Off night dooms the Lions in 74-70 loss

(Above) It was a tight squeeze for this Clarion-Goldfield-Dows player as he tried to get between the defensive efforts of Evan Klaus (41) and Torian Lee during Tuesday night’s home contest. It was a tough night for the Lions, as they dropped the contest, 74-70. -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

An off night doomed the Lions in a showdown with the Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Cowboys Tuesday, Dec. 13.  The Cowboys were hot and the Lions were not in a 74-70 Clear Lake loss.

“It was a very weird game right from the start,” said Coach Jeremey Ainley, whose team slipped to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the North Central Conference.  “They came out and hit some early shots and we were a step slow, especially on defense.”

The Cowboys used their sharp shooting for jump out to a 19-10 first quarter lead.  The Lions were down by as many as 13 in the first half, but pulled to within 10 at the break, 36-26.

The Lions fought back in the second half with some solid defense and managed to take the lead briefly.  However, missed free throws in the fourth quarter contributed to a 74-70 loss.

“We could not hit anything except layups for the entire game  We had great looks from guys that normally are good shooters,” said Coach Ainley.  “All around, it was a poor shooting night and it ended up costing us.  Despite our poor shooting all night, we still had a chance to win the game if we could have made free throws.”

Zach Lester played a great game, finishing with 34 points, and Thomas Storbeck, despite not shooting up to his usual standards had a good all-around

game with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

“Ryan Atkinson had his best game of the year so far with six points and eight rebounds and Jaylen Devries continues to improve with five points,” added the coach.

 Cody Matz put in four points, while Torian Lee, Drew Enke and Jared Penning each chipping in two points to round out the Lion scoring.

“We will continue to work to get better,” promised Coach Ainley.