Clear Lake Falconhoops

CCISD Tournament December 4, 2004 Day 3, Game 2 Clear Brook Game 14 of the season (8-6 record) Lake 48, Brook 42 On Saturday evening, December 4, 2004, in the final games of the Tournament, Clear Lake had a better basketball team than Clear Brook. Why? Talent and depth are two possible reasons. Brook has Drew Washington, Louisiana Tech signee and their star who scored 20 points and was often unstoppable. Beyond that, they do not match up too well against Lake who has a more balanced team despite the impression the Brook coaches might have. Lake is sometimes perceived by some opponents as having Gordon Abner and little else. This is a mistake that Lake wants their opponents to make. Clear Lake is a team missing a starting guard due to football but they are not a one man team. Clear Brook’s strategy to win was to shut down Gordon Abner, which they mostly did. Gordon went 1 of 7 from the field. But Brook still lost. Perhaps they thought that is most of what it would take. Good. If you shut down Drew Washington, you have beaten Brook. That will usually be true (based on who has been their high scorer to date). If you shut down Gordon Abner, you have beaten Lake. That is usually not true (if Lake plays any where near their potential). Shutting down Gordon is a viable strategy but it is insufficient when the Falcons’ determination coincides with their teamwork. (Gordon has been the leading scorer in eight of the fourteen games played this season). In the contest to determine third place in the 72nd Annual Clear Creek ISD Classic, Lake prevailed over Clear Brook although it certainly wasn’t due to Lake’s shooting from the field. The Falcons were 1 of 11 from the field in first quarter. For the game, Lake shot 43% of their 2’s and a dismal 15% of their three point attempts (2 of 13). So how did they do it? Defense, teamwork, hustle, determination, will to win, and competent free throw shooting. (Let’s don’t tell anyone about the excellent support off the bench by Jordan Villarreal and Andy Leveque making a significant difference as well). The Falcons were playing without their ace three point shooter, Brandon Wynn, who is in an ankle cast and on crutches after injuring his ankle in an earlier game. In a very close match, Clear Lake trailed most of the first half until sophomore Kendrell Thompson hit a trey at the top of the circle to tie it at 19 with 30 seconds remaining in the half. They went to the locker room with Brook leading with a score of 21-19. In the third quarter teamwork and very good defense was the key. Only 30 seconds into the third quarter, a nice arching shot from five feet by Gordon on a well executed play tied it at 21. In the second half of the third period, Lake took control. It was tied again at 25 with four minutes remaining in the quarter when Kendrell pulled up from a 3 on 2 attack and sunk the basket. With 2:50 left in the third, a bucket by Justin Kurtz put Lake ahead 27-25 for the first Lake lead in the game. A steal by Kendrell on an in-bounds by Brook, followed by Kendrell driving to the hole and scoring made it 29-25 Lake. A basket and a free throw by Armie Lewis brought it to 32-25. A chip shot by Justin Kurtz in the paint at 10’ made it 34-25 at the end of the third. Brook was denied for over four minutes of the quarter and only scored 4 points in the period. In the fourth quarter good defense and the combination of sophomore Armie Lewis penetrating or timely passes to the inside to Mark Murphy helped make the difference. Murphy was “in a zone”. When he wasn’t causing a Brook turnover he was slipping unnoticed under the basket for an easy 2 points or getting a key offensive rebound. Mark scored 10 points in the final period and led his team with 12. Final score was 48-42. The Falcons hit 16 of 21 from the charity stripe during this outing, the best of the season. Good hustle, good play selection combined with good teamwork and good free throw shooting make happy Clear Lake parents and fans. Scoring for the Falcons: Murphy 12, Thompson 11, Kurtz 9, Abner 7, Lewis 5, Leveque 4 2’s: 13 of 30 (43%) 3’s: 2 of 13 (15%) Free throws: 16 of 21 (76%) FINALLY!!! Scoring by quarter: Clear Lake: 7-12-15-14 Clear Brook: 8-13-4-17