Clovers rise up, win conference outright

Cloverdale's Kedrick Collett floats toward the bucket for two of his 15 points Friday night. The senior was one of five double figure scorers as Cloverdale defeated South Putnam and finished 5-0 in the WCC. (Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT)

Cloverdale finishes WCC slate 5-0 with 79-39 win over South Putnam

CLOVERDALE -- It was homecoming at Cloverdale High School Friday night. After the Clover girls kicked off the night with a victory, the boys continued their winning ways with a 79-39 win over South Putnam.

This was a big game for both teams, with Cloverdale (13-1, 5-0 WCC) having a chance at its first outright West Central Conference title since 1983. It would also be the first coach Pat Rady's career at Cloverdale, s they have shared the title twice in his 10 years.

The Eagles (1-10, 0-4 WCC), on the other hand, had a chance at their first notable win of the season, one that could disrupt the conference standings and leave the Clovers needing help for an undisputed title.

Rady said taking care of the ball was key for his team, so committing only one turnover on the night was important in the victory.

"I think that is the key," Rady said, "If we can get less than 10 turnovers per game then we are in serious business."

Rady got what he wanted from his team, not only committing no turnovers, but getting 19 assists on 26 field goals.

"We had five guys in double figures tonight. South Putnam was one who wanted to come in and spoil things," Rady said. "We started off with the press and we did well. I was proud of our guys tonight."

South Putnam coach Troy Burgess had a tough time getting his team under control.

From the get-go the Eagles had problems defending the Clovers and getting shots of their own. They let the Clovers jump out to a 16-0 lead before senior Trey Moore finally scored the first bucket.

Turnovers hurt the Eagles in the first two quarters and proved helpful for the Clovers, as they scored eight fast-break points in the first half.

South Putnam was also not up to speed with Cloverdale, which was a lot quicker off the dribble and created its own shots.

"I think we always had it going," Rady said. "I would take speed over size anyday." Of course, this Clover tema has both size and speed.

Marquise Moore was the leader for the team, using his speed and athleticism to create easy opportunities for himself and teammates.

Early in the game the Clovers hit four threes to break it open. Four fast break points led to the 16-0 first quarter lead. Senior Kedrick Collett, freshman Cooper Neese and Moore were contributors.

The second quarter was virtually the same for both teams. Cloverdale did slow the ball down, but South Putnam still could not keep up with the firepower of CHS.

SPHS doubled their point total in the second, but they still only had 12 points at the intermission and Cloverdale had 47.

It was not a good sight for South Putnam fans and Rady only had to play his starters through the third quarter.

The change in personnel gave the Eagles some relief, but it was just too far gone. Senior Trey Moore provided the spark for his team with 23 points.

No one on the Clovers side was able to handle Moore, but he missed too many open layups for his team to have a chance.

It also did not help the Eagles when five Clovers scored in double figures. Neese, Moore, Collett, senior Kade Schroer, and junior Branston Scott each had 10 or more.

These five alone beat the Eagles.

SPHS had its only big quarter of the night in the fourth. With the Clover's reserves in, the Eagles were able to dictate. They finally beat the Clovers 16-10 in the quarter. Sophomore Trevor Long played a big role in the quarter. He played aggressive and was able to get seven shots off.

It was the threes that really propelled the Clovers. They had 26 made shots altogether and 12 were threes.

South Putnam had good coverage, but the shooting was too precise.

This had the Clover's crowd going, but early in the second, Eagles' guard Grady McHugh was driving and threw up a layup when Scott switched over and swatted the ball into the stands. This got the oohs and ahhs arising and that ended most of the driving for the Eagles.

As it should be on homecoming night, the stands were packed with fans from both sides.

Coach Rady also thanked all his team's supporters and hopes that they will still continue to show their support.

Burgess was unhappy with the performance displayed by his team Friday, but he has nothing but respect for the Rady, he said.

"We played awful, Cloverdale is a great team. Coach Rady is a first class guy. He could've beat us by a 100 points tonight," Burgess said. "Coach Rady and his staff showed first class tonight. I have a lot of respect for them and their team and I wish them the best of luck as their season goes on."

Beside's Moore's scoring, the other bright spot for the Eagles was outrebounding the Clovers 25-23. However, that did little to stem the tide.

Burgess says his team will have to go to work, starting today.

February 8 will be the Clovers next game when they will travel to Turkey Run. The Eagles' next game will be tonight when they host the Riverton Parke Panthers.

South Putnam 4 8 11 16 -- 39
Cloverdale 25 22 22 10 -- 79
Individual Scoring
South Putnam (39): Moore 10-15 3-3 23, Long 2-9 2-2 7, Carmichael 1-1 0-2 2, Chestnut 1-2 0-0 2, Rutter 1-4 0-0 2, Schroer 1-8 0-0 2, Menke 0-2 1-2, Lorian 0-1 0-0 0, Masters 0-1 0-0 0, Mchugh 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 16-43 6-9 39.
Cloverdale (79): Moore 9-12 4-5 24, Collett 5-6 2-2 15, Neese 4-7 1-3 12, Schroer 4-11 0-0 11, Scott 2-5 6-7 10, Hughes 1-6 2-2 5, Fislar 1-2 0-0 2, Lotz 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-50 15-19 79.
Individual Rebounding (OFF-DEF)TOTAL
South Putnam (7-18)25: Moore (2-4)6, Carmichael (1-4)5, Long (1-4)5, Menke (2-1)3, Rutter (0-3)3, Masters (1-0)1, McHugh (0-1)1, Schroer (0-1)1.