Cloverdale claims Holiday Classic crown

Sunday, January 5, 2014
Cloverdale senior Kedrick Collett throws a no-look pass to a teammate during the championship game of the 2014 Holiday Classic. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

CLOVERDALE -- Mirroring the come-from-behind victory in the tournament's opening round, the Cloverdale boys' basketball team overcame a halftime deficit to beat Mitchell in the 2014 Cloverdale Holiday Classic championship game on Saturday 61-56.

The Clovers (9-1, 2-0 West Central) were led by freshman Cooper Neese (21 points) and junior Marquise Moore (17 points), who were both named to the all-tournament team.

Cloverdale coach Pat Rady said it wasn't just the win that was important, but the way the players overcame adversity.

The Clovers trailed 30-24 at halftime of the championship, just as they had in the semifinal matchup with Seymour when they faced a similar 34-26 deficit.

"If I knew that (trick), I'd write a book and make a mint off it," Rady said. "We just challenged the kids at halftime. We didn't feel they were playing to their potential. ... I thought both second-halves we did a better job of playing defense and of pressuring the ball."

The mixed defenses Cloverdale faced, with the opponents top perimeter defenders focusing on Moore and Neese while the remainder of the team sagged off, took the Clovers away from their primary offensive focus of aggressively driving to the basket.

As Cloverdale settled in, the team found ways to penetrate and draw fouls.

"We changed some things on offense," Rady said. "In both the early afternoon and night (games), we had great suggestions from our coaches. ... We all made suggestions in the morning game and in this game tonight that really helped and almost always got us a basket the first time."

Against Seymour (1-8), the Clovers finished the first half 6-for-10 at the line. They went 16-for-18 in the second half.

Cloverdale attempted just two free throws in the first half against Mitchell, then went 9-for-11 in the second half.

While many of those attempts came when the Bluejackets were trying to extend the game late, the Clovers were able to come from behind and build a lead because of increased defensive pressure.

Rady said some of that came because his team began hitting shots.

"Baskets make a lot of things go away," he said. "We had to make some adjustments and we did."

Moore and Neese were the catalysts. After a quiet first half when they combined for eight points, the pair scored 16 of Cloverdale's 22 third-quarter points.

Like the team as a whole, this also mirrored game one when Moore and Neese scored 12 of their eventual 43 points.

The two Cloverdale standouts were joined on the all-tournament team by Mitchell senior Alex Speer, Eminence junior Brennan Ringler and Seymour junior Isaiah Thomas.

Speer had 16 points, three rebounds and three assists in the championship game against Cloverdale and added five more in the 76-67 overtime win over Eminence (2-5) in the semifinal matchup.

Thomas had 17 points against Cloverdale and 15 points against Eminence.

Ringler had 23 points in both games for Eminence, including the 81-48 loss to Seymour.

Cloverdale senior Kedrick Collett had his best day of the season. He scored 11 points in the first half of game one to help keep his team close and had seven more in game two. He also had three blocks and nine rebounds combined.

Moore's two-game totals were 38 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three steals. Neese had 43 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and five steals. The pair was 30-for-36 at the free throw line in the two games.

The Clovers, ranked No. 17 prior to Saturday's action, are next scheduled to play at Covenant Christian (4-3) on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

"If we could have about three or four good days of practice, I would love it," Rady said. "But we get the weather we're going to get, I'm not sure that's going to happen."



2014 Cloverdale Holiday Tournament
Championship game
Mitchell (56):
Speer 7-15 0-0 16, Vance 5-7 1-5 11, Jenkins 3-7 0-0 8, T. Jones 2-4 0-0 4, Coulter 2-6 0-0 4, Shafer 5-10 1-4 13, Wheeler 0-1 0-0 0, Blackerby 0-0 0-0 0, Vandeventer 0-0 0-0 0. Total 24-51 2-9 56.
Cloverdale (61): Neese 7-11 2-2 21, Moore 4-13 8-9 17, Schroer 3-7 1-2 9, Collett 3-4 0-0 7, Scott 2-5 0-0 4, Hughes 1-1 0-0 3, Duff 0-0 0-0 0, Lotz 0-0 0-0 0. Total 20-41 11-13 61.

Mitchell1614917 -- 56
Cloverdale8162215 -- 61

Team stats

_CLML
3PM-A10-216-15
OR-DR-Total7-17-247-17-23
Assists116
Steals77
Blocks23
Turnovers99
Fouls912

All-tournament team:
Marquise Moore, junior, Cloverdale
Cooper Neese, freshman, Cloverdale
Alex Speer, senior, Mitchell
Isaiah Thomas, junior, Seymour
Brennan Ringler, junior, Eminence

Game one:

Seymour1618119-- 54
Cloverdale13131322-- 61

Game two:

Eminence132014155-- 67
Mitchell1317161614-- 76

Semifinal:

Seymour34151517-- 81
Eminence1311618-- 48
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