Tri-West takes down Cloverdale

LIZTON -- The Cloverdale Clovers boys' basketball team traveled to Tri-West Saturday night, hoping to compete with the Class 2A, third-ranked Bruins, in what might be a possible sectional match-up in February but lost, 84-67.

The Clovers entered the game with confidence, having defeated West Central Conference foe Monrovia the previous evening, 76-52.

The game was evenly-matched early in the game with Cloverdale leading the Bruins at 7-5 with 4:50 left in the first quarter.

However, hot shooting by the Bruins, 58 percent from the floor and 75 percent from the free throw line, allowed Tri-West to defeat the Clovers.

Tri-West led Cloverdale 20-13 at the end of the first quarter, 40-28 at halftime, and 64-44 at the end of the third quarter.

Statistically, the game was evenly-matched in rebounds, turnovers, and steals.

Both teams took 64 shots from the floor, but the Bruins hit 37 of their shots, compared to 27 for the Clovers.

That allowed Tri-West to have four players scoring in double figures, compared to three for the Clovers, as Craig Blair scored 22 while teammates Christian Cheatham had 17, and Michael Neese finished with 16.

"We saw some positives tonight, but we knew coming into this game that they were the team that set the bar this year," commented Cloverdale coach Pat Rady after the game.

"We realize that we've got a lot of work to do and we'll get at it after finals next week."

Seth Trinkle had six points, and Ryan Shoulders, Kevin Gregg, and Ryan Dean closed out the Clover scoring with two points each.

Neese pulled down a game-high nine rebounds and also tallied one block, five assists and four steals.

Shoulders grabbed seven rebounds, and Dean had five boards.

Cheatham had one block, Trinkle tallied two assists and Gregg recorded two steals.

"It's a long season and we want to work on the things we know we need to work on, and we look forward to it," said Rady.

In the junior varsity game, Tri-West defeated Cloverdale, 63-21.

Brandon Moon led the scoring for the Clovers with eight, followed by Robbie Randall and Dayne Grounds with four.

Kevin Dean had two, and Devin Looper, Michael Glassburn, and Aaron Dayhuff closed out the Cloverdale scoring with one point each.

The Clovers (4-3, 1-1 WCC) will face the Eastern Greene Thunderbirds in the North Daviess Holiday Tournament on Wednesday, Dec. 27.

The game begins at 5:30 pm.

At Tri-West

Cloverdale 13 15 16 23 - 67

Tri-West 20 20 24 20 - 84

Cloverdale (4-3, 1-1 WCC) -- Moon 0-1 0-0 0, Neese 6-16 2-3 16, Blair 8-18 5-6 22, Trinkle 3-8 0-0 6, Randall 0-0 0-2 0, Cheatham 7-12 2-4 17, Shoulders 1-3 0-0 2, Gregg 1-1 0-0 2, Hacker 0-2 0-1 0, Dean 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 27-64 FG, 9-16 FT, 67 TP.

Tri-West (5-1, 2-0 SAC) -- Pfeifer 0-0 0-0 0, Tanselle 1-4 0-0 3, Ricks 7-14 0-0 14, Robertson 6-10 0-1 12, Smith 0-1 2-2 2, Allen 2-3 0-0 4, Lowe 0-2 0-0 0, Pugliese 1-2 1-1 3, Moses 8-12 0-0 19, Thompson 1-3 1-2 3, Bruce 8-12 1-1 21, Groth 1-1 1-1 3. Totals 37-64 FG, 6-8, FT, 84 TP.

3-pt. FG - C 4-23 (Moon 0-1, Neese 2-10, Blair 1-5, Trinkle 0-1, Cheatham 1-4, Hacker 0-2), TW 11-22 (Tanselle 1-4, Ricks 3-6, Moses 3-5, Bruce 4-7). Rebounds - C 31 (Neese 9, Blair 2, Trinkle 4, Cheatham 3, Shoulders 6, Gregg 2, Dean 5), TW 32 (Ricks 5, Robertson 6, Allen 2, Pugliese 3, Moses 9, Thompson 3, Bruce 2, Groth 2). Blocks -- C 2 (Neese 1,Cheatham 1), TW 0. Assists -- C 10 (Neese 5, Blair 1, Trinkle 2, Hacker 1, Dean 1), TW 23 (Ricks 9, Lowe 1, Moses 3, Thompson 3, Bruce 6, Groth 1). Steals -- C 9 (Neese 4, Blair 1, Trinkle 1, Shoulders 1, Hacker 2), TW 8 (Robertson 1, Pugliese 1, Moses 1, Bruce 5). Total fouls -- C 14, TW 18. Fouled out -- none. Turnovers - C 14, TW 13.

Junior Varsity -- Tri-West won, 53-21

Next game -- The Clovers (4-3, 1-1 WCC) play Eastern Greene in the North Daviess Holiday Tournament in Elnora on Wednesday, Dec. 27. The game begins at 5:30 pm.