Road comes to an end

(Above) Joe Faber takes a shot over a Ballard defender.  Faber came off the bench and hit a three-pointer in the third quarter.

by Marianne Gasaway

Top-seeded Ballard ended Clear Lake’s quest for a State title in the Class 3A quarterfinal round played Tuesday, March 2.  The Bombers shelled the Lions, 68-45.

The eighth seed Lions got out of the gate quickly against Ballard and held a 7-2 lead one and one-half minutes into the contest.  Both teams hustled up and down the Wells Fargo Arena court at a furious pace, with the Lions holding onto a four-point lead until the final third of the period, 11-7. 

But once Ballard settled in, they never looked back.  On the strength of 73 percent shooting, the Bombers went on a 22-2 run at the 4:30 mark in the first quarter and were in control at intermission, 43-27.

“Unfortunately, we gave up some transition baskets and it kind of snowballed from there,” said Clear Lake Coach Jeremey Ainley.  “We knew they were very strong in their transition game off missed baskets and turnovers. Unfortunately, we got lost and they made us pay.”

The Lions came out of the break with renewed vigor and determination.  

“I was most proud of the way we fought back and continued to battle throughout the game,” added Ainley.   “We gave ourselves a chance in the third quarter and got some stops, but we couldn’t make baskets ourselves to give us a chance.”

Carson Toebe, who scored 15 in the first half and finished with a team-high 22 points, connected on a jumper to start the second half.  However, the Lions could only muster eight more points in the quarter and never got closer than 14 points in the second half.  

Clear Lake, which averaged only giving up 50.5 points during the season, was unable to stop the Ballard machine.

Ballard played a similar game in the semi-finals and beat Davenport Assumption, 74-65.  They lost in the championship to Pella, 68-59.

“In the end they were better, but to end our season in Des Moines is always special. It means you are one of the best eight in the state,” said Ainley.  “It is a credit to our seniors and leaders on our team: 22 wins— 66-9 record in last three years— most wins in 3A in last three years. Four straight conference championships, 51-4 record in conference. The program is in a very strong place.”

Clear Lake will graduate five seniors from its outstanding 2020-21 team.

Andrew Formanek, who scored 10 points and had 10 rebounds against Ballard, finished his career as the most successful Clear Lake basketball player in school history.  He was a four-time conference champion and two-time state qualifier. He finished in the top six in scoring with over 1,000 points, was second in rebounds in a season and second all time in rebounds. In addition, he was top five in fieldgoals made in a  career and second in blocks in a career. 

Eric Ritter had a great season and broke the school record with 69 blocks in a season.  In his final performance he was three-for-three shooting and dropped two free throws for eight points. He pulled down five rebounds.

Coach Ainley called seniors Noah Petersen and PJ Feuerbach “consummate teammates.  “They were always working really hard and making us better everyday in practice.”

“Jacob Kerr, as a manager, was probably the most important kid on our team— having us ready for every practice and having game days going smooth as ever,” added the coach.

The Lions return a solid nucleus of players who helped the team compile a 22-3 record this season.

Starting guard Jagger Schmitt will be back for a senior season, along with junior Joe Faber, who joins Toebe as a strong outside shooter.  Faber came off the bench against Ballard for a three-pointer in the third quarter.  Other juniors on the team included Jett Neuberger, Tucker Jones, Jacob Scholby, Jaxson Gerhardt, Mitchell Conway and Ethan Zickefoose.  

Sophomore point guard Travaughn Luyobya, who had two points, two rebounds,  two assists and a steal in the Ballard game, will be back to run the offense.  Sophomore Ben Loge was also part of the deep Clear Lake bench this season.

“Thanks to our seniors,” added Coach Ainley.  “They learned from those before them what it takes to be a Lion basketball player and passed it on to those after them.”