Lions drop a heartbreaker to Forest City

The Clear Lake boys squelched a four game losing streak with an exciting win over St. Ed’s Friday, but their roller-coaster season continued the following day with a two-point loss to Forest City, dropped them to 4-6 overall and 3-2 in the North Central Conference.

Clear Lake 55, St. Ed’s 53

After what Coach Jeremey Ainley called his teams’ worst defensive effort of the year, the Lions came back on Friday night with their best defensive effort and picked up a 55-53 North Central Conference victory over St. Ed’s (4-5, 3-2).

The Lions controlled the game for a solid three and one-half quarters.

They jumped out to a 15-7 first quarter lead and were up 24-21 at the break.

They built the lead again in the third, outscoring the Gaels 12-7, but had to withstand a late charge to get the win.

“In the fourth quarter we let up a little and they made some big shots to make it really close at the end,” said Coach Ainley.

Turnovers nearly cost the Lions, but successful free throw shooting down the stretch made the difference.  Zach Lester ultimately sunk the game winning free throws for the 55-53 decision.

Lester had the touch throughout the game, finishing with 29 points.  He was 3/6 from beyond the arc and 10/12 from the free throw line.

Thomas Storbeck also had a huge night.  The senior put in 22 points, helped by five three-pointers.   Three of his treys came in the second half.

The only other Lions to score were Ryan Atkinson and Jared Penning, each with two points.

“It was a huge win for us, to end a four-game losing streak, but also put us back into the conference race,” noted Ainley.  “St. Ed’s was a preseason favorite and it was good to prove with a young team that we can compete.”

Forest City 59, Clear Lake 57

Another day, another nail-biter for the Lions.

After an emotional win on Friday night, Coach Ainley said he was worried about what his team had left for Saturday’s game against non-conference rival Forest City.

The Lions started out very slow and just couldn’t keep momentum for an entire game.

After getting down 8-0 to start the game, Clear Lake was able to fight back and tie the score at 27-27 at halftime.  Unfortunately, after  getting up early in the third quarter, the Lions just couldn’t get the stops they needed and got themselves into foul trouble.  The ensuing free throw attempts gave the Indians ample opportunity to score.  This time the Lions found themselves on the short end of a close game, 59-57.

Zach Lester played a good all-around game with 20 points and five assists and Drew Enke continued to step up, scoring 17 points.

Thomas Storbeck put in eight points, Jared Penning had five and Nick Danielson three.  Jaylen DeVries and Sean Wendel added two points apiece.

“The fourth quarter was anybody’s ball game and we had our chances,” said Coach Ainley.  “It just came down to not moving our feet defensively and fouling them too many times.  We are getting better and new guys are emerging.  Our best basketball is still in front of us this year.”