Clovers have streak halted by bigger, more physical Warriors

CLOVERDALE — The Danville Warriors pounded the glass against the Cloverdale Clovers in a matinee version of Indiana High School basketball Saturday afternoon.

The taller, more physical Warriors outrebounded the Clovers 36-19 to offset a brilliant 48-point performance by Jalen Moore and end Cloverdale’s 10-game winning streak by a 79-76 margin.

“We were concerned about their height and physicality,” Cloverdale head coach Patrick Rady said. “They really get after it. We will take the film and splice together some things to show the kids where we are and what we should be doing.”

The two teams battled closely in the first quarter. As the Clovers normally do, Moore and Cooper Neese provided the scoring in the period. Moore had nine and Neese seven as the Clovers trailed 17-16 at the end of the first quarter.

Danville began exerting its size in the second quarter as the Warriors began to put together a lot of second-chance opportunities and began to stretch their lead. The Warriors closed used a 14-2 run late in the period to extend the lead to 38-31 at the halftime break.

“A lot of the game we didn’t execute on defense. We need to play with more aggressiveness when we are not pressing. Rebounding is also a part of defense,” Rady said.

Cloverdale kept the Warriors within reach during the third quarter, despite hitting only two field goals. The Clovers hit 10-of-13 from the line to keep pace with Danville. The Clovers struggled to contain the six-foot-six junior Alec Burton of the Warriors, who scored eight points in the period.

Cloverdale used a furious 10-2 run to start the fourth quarter behind back-to-back treys from Neese and Moore. This pulled the Clovers within four points at 59-55 with a little over five minutes to play in the game. A little over a minute later, Neese converts a four-point play to make the contest a one-possession game at 65-62.

Moore using his quickness to score five straight points for the Clovers and tie the game at 67-all with 1:39 left to play. Danville responded with 6-0 run to seem to put the game away, but Moore hit a NBA range three-pointer and was fouled and converted the free throw to pull the Clovers within two at 73-71 with :18 left in the game.

Danville converted four straight from the free throw line down the stretch and escaped as Neese’s half-court shot at the buzzer barely missed allowing the Warriors to escape with the 79-76 win.

“I was really proud of the way we responded,” Rady said. “They (Clovers) showed a lot of grit and resolve to battle back and play like that late in the game.”

Burton led a potent Warrior attack with game-high totals of 27 points and 23 rebounds. Austin Cowart and Connor Jones contributed 11 points. Jackson Wynn and Dillon Ware added 10 points each as Danville placed five players in double figures.

Cloverdale’s Moore and Neese combined to score 73 of the Clovers’ 76 points. Neese had 25 points, while Moore had a career-high 48 points — unofficially the fourth-best single-game total in Putnam County history.

The quicksilver junior guard went to the free throw line an astounding 29 times, hitting 22 of them. The left-hander used a variety of quick moves to continually get the Warrior defenders off-balance and either getting to the rim or the foul line.

“He (Moore) does a great job of getting past people and drawing contact,” Rady said.

DANVILLE (79) – Burton 10-15 7-9 27, Cowart 4-7 3-5 11, Hiland 0-1 1-2 1, Ware 4-6 2-2 10, Callahan 3-7 0-0 6, Guipe 1-3 0-0 3, Jones 3-6 3-5 11, Comer 0-0 0-0 0, Wynn 4-7 2-4 10. Totals 29-52 FG, 18-27 FT, 79 TP.

CLOVERDALE (76) – Neese 8-16 5-6 25, Winders 0-2 0-0 0, Pfaff 0-1 0-0 0, Wilkes 0-3 1-2 1, Moore 12-21 22-29 48, Watts 0-2 0-0 0, Rossok 0-0 0-0 0, Kelley 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 20-45 FG, 30-39 FT, 76 TP.

Danville 17 21 18 23 – 79

Cloverdale 16 15 14 31 – 76

3-point shooting – DHS 3-9 (Ware 0-1, Guipe 1-2, Jones 2-4, Wynn 0-2), CHS 6-23 (Neese 4-11, Winders 0-2, Wilkes 0-2, Moore 2-6, Watts 0-2). Rebounds – DHS 36 (Burton 23, Cowart 2, Ware 4, Callahan 2, Guipe 1, Wynn 1) CHS 19 (Neese 4, Winders 1, Pfaff 1, Wilkes 7, Watts 2, Moore 3) FG Pct. – DHS 55.8, CHS 44.4. FT Pct. – DHS 66.7, CHS 76.9. Turnovers – DHS 15, SP 9.

Next game — Cloverdale (15-6) will play South Putnam this week in the county tourney, although the exact schedule is unknown. Danville improved to 14-6.

In other Saturday boys’ action:

• Greencastle 42, Brown County 40 — At Nashville, the Tiger Cubs won at Brown County for the second time in eight days behind 24 points from Colin York, who hit 6 of 11 3-pointers.

“We played with much more energy as a team, especially on the defensive end,” Greencastle coach Bryce Rector said. “Offensively, we handled ourselves well, and Colin knocked down some shots for us. I was really happy with how he played.”

The Tiger Cubs rebounded from a subpar outing in a loss at Monrovia on Thursday.

“I thought we were a little careless with the ball at times, but they applied some pressure at times and they did a good job at trying to get us out of doing what we wanted to do,” Rector said. “We talked as a team about trying to build some momentum heading into the county tournament, so we’ll take the win and hopefully build on that this week.”

GREENCASTLE (42) – York 7 4-4 24, Clar 0 2-3 2, A.Costin 2 0-0 6, N.Costin 1 0-0 2, Matthews 0 0-0 0, Hutcheson 1 0-0 2, Bollman 3 0-0 6. Totals 14 FG, 6-7 FT, 42 TP

BROWN COUNTY (40) – Samples 2 0-0 5, Patterson 1 0-0 2, Keefauver 4 0-1 9, Norman 4 0-0 9, Scully 4 1-1 10, Hudson 0 0-0 0, First 0 0-0 0, Cochran 2 1-2 5. Totals 17 FG, 2-4 FT, 40 TP

Greencastle 6 20 9 7 – 42

Brown County 9 12 8 11 – 40

3-point goals – Greencastle: York 4, A.Costin 2. BC: Samples, Keefauver, Norman, Scully.

Next game – Greencastle (6-11) will play North Putnam this week in the county tournament. Brown County fell to 3-14.

• South Vermillion 60, North Putnam 54 — At Roachdale, the Cougars got balanced scoring in the absence of leading scorer Elliot Gross but fell to the Wildcats.

Duke Duff led North Putnam with 14, while Preston Porter added 12 and Treyton Smith had 10. Gross was unavailable due to a Mission trip.

North Putnam led 42-40 after three quarters, but was outscored 20-12 in the final period. South Vermillion led 14-10 after one quarter and 30-26 at halftime.

SOUTH VERMILLION (60) — Wiltermood 5 3-4 16, Waldrop 0 0-0 0, Kendrick 5 5-7 15, Handley 0 0-0 0, Johnson 3 0-0 6, McCall 3 1-2 7, Kalber 1 0-0 2, McLeish 4 2-3 10, Hedden 2 0-0 6. Totals 23 FG, 11-16 FT, 60 TP

NORTH PUTNAM (54) — Smith 4 2-3 10, Porter 4 0-0 12, Mitchel 2 0-0 4, Duff 4 4-4 14, Judy 3 0-0 6, Webster 1 0-0 3, Pickel 1 3-4 5. Totals 19 FG, 9-11 FT,

South Vermillion 14 16 10 20 — 60

North Putnam 10 16 16 12 — 54

3-point goals — NP: Porter 4, Duff 2, Webster; SV: Wiltermood, Hedden 2.

Next game — North Putnam (6-11) plays at Turkey Run on Tuesday. South Vermillion improved to 5-12.