Cloverdale boys take tough loss

ELNORA -- Despite a three-point halftime lead over Southwestern, the Cloverdale boys' basketball team struggled in the second half Saturday and fell to the Rebels 69-39 on the final day of the Graber Post Buildings Classic.

The Clovers (3-7, 0-2 WCC) finished sixth in the tournament.

"We had a 24-21 halftime lead and we ran out of gas," Clover coach Pat Rady said.

Cloverdale had just four players score in the contest. The Rebels (4-5), on the other hand, had four players in double figures. Craig Blair led the way for the Clovers with 18 points. Brandon Moon was just behind with 14.

The loss came on the heels of the Clovers' encouraging 64-62 win over Washington Catholic on Friday. It was the Clovers' first win in a closely contested game on the season.

In spite of the disparity of the two days' games, Rady remains positive heading into the second half of the season. The team will resume practice Jan. 3 with three areas on which they will focus: defense, rebounding and turnovers.

"We still think we can be a team to be reckoned with come sectional time but we need to work on these three areas," the coach commented.

Before the season started and at times early in the year, Rady spoke of his team's inexperience. With 10 games under their belts, he is ready to see them mature and believes they will.

"We had some kids who needed to get experience and now they have it," Rady said. "We're excited about what we think this team can still do."

The Clovers open the second half of the year at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 11 at Cascade.

At North Daviess

Graber Post Buildings Classic

Dec. 28

Cloverdale -- Moon 23, Blair 14, Randall 8, Young 7, Kukman 5, Salter 3, Clark 2, Grounds 2

Dec. 29

Cloverdale -- Blair 18, Moon 15, Randall 3, Hayden 3