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CHS' boys fall at Banker's Life
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Cloverdale boys' basketball team gave a valiant try, but fell after a stellar first-quarter effort to Covenant Christian at Bankers Life Fieldhouse Saturday, 92-62.
Cloverdale played in the second game of the "Really Big Basketball Show
The Clovers got off to a quick start gaining a 17-8 lead midway through the first quarter and forcing a Warrior timeout. The Clovers extended the lead to 23-14 at the end of the first.
"I thought it probably was our best quarter (all year)," Cloverdale coach Patrick Rady said. "I thought our transition was great and we were spreading the floor. I thought we did a good job on defense and kept the ball out of the paint area. We have to play fast."
The Clovers got pressure on the ball using a full-court press and then eventually falling back into a two-one-two zone, which created a few turnovers leading to buckets and a bunch of deflections which knocked the Warriors off their offensive rhythm.
Cloverdale seemed to tire out in the second quarter due to its fast-paced attack and were dominated on the scoreboard, 27-7. This gave the Warriors a 41-30 advantage at halftime.
Cloverdale did not turn the ball over much in the first half. A combination of rebounding woes and a poor shooting percentage did in. The Clovers allowed 16 offensive rebounds and the Warriors capitalized, scoring 11 second-chance points.
In the first half Cloverdale shot just 18 percent from long range going 2-for-11, and shooting 43 percent overall from the floor.
The Clovers would have to correct some of these easily fixable mistakes that plagued them throughout the first half.
CHS came out of the with renewed energy, but after two turnovers less than two minutes into the half Covenant Christian grabbed a 50-33 lead and also took all the momentum the Clovers had, cruising to a victory for the Warriors.
The Clovers struggled on the defensive side of the ball with the inside play of the Warriors, allowing 44 shots in the paint. The Warriors scored 54 points in the paint for the game.
"We will not win many games giving up 16 offensive rebounds," Rady said. "It was not very good. For us to be the team we want to be, that is not acceptable. They are a very good team but we did not do a good job of containing the ball or blocking out. Those are things the good teams do and we did not do those things."
Even though the Clovers came out of the game with a painful loss the experience of playing in Bankers Life Fieldhouse, home of the Indiana Pacers, will be forever in their memories.
"It was an unbelievable experience," Rady said. "We want to thank our athletic director J.J. Wade for working to get us here. It was outstanding for our student body and the community. It was great for Cloverdale."
CHS (9-6, 3-1 WIC) will next play WIC Eastern Division rival Cascade (1-9, 0-3 WIC) on Friday.
At Bankers Life Fieldhouse
Cov Christian 14 27 26 25 - 92
Cloverdale 23 7 13 19 - 62
SCORING
Covenant Christian (92): Watts 11-13 1-1 24, Webb 6-9 0-0 16, Leary 5-11 2-2 12, Murphy 5-11 2-2 12, Davis 5-12 1-1 11, Brough 4-5 0-1 10, Wagner 1-3 0-0 3, Roberts 0-0 2-2 2, Warner 1-1 0-0 2, Lawson 0-3 0-0 0. Totals: 39-65 (8-17) 6-10, 92.
Cloverdale (62): Moore 8-20 3-7 22, Neese 7-20 3-3 19, Wilkes 3-6 0-0 6, Winders 3-6 0-0, Nally 2-3 -0-0, Hall 1-1 0-0 2, Blevins 0-0 1-2 1, Pfaff 0-3 0-0 0. Total: 25-61 (5-19) 7-12, 62.
REBOUNDING (Total-offensive)
Covenant Christian (44-16): Leary 10-5, Watts 8-3, Davis 7-1, Murphy 5-2, Brough 4-1, Webb 2-0, Wagner 1-0, Lawson 1-1.
Cloverdale (24-11): Neese 7-2, Wilkes 5-2, Moore 3-1, Nally 2-1, Pfaff 1-1, Winders 1-1.
Assists: CCHS 16 (Leary 4, Webb 4), CHS 6 (Moore 3). Steals: CCHS 4 (Watts 2), CHS 6 (Moore 2, Neese 2, Winders 2). Blocks: CCHS 2 (Murphy 1, Webb 1), CHS 0.
Turnovers: CCHS 12, CHS 8.