Lions split games

Jett Neuberger went up against two Mason City defenders on his way to the basket.  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

By Marianne Gasaway

It was a week of challenging matchups for the Clear Lake boys.  First, the Lions hosted county rival Mason City.  Then it was time for the defending North Central Conference champs to play on the road at Humboldt.

CL 65, Mason City 54

Coach Jeremey Ainley said he was curious about how his team would grow between game one and game two in the season, especially its defense.

“Getting out to a 16-0 lead after one quarter kind of gave me my answer,” said Ainley.  “We came out a guarded really well in the first quarter and to hold a team scoreless—  especially a 4A rival— that is really something.”

In the second quarter the Lions had some stretches when their shooting went cold and turnovers happened, but they still went into the halftime break with a 28-14 lead.

The lead was pushed to as many as 20 in the third quarter and the home team comfortably went into the fourth up 44-24. 

“And in the fourth quarter we did just enough to finish,” said the coach.

“Overall, I was pleased with the win,” he continued.  “Eric Ritter really stepped up and had a huge night with 15 points and nine rebounds.  He had some great defensive plays as well, and continues to get better.” 

Carson Toebe recorded a double-double, finishing with 13 points and 11 rebounds.  The junior also played solid defense on Mason City’s best player.

Andrew Formanek, Clear Lake’s big man, got into some foul trouble, but still made some big plays on his way to scoring 10.  Point guard Travaughn Luyobya put in four points and led the team in steals with three.

“It was also nice to get scoring out of some more guys like Joe Faber (five points), Jagger Schmitt (four), Noah Petersen (three) and Jett Neuberger (two-points),” added Ainley.   

The Lions shot at 52 percent, compared to 45 percent for the Mohawks.  Rebounding was also a big advantage for the Lions. Clear Lake pulled down 18 offensive rebounds and 23 on defense.  Mason City was held to four rebounds on offense and nine on defense.

One area the Lions will look to improve on is turnovers.  They committed 27 turnovers in the game, while Mason City had 18.

“We are a relatively young team.  We will get where we want to be, but we are going to have stretches in games where we need to continue to improve our overall defense, turnovers, better shot selection, etc.  It is a process.”

 Humboldt 54, CL 46

The NCC season kicked off Friday night with a perennial battle between two of the league’s top teams.  The Lions made their first road 

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trip to Humboldt to begin defense of their conference title.  Humboldt held off a charging Lion team to claim victory, 54-26.

The Lions got off to a rough start and trailed 14-7 after one quarter, but steadily cut into the Wildcat lead.  Clear Lake began to gain some momentum in the third and finally took the lead, 36-35, heading into the final quarter.

Momentum swung back in Humboldt’s direction in the fourth and the Wildcats opened up  a five-point lead while the Lions stumbled.   

A three-pointer from Andrew Formanek pulled the Lions back within two, 46-44 and when Carson Toebe drove the lane for a bucket the score was knotted, 46-46.

Unfortunately, the final minutes belonged to Humboldt and they held the Lions scoreless down the stretch for a 54-46 win.

“In the fourth quarter we did not execute as well and they hit some timely shots to pull out a win,” said Coach Ainley.  “Overall, I was happy with our effort and thought we continued to grow as a team even with the outcome.”

The coach acknowledged the team did not shoot the ball well (33 percent).  “Some of that was on me, as we kind of got out of our offensive rhythm.  We needed to attack the rim more than we did and get shots at the basket.  It is something we will learn from.” 

Toebe led the team with 15 points and seven rebounds.  Formanek scored 12 points and had seven rebounds.  Travaughn Luyobya added six points and Joe Faber drained two three-pointers for six points.  Eric Ritter battled foul trouble all night and helped the team with five points and staunch defense.

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