Clear Lake boys top Nevada, 61-54

(Above) Andrew Fomanek and a Nevada player go after a loose ball.  Also pictured for Clear Lake is Travaughn Luyobya (23) and Tucker Jones (45).  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

The Clear Lake boys basketball team shook off some dust and opened the new season with a resounding win.  The Lions topped Nevada on Tuesday, Dec. 1

Nevada, 61-54.

“First game-- we knew there would be some jitters in the first quarter with a lot of new faces and there were,” said Head Coach Jeremey Ainley.  

The jitters were evident, with nine turnovers in the first quarter before Lion players settled in and found a rhythm.  

“Once we kind of began to relax, we started to get some good looks at the rim and were able to get a lead and build on it going into half time,” said Ainley.

The Lions built a 10-point advantage in the second quarter, but gave up some easy baskets and allowed the Cubs to trim the lead to 24-22 at halftime.

Ainley said he saw improvement in the third quarter, as his players did a better job transitioning, but gave up too many open looks.  

“In the fourth, after giving up the lead a couple times, our more experienced two players -- Andrew Formanek and Carson Toebe kind of took over and traded baskets to get us a lead and finally we were able to string together some stops to pull out the win,” he explained.

Formanek had a nice all-around game with 27 points, including some big shots in the fourth quarter, and 10 rebounds.  

Toebe also hit some clutch shots in the fourth quarter to finish with 17 points. 

Travaughn Luyobya had a great outing for the Lions in his first varsity game and finished with six points and seven assists.  Coach Ainley noted that even more importantly, the sophomore guard had only two turnovers.  Luyobya, along with Formanek and Jagger Schmitt, had three steals.  The coach added that he felt Jagger Schmitt got better as the game went on, especially defensively. He also scored two-points.

The remainder of Clear Lake scoring was provided by Noah Petersen with five points and Jett Neuberger and Eric Ritter with two apiece.  Ritter also figured among the leaders on the boards with six rebounds.

“Overall, I was pleased with the win. We have a long way to go, but this was a great learning experience for our young team -- to get better as the game goes on and get a win at the same time,” said Ainley.   “Overall, it was a great team win and I am excited to see us get better each night.”