Clear Lake Falconhoops

Falcons Sail by Buccaneers 70-50 “It was just another game” – Rudy Tomjanovich Coach T could have been talking about the Clear Lake – Brazoswood game rather than the Rockets and the L. A. Lakers contest Friday night. There was nothing different about the long, boring drive down to Brazoswood or the outcome of the contest as the Falcons reigned over the Buccaneers. The game did get closer than the Falcons are accustomed to in the second quarter which made it somewhat more interesting than a usual Brazoswood game. The Bucs coach is coming along nicely. The game started like most games with Brazoswood with the Falcons scoring 8 before the Bucs got on the board. The Bucs did not get a shot at the hoop in the first 2:15 of the game due to solid defense by the Falcons. At the mid point of the first quarter, Mark Murphy got a rebound and a putback to bring the score to 14-3. The quarter closed at 16-9 in Lake’s favor. In the second quarter, the Bucs pulled within 4 before the Falcons pulled away again. Midway through the quarter it was 22-14. At 2:10 remaining, it was 22-20. It looked as if we might have a ball game for a moment when heads-up play by Lee Mazurek found Justin Kurtz under the basket for an easy layup. 24-20 Lake. With just over a minute remaining in the half, Gordon Abner forced a steal. Kendrell Thompson got the ball and, after advancing to mid-court, passed to G for a slam dunk. G was fouled and his free throw brought it to 27-22. The half closed at 29-26, Lake up by 3 (probably one of the two closest halftime scores in the Lake/Brazoswood game since Brazoswood joined the district). In the third quarter, halftime adjustments by Coach McDonald made it a different ball game. The Falcons outscored the Bucs 26 to 7 in the quarter. Scott, Gordon, Mark, and Kendrell really went to work on offense and Lake widened their lead to 22 points due to tenacious defense by the Falcons and accurate free throw shooting (11 of 16 for the quarter). In the final period, Lake called off the dogs with the score 63-40 and the Bucs outscored the Falcons 17 to 15 in the quarter. Lake shot the ball 9 times from the field in the quarter, mostly in the first four minutes of the period. The final score was 70-50 despite the score reported in the Houston Chronicle, the correct score was 70-50, not 68-50, as reported to the paper by the home team scorekeeper. Not that it matters, but the inexperienced scorekeeper for the Bucs appears to have dropped a score somewhere in the second quarter. Mistakes do happen. Fortunately, it was not a close game. Among the three top scorers for each team there was only a two point difference in total scoring when all three scores are added. The difference came from the well balanced scoring of all the Falcons. One of the few, maybe the only, 20 year old basketball players in the state on the high school level (thanks a bunch, UIL), the Bucs Kent Benedict, was held to 12 points, most of which were free throws, by very effective defense by the Falcons. Here is where the smiley face insert would go! One rules incident in the game requires some research. Early in the game, with Armie waiting to inbound the ball under the basket, Mark Murphy, with his back to Armie and the out-of-bounds line, steps slightly over the line as he is moving into position. The referee stops play and gives the ball to the other team. Huh? Later, it was revealed that the official (who has earlier this season been awarded by me the rank of one of the worst officials in this part of the state of Texas (a fairly exclusive club of only 3 or 4 members)) claimed a new rule change prohibits a second player to step out of bonds to “gain an advantage”. Although I am confident there is no current rule change to this effect (See the Rules Changes Page which list all changes to the rules for this season), I will research it more. In his third year of officiating and his first year to call varsity, this official did not do a particularly bad job in this game but he always does a mediocre to poor job when he officiates. Some people are just not good at what they do. We are seeing most games with one seasoned official and two junior officials this season. They have to learn somehow. The notion that an inexperienced referee, with only two seasons under his belt, can be allowed to call District varsity ball games for large 5A schools is a travesty brought on by the shortage of officials and the notion that more people will be attracted to the ranks of officials if they are allowed to call varsity games sooner. A common occurrence, but still a travesty. It is difficult to teach young people working so hard, fairness and respect for authority, when they see these officials mess up so much. The Falcons are now 13-10 for the season. Scoring for the Falcons Kendrell Thompson 15, Gordon Abner 11, Scott Oswald 11, Mark Murphy 9, Armie Lewis 8, Justin Kurtz 7, Jordan Villarreal 5, Lee Mazurek 3, Andy Leveque 1. Steals-19 Rebounds - 19 Turnovers – 12 Blocked shots - 1 Scoring by Quarter 16-13-26-15 Us 09-17-07-17 Them 2’s: 17 of 39 (44%) 3’s: 5 of 13 (38%) Free throws: 21 of 29 (72%)