Defense keys Clover run to WCC title

Saturday, January 25, 2014
Cloverdale junior Marquise Moore scores on a layup in the first half of Friday's matchup with North Putnam. Moore led all scorers with 19 points. (Banner Graphic/JARED JERNAGAN)

ROACHDALE -- In a half century as a head coach, Cloverdale's Pat Rady has settled on a few philosophies about basketball. One of them rang especially true Friday night at North Putnam.

"Every team has runs, so you just have to hope your team's runs are a little bit longer than the other team's runs -- and you have more of them," Rady said.

Coming out in the second half in a newly installed full court press, the Clovers forced seven turnovers in the frame, outscoring the Cougars 21-10.

The run was the deciding factor in the game, as Cloverdale (11-1, 4-0 WCC) took a one-point halftime lead and turned it into a 58-42 victory over the Cougars (6-4, 2-1 WCC).

With the win, the Clovers guarantee themselves at least a share of the West Central Conference title. They can win it outright with a win over South Putnam next week.

The press was a new look, not only in the game, but on the season for Cloverdale, leading to perhaps the best stretch of hoops Rady has seen out of this squad.

"That second half was one of the best halves we've played all year," The veteran coach said. "We put in a press this week and we worked on the press since Monday. We were very pleased with the effort the boys had. We played a little bit of press last week against Cascade but we added a different press this week."

The new look clearly frustrated the Cougar ball handlers, and Cloverdale Kedrick Collett was the beneficiary, getting five quick points in transition after the break, and scoring all eight of his points in the third quarter.

While frustrated with the difficulties his team found in the third, Cougar coach Luke Haworth told his players they have now challenged a strong Clover squad in ways that few other teams have.

"I told our boys, that's two games in a row that we've made them do different things than they've done in any other game to beat us," Haworth said. "In the county tournament, they had to completely change their gameplan at halftime. And then here in this game, they had to go to a completely different gameplan than they've used against any other team."

The Clovers also topped the Cougars 60-58 in the championship game of the Putnam County Classic on Dec. 7.

The difference in the two teams, Haworth said, is the Clovers' ability to compete with multiple styles of play, while the Cougars need to stick to their halfcourt game.

"In the first half, not that we got great looks every time, but we did a great job of not turning the ball over as much and we were able to be right there in the game at 18-19, which was what we wanted," Haworth said. "We told our boys, if you keep it like this, a possession by possession game, it's going to be fine. But if it turns into a running game, it's theirs. Unfortunately, that's what happened."

The first 16 minutes were much more of a half court, grind it out affair. While neither team shot particularly well, the defensive intensity was high on both ends.

After each team hit a few shots in the first quarter on the way to an 11-11 tie, the well went dry in the second, with Cloverdale grinding out eight to take a 19-18 halftime lead.

At the half, though, the Clovers implemented the press and Rady spoke to his shooters about the need for short memories.

"I told them at halftime, 'Yes, we missed some good shots. Don't think about it. This is a new half. Let's go out there and play loose. If you miss it, you miss it, but be confident in the next shot,'" Rady said. "I think that has to be a shooter's mentality. The shooter cannot be afraid to take another shot."

And the shooters were not afraid. On a night when neither scorer looked particularly impressive early, leading scorers Marquise Moore and Cooper Neese both found their way into double figures.

North Putnam's Jordan Nauert (right) attempts to drive around Cloverdale's Cooper Neese. (Banner Graphic/JARED JERNAGAN)

Moore led the Clovers with 19, while Neese chipped in 11.

The most consistent offensive force of the night was big man Brantson Scott, who scored six points in the first half and poured in 10 more after the break. With a three-inch height disadvantage to Scott, the Cougars simply had no answer.

"It was a team effort," Rady said. "We had some great assists. We had some key rebounds when we needed to rebound. We had a key stop when we needed to get a key stop on defense, whether it was our press or even in half court."

In the fourth quarter, the lead ballooned as high as 12 points before the Cougars clawed their way back, bringing the lead down to 11 with 1:21 remaining.

While his team couldn't overcome the deficit, Haworth applauded the determination.

"I give our guys a lot of credit for the effort they showed and not quitting," Haworth said. "I'm extremely proud of their effort overall, their ability to never give up."

Jordan Nauert, who scored the Cougars' first seven points before picking up three first-quarter fouls, led the way with 13 points. He was followed closely by Bennett Hazelgrove with 11.

The Clovers are back in action on Tuesday evening when they travel to Covenant Christian. The Cougars have a week to prepare for another county and conference foe in Greencastle. The Tiger Cubs host the Cougars next Friday.



At North Putnam
Cloverdale 11 8 21 18 -- 58
North Putnam 11 7 10 14 -- 42
Scoring
Cloverdale:
Moore 19, Scott 16, Neese 11, Collett 8, Schroer 4, Lotz 0, Hughes 0.
North Putnam: Nauert 13, Hazelgrove 11, Green 8, Beaman 6, Roberts 4, Hall 0, Flynn 0.
Turnovers: CHS 13, NP 16. Total fouls: CHS 17, NP 18.

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