Clear Lake Falconhoops

Birthday: 12-15-88 Jersey number: 21 Elementary school attended: North Pointe Elementary Intermediate school attended: Space Center Intermediate NOT YET CURRENT FOR 2006-07 SEASON Number of years playing school basketball: 3 years varsity Graduating Class of 2007 Favorite subject: World History Favorite teacher: Mr. Menze Favorite Favorite NBA or college player(s): Jason Kidd, Kevin Garnett, Magic Johnson Favorite book: "Tears of a Tiger" by Sharon Draper Favorite movie: Air Up There Favorite TV show: Fresh Prince Other sports or school activities I participate in: PALS Hobbies: Duck Hunting, playing tennis, video games Person I would most like to meet: Mohammed Ali I would like to attend college at: Louisville My plans after high school are: go to college and play basketball What I would like for people to remember about me: That I am a team player that works hard with a lot of drive and persistence and I never QUIT FYI: Armie is only the third Freshman to ever play varsity basketball at Clear Lake High School

Clear Lake Falls to Rival Clear Creek 57-47 January 11, 2005. A near capacity crowd assembled to watch what most knew would be a terrific basketball game between two perennial rivals tonight in the Clear Lake gymnasium. As the first round of district play continued, the first of two Lake-Creek shootouts ended with Clear Creek prevailing. Clear Creek has the best team they have had in several years (they are ranked in the top 50 in the state in most rankings). Clear Lake played very, very well. Clear Creek played even better. The challenges for Lake were formidable: how to stop Ray Kramer (#44) when he attacked the paint; how to shutdown deadeye Lance Pevehouse (#24) from the perimeter; how to keep Creek from dominating the boards; how to offset their perimeter shooting. The individual match-ups were really fun to watch. In the first quarter it was tied at 9 midway through the quarter. Lake maintained a slight lead throughout the period and was up 18-13 at the end of the first quarter. The Falcons made no turnovers in the first quarter. In the second quarter despite poor shooting from the field (3 of 12), Lake continued their slight advantage with Creek often pulling close but not able to gain the lead. With 2:50 left in the half, Creek moved ahead 22-21 before Lake retook the lead 23-22 when Kendrell Thompson made a basket. At the half it was Lake 25 – Creek 27 (Lake made only 3 turnovers in the second quarter). The third quarter determined the game’s outcome. Lake’s shooting stayed cold (3 of 9 from the field and they were outscored by 10 points thanks to more blocked shots and Creek’s Ray Kraemer, who pretty much had his way with Lake. Kraemer scored 12 of his 16 (game high) points in the quarter. Clear Lake scored 9. By the end of the period Lake was down by 12, 46 to 34, after Kraemer, at the buzzer, launched an off-balance, unbelievable shot that went in. This was further inspiration for the sometimes classless Creek student fans who did their best impression of a Kingwood student body. Fortunately, the Clear Lake students did not sink to that level. In the fourth Lake narrowed the gap to 7 before Creek pulled away again and increased their lead to 16. At the buzzer Scott Oswald hit an uncontested trey to bring the final score to 57-47. It was another classic match-up between the two rivals. Clear Lake played outstanding basketball in the first half but made some mistakes in the second half brought on by tenacious Creek defense. Lake allowed too many offensive rebounds in the game and that alone made the difference. Some things are more important than winning one Creek basketball game. Justin Kurtz was in the doghouse for some reason and was not allowed to play in the first half of the game (also in the Brazoswood game). He was noticeably absent in the first half and his presence during the second half when he was allowed to play was very noticeable as well. File it under the heading of “character building” and let’s hope that Justin will be allowed to play when he is needed in the future. The responsibilities a player has to his team must be learned and are not always assigned the proper priority by the developing young player. Mark Murphy, after showing some very determined, aggressive play in the first half, did not play in the fourth quarter. Scoring by Quarter 1 2 3 4 18 7 9 13 US 13 14 19 11 Them Scoring for the Falcons: Kendrell Thompson 12, Mark Murphy 8, Armie Lewis 7, Scott 5, Jordan 4, Gordon 4, Andy Leveque 3, Lee Mazurek 2, Justin Kurtz 2. 2’s:14 of 34 (41%) 3’s: 4 of 19 (21%) free throws: 7 of 14 (50%)

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%)

Oilers Slip by the Falcons 38-37 Start of District 24-5A play, Tuesday, January 4, 2005. The referees in the Clear Lake-Pearland game assumed everyone would want to get home as soon as possible to watch the Orange Bowl plus they themselves wanted to get home to watch the game. The best way to speed the game along is to not blow the whistle. So, very few fouls were to be called in the game. It was obvious from the outset. Early on, two fouls serious enough that the players almost stopped play in anticipation of a whistle went uncalled. Man, did they let them play. Numerous fouls on both sides which would have been called on any other night were not called. Unfortunately, the Falcons did not capitalize enough on the refs reluctance to blow the whistle. Pearland is usually among the top defensive teams in the greater Houston area (currently ranked 4th in defense). Combine that with poor shooting from the field for Clear Lake and refs who mostly watch rather than truly officiate and you have a slightly unusual basketball game. Pearland is bigger and quicker than Lake and it showed early in the game. At the halfway point of the first quarter, the score was 6-3 in favor of the Oilers. Lake scored 3 points in four minutes! With 3:40 remaining in the first, Armie hit a trey to tie it at 6 points. At the 3:06 mark, Scott Oswald stole the ball, made a long pass downcourt to the “G” man, Gordon Abner, who stuffed it in to put Lake ahead 8-6. Pearland then scored 8 unanswered points to end the quarter at 14-8. Armie’s trey and Gordon’s dunk were the only two successful baskets out of 16 attempts in the quarter, only partly due to effective shot blocking by Pearland. Early in the second quarter, Lake got out hustled and was not making their shots (4 of 11 for the quarter). The Oilers pulled ahead 20 to 10, then 23 to 12 when Mark Murphy made a chip shot from ten feet. At this point one would hope that Lake began to realize they could not score when they drove in close enough to make a lay-up but not yet. All the Falcons had to do was pull up and shoot from a few feet away. Gordon did this at the 1:55 mark to bring the score to 23-14 when Kendrell Thompson fed him a well-timed pass. A steal and a full court romp by Abner brought the score to 23-16. The first half closed at 25-16. 16 points is the lowest scoring first half for Clear Lake this season. For the half, the Falcons were 6 of 27 from the field! The Falcons came out rejuvenated from the halftime and played much better. Kendrell Thompson scored a layup with three players hanging on him (no foul) and then Scott Oswald hits a sneaky little layup to bring the score to 25-20 at the 6:40 mark in the 3rd. At the 5:03 mark Kendrell got a steal and drove for a basket to make it 25-23 after he hit his free throw. The quarter closed at 32-27 still in favor of the Oilers. The Falcons went 5 of 7 from two point range. Only three Pearland fouls were called in the quarter. None against Clear Lake. In the final period, Lake cranked it up a notch and went ahead 37-36 when Armie hit a trey with less than four minutes remaining. After a Pearland timeout, Armie stole the ball and at the 3 minute mark Lake went into their stall which ran a minute off the clock before a bad pass foiled their strategy. At 1:59 remaining in the game, Clear Lake had no second half fouls called on them. After a score by Pearland, Lake called two timeouts in 30 seconds. When play resumed, Scotty launches a three which was off the mark but Armie got the rebound under the basket on the baseline. He was nudged out of bounds by a defender. No foul was called. Out of bounds was called. Pearland's ball. Pearland then calls timeout with 9.8 seconds showing on the clock. Unable to inbound the ball, another timeout was called by Pearland. With Pearland in possession and with Lake behind 38-37, Lake's purposeful fouling could not get them to a 1 and 1 situation since seven fouls had to be committed. Final score was 38-37. (The Falcons shot two free throws in the second half). Some random thoughts and final reflections. At least eight college scouts were seen in the gym. The Falcons were missing three players: Jimmy Witten was moved to the JV to get more playing time (Witten had a very good game tonight on the JV level); Brandon Wynn will be out for eight weeks due to his ankle injury; and Justin Kurtz did not suit out because he had no face guard. It seems the one he was using had been borrowed and he had to return it but he had not gotten one of his own yet. It was a good basketball game but is this really what high school basketball has come to? For someone who loves high school basketball, it is difficult to accept that any other sporting event takes precedence over the game during the game. These young people work too hard at something they love to allow capricious attitudes from paid officials. Although I would be hard pressed to prove the refs' decision to speed the game along by not blowing the whistle, this is not the first time for this to happen in a Clear Lake game which conflicted with a major college bowl game. It should also be noted that, had a typical game been officiated, the game would have been over in time to watch the entire second half of the football game even if you lived 30 minutes away. It should also be noted that the RECORD button on a VCR/DVR is not that difficult to find. Obviously, I think the officials should be ashamed. With only a one point loss, the outcome of this game could easily have been affected by one of Lake's absent teammates. Good outside shooting from one of Lake's best three point shooters could have made a difference. Better rebounding and shot blocking from one of Lake's gifted athletes would certainly have made a difference. Who would believe the winner of the district championship might ultimately be determined by the absence of a face guard? The teenage brain is truly one of life's astonishing mysteries. Scoring for the Falcons: Gordon Abner 11, Armie Lewis 6, Kendrell Thompson 5, Lee Mazurek 4, Mark Murphy 4, Andy Leveque 3, Scott Oswald 2, Jordan Villarreal 2. Scoring by Quarter 8- 8-11-10 Us 14-11-11-06 Them 2’s: 12 of 33 (36%) 3’s: 3 of 14 (21%) Free throws: 4 of 6 (67%)

Can you spell free throw? Scott Oswald and the Clear Lake Falcons sure did when they met a determined Memphis East squad in the Consolation Championship game Thursday, December 30, 2004, in the Poplar Bluff Showdown. Lake played their brand of team ball against a tough, quick bunch of Memphis boys who also wanted the trophy. Finally in the tournament, Clear Lake displayed the kind of talent that Clear Lake is known for. It was not the Falcons best game of the season but it was a very good one. This was the first game of the tournament that the Falcons really played well against formidable competition. The two teams matched up well which always makes for a fun basketball game to watch. Before the game a key factor to win was to be able to stop the Mustang’s point guard, Antonio Whitehead. He gave the Falcons fits (25 points total) as expected but the Falcons prevailed. In the first quarter Mark Murphy got two quick fouls and had to sit down so Justin Kurtz came in and carried the load. The Falcons played excellent team basketball and tried hard to minimize their mistakes. At the end of a close 1st quarter with both teams making few errors, it was 17-15, Clear Lake up by 2. Early in the second quarter, it was tied at 17 before a Lake steal by Armie Lewis broke the tie. Then a steal by Andy Leveque enabled a 3 on 1 to put Lake up 21-17. Then Lake let the Mustangs beat them down the court two times in a row to knot it at 21 all. Andy got a lay up and a free throw to put Lake up 24-21. With the closing seconds of the first half ticking away, Kendrell Thompson passed to Lee Mazurek in the corner for a three point attempt that was nothing but net as the buzzer sounded. 29-25 at the half. A good omen to end the half for sure. In the early minutes of the 3rd quarter Lake increased their lead back to 6 when Kendrell drove to the hoop and scored and was fouled. With 2:37 remaining in the quarter and the score at 35-33 Gordon Abner gets fouled and knocked to the floor with the ball in his hands. No foul was called in a glaring “no-call”. (There were several calls that provoked the small, but vocal, Lake crowd). At this point, the ref calls a technical foul on the Clear Lake bench as he passed by and heard something which displeased him. That tied it at 35 when Whitehead made both free throws. At 1:23 left, Lake gets behind 35-39. Two more obvious fouls on Lake were not called. 41-35 with 30 seconds remaining. In the waning seconds Justin Kurtz drives to the basket, scores and is fouled. The successful free throw makes it 41-38 with Lake trailing after 3. The Falcons know when it is time to go to work and they did it well in the final period. Prudent basketball with good shot selection and minimal turnovers continued in the final quarter. At 3:25 remaining it was knotted at 48 all after Scotty fed Gordon underneath for a layup and a foul. It was tied again at 50. Timely free throws by Scott and a dunk by Gordon on a perfectly executed play bring the score to 54-50 in Lake’s favor. Lake went on to bring the score to 59-53 final. Scott Oswald went 10 for 10 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter. There were 15 turnovers in the game but only 5 were bad passes. Scoring by quarter: 17-12-09-21 Us 15-10-16-12 Them Scoring for the Falcons: Scott Oswald 12 (10 straight free throws in the 4th quarter), Armie Lewis 10, Gordon Abner 9, Justin Kurtz 9, Andy Leveque 8, Lee Mazurek 5, Mark Murphy 2, Jordan Villarreal 2, Kendrell Thompson 2 2’s: 18 of 40 (45%) 3’s: 3 of 7 (43%) Free throws: 14 of 19(74%) (11 of 13 in the 4th quarter)