No stopping the undefeated Lions

(Above) Clear Lake’s Andrew Formanek takes a shot sandwiched between two Waverly-Shell Rock defenders.  The Lions beat the Go-Hawks, 59-47.  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

By Marianne Gasaway

In a pair of games that Coach Jeremey Ainley says provided a good measuring stick about his team, the Lions improved to 12-0 last week by topping Waverly-Shell Rock and Hampton-Dumont.  The undefeated Lions are now 7-0 in the North Central Conference.

CL 59, W-SR 47

Waverly-Shell Rock (6-6), a perennial Class 3A State-qualifier, was Clear Lake’s 11th victim this season.

“Always a premier 3A opponent, we wanted to use this game as a measuring stick against an opponent that yearly is a state tournament team,” said Coach Ainley.  “The gym had a great playoff atmosphere in it and we knew it would be a good test for us.”

In the first quarter the Lions were able to set the pace and started off defending really well against a physical Go-Hawks team to take a 13-9 lead.  The second quarter was more even, and the visitor was able to connect on some key shots to cut the lead to three by halftime, 25-22.

The Lions continued to push the pace in the third quarter and hit some big shots to take a seven point lead into the final eight-minutes.  That momentum continued, as Clear Lake outscored the Go-Hawks 18-13 in the final quarter.

“We were able to run a little bit more and extend the game to double digits and make free throws down the stretch to win by 12,” said Coach Ainley.

Drew Enke led all scorers with 21-points.  Carson Toebe had a great second half to finish with nine-points.

Jaylen DeVries had eight-points and 13 rebounds, 10 on defense, and more importantly had some great defense on the interior on their big guys, noted Coach Ainley.

Tate Storbeck battled through foul trouble to finish with eight points and eight rebounds.

Jack Barragy put in five points, Andrew Formanek had four and Kody Kearns and Jared Penning scored two-points apiece.

The Lions shot 21/29 from the free throw line and held the Go-Hawks to 32 percent shooting on the night.

“Overall, it was a good team win in a great atmosphere,” said Ainley.  “We still have a lot of work to do and are able to get a lot better, but this gives us a good look at where we are at against an opponent that we may very well see in the post-season.”

CL 62, Hampton-Dumont 26

After an emotional, physical game on Thursday night, the Lions were back on the floor Friday to take on Hampton-Dumont.  The Bulldogs scored the first two points of the game, but after that it was all Clear Lake.  They went on a 16-0 run and then coasted to a 62-26 victory.

“We were able to play a lot of guys in the second half and cruise to a win.  We were able to get a lot of guys in the score book and some much needed game time,” said Coach Ainley.

The Lions held the Bulldogs to 21 percent shooting and even more impressively had 26 assists as a team.

“We are doing a great job of sharing the ball and running to get great shots versus forced contested shots,” said Coach Ainley.

Kody Kearns led all scorers with 11 points.  The junior drained all four shots he took from the floor, along with three of four free-throw attempts.  Andrew Formanek had 10 points and Carson Toebe finished with nine points.

“Overall, it was a good team win and a great chance to get those guys that don’t play a ton but come to practice every day with a great attitude and more importantly push those top nine or 10 guys hard every day which contributes greatly to our success,” said the coach.  “Mac Adams, Carter Backhaus, Will Finn, Brody Kuhlmeier and  Chase Stuver really deserve a lot of

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redit for being great team members and working hard so it was nice to reward them with some time.”

Adams came off the bench and scored six points.  Jack Barragy put in five points, and Tate Storbeck, Jaylen DeVries and Jared Penning each had four.  Backhaus, Finn, Drew Enke and Thomas Ryan had two points apiece.  Kuhlmeier sunk a free throw for one point.

DeVries controlled the boards for the Lions.  The junior pulled down seven rebounds.

The Lions had 10 steals in the game, led by Enke with four.  The senior also dished out a team-high 10 assists.

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