Poplar Bluff Showdown. Minus their big man who was recruited by another team and abruptly left the team after the start of the season, the fledging St. Andrews squad was composed of only two seniors and a “mass” of underclassmen. The outcome of the match was determined in the opening minutes when Clear Lake came out strong with an early lead which grew and grew. With 4:52 left in the first quarter the score was 19-2 when Armie Lewis fed Kendrell Thompson for a basket. The rout was apparent early. With 1:15 remaining the score was 25-5. The quarter ended at 28-9. The team was relaxed and confident and played well. A night’s rest can make a big difference. The second quarter was similar. Two minutes into the quarter it was 35-11. Then it was 41-11 with three minutes remaining in the half. The half ended at 48-17 when Kendrell hits a three on a feed from Armie. The foul count was 4 and 12. The 12 was Clear Lake. At the end of three it was 64-26 and the final was 72-40 due to a benevolent Falcon squad that called off the dogs very soon in the game. The reserves were summoned early. Everyone got to play and score with the exception of Jordan Villarreal who was experiencing a bout of illness and Brandon Wynn who is still nursing an injured ankle. Jimmy Witten played in his first varsity game. The Falcons appear to be among the best three or four teams in the eight team shootout despite their poor performance in the first game. The Falcons meet the Memphis East Mustangs in the Consolation final at 5:30, December 30. It should be a good game between two well matched teams. Let’s hope the Falcons get a good night’s rest and are as composed as they were today. On a side note, Gordon Abner took second in the slam dunk contest held Wednesday. The winner of the slamdunk was, of course, Tyler Hansbrough*. It is significant to note that Gordon did beat out Ben Hansbrough in the slam dunk contest on his home turf. Scoring by Quarter: 28-20-16-12 Us 09-08-09-14 Them Scoring for the Falcons: Gordon Abner 13, Justin Kurtz 11, Scott Oswald 10, Armie Lewis 10, David Pearce 7, Mark Murphy 6, Kendrell Thompson 6, Lee Mazurek 5, Andy Leveque 2, Jimmy Witten 2. 2’s:20 of 38 (53%) 3’s: 8 of 20 (40%) Free throws: 8 of 9 (89%) *Local orthopedic M.D. Eugene Hansbrough has three sons who are athletes. Tyler, the middle son, is the 6’9” big man for the Poplar Bluff Mules. Tyler is ranked from first to fifth among the nation’s big seniors and, if you see him play, you know why. Tyler has signed a letter of intent with North Carolina. Ben, a 6’4”junior, is the starting point guard for the Mules. The oldest son, also a gifted athlete, has been operated on for a brain tumor which has left him partially paralyzed on one side. Despite medical experts claiming he would never walk again, he recently ran in a marathon!!