Lions finish as runners-up in NCC

(Above) Clear Lake’s Jaylen DeVries came off the bench and provided some quality minutes against Iowa Falls-Alden.  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

The Lions stretched their win streak to six and cemented their runner-up finish in the North Central Conference with three wins last week.  Clear Lake (11-7, 9-3) was slated to wrap up its NCC play Monday and Tuesday against winless Hampton-Dumont and conference leader Webster City.  The team will play their final regular season game Friday, Feb. 10, at home against Crestwood.

CL 59, Algona 52

A tough road contest with Algona (7-11, 5-6) set the tone for a winning week.  Coach Jeremey Ainley noted the Bulldogs had some momentum heading   into their contest with Clear Lake.  They were fresh off of wins over Humboldt and Hampton-Dumont.  But a sharp-shooting Lions squad took a 10-point lead into halftime, 35-25, and never looked back.

“Drew Enke played really well in the first half, hitting four three-pointers and scoring 16 points,” noted Coach Ainley.  “I was also very pleased with our defensive effort in the first and second quarters.  They have two really good guards and we were able to make everything tough on them.”

The the third quarter the Lion defense really clamped down, holding the bulldogs to just eight points and extending the lead to 45-33 heading into the final quarter.

“I thought we lost a little bit of our edge in the fourth quarter and stopped playing as hard, but were able to hit some shots and free throws to come out on top with a hard fought win at a tough place to play,” said the coach.

Enke played a great game and had a career high with 23 points and eight rebounds.  Zach Lester finished with 12 points and Thomas Storbeck added seven.   Ryan Atkinson and Cody Matz each had two points.  Storbeck also pulled down eight rebounds.

Clear Lake got strong bench play from Jared Penning and Jaylen DeVries, with seven and four points respectively.   Evan Krause scored two points.

“It was nice to see so many guys step in and score and do great things.  We are starting to get great contributions out of everybody,” said Ainley.

CL 67, IF-A 38

The entire Lion lineup contributed to a lopsided 67-38 win over Iowa Falls-Alden Tuesday, Jan. 31.

“Iowa Falls presented some height issues for us and some guys that could score the basketball,” said Coach Ainley.

The Lions effectively shut down 6’4” Jace Ites, who entered the game as the conference leader in scoring.  Without their ace, the Cadets struggled to score and were out-hustled throughout the game.

The Lions forced the Cadets