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Clovers win Wabash Valley Classic consolation title; Neese named MVP
CHS sets three records in defeating Robinson
TERRE HAUTE – A team struggling for its metaphorical life after a bad outing on Tuesday responded with another victory on Thursday, as the Cloverdale Clovers won the consolation bracket championship of the First Financial Wabash Valley Classic with a 67-64 victory over Robinson, Ill.
In the process, the Clovers tied or broke three records:
• Cooper Neese scored 36 points, including 23 in the third quarter, to finish with 118 for the four-game tourney (tying him for first-place in the 17-year history of the event and netting him tournament MVP honors);
• Neese was 9 of 9 at the free throw line, making him 41 for 41 for the week; and
• The Clovers scored 30 points in the third quarter, setting a tournament record.
Cloverdale lost its opening-round game to Linton-Stockton, then had a poor performance in a 48-44 win over South Vermillion.
The Clovers rebounded with a 75-74 win on Thursday over Marshall (Ill.), a team which had scored a tourney-record 101 points the previous game.
On Thursday, Neese dueled it out with Robinson standout Dylan Dirks, who finished with 29.
The Maroons had a 16-12 lead after one period, but the Clovers scored the first eight points of the second period. Nick Winders started the run with a basket, followed by one from Neese, another from Jalen Moore and one from Parker Watts to give Cloverdale a 20-16 lead with 4:41 left in the second quarter.
Dirks then took things into his own hands, scoring 15 points in the final 4:00 on three treys and three baskets, as Robinson took a 31-24 lead into halftime.
Neese only had six points in the first half, then responded with an incredibly unstoppable effort in the third period – hitting 5 of 6 treys, 2 of 2 baskets and 5 of 5 free throws.
What was the difference?
“We told him that Dirks had 21 points,” Cloverdale coach Patrick Rady said. “He knew there was some urgency there, and took that personally. He gave what else he had left in the tank.”
Neese admitted his third-quarter dominance “felt good,” especially after the first two quarters.
“In the first half, I didn’t get much to fall,” he said. “I just wanted to come out and do what I could to help my team come back. That was the main goal.”
Rady noted Neese’s competitive nature and realization that his time in the popular tournament was almost at an end.
“He knew this was the last opportunity in this tournament,” Rady said. “Any time there’s a championship on the line, he’s up for the challenge. That’s what great players do.”
Neese’s third-quarter explosion put his team up 54-44, but the game was not over even though the Clovers increased their lead to 65-50 with two minutes to play.
Robinson closed out the game on a 13-2 run, with the Clovers getting their only basket from Seth Pfaff on an assist from Neese.
Neese and Moore both played all 128 minutes in the week, and Neese not surprisingly admitted he was tired after the marathon stretch.
“It’s definitely special coming out of here with three wins,” he said. “We are all really thankful to be able to participate in this tournament, and it’s been a great experience.”
Moore added 13 points and Nick Winders had 10 for the Clovers.
Rady knows that when this season eventually ends, he will be able to look back upon this week as a huge boost regardless of how far the Clovers advance through the state tournament.
“All of us put aside the fact that we can’t go back and change time,” he said. “We weren’t happy that we lost the first game, but we said let’s just go out and win the rest of the way for Cloverdale. We were down at halftime in both of the last two games, and fought back and played pretty good basketball.”
ROBINSON (63) – Dirks 9-22 7-9 29, Wright 3-10 0-0 8, White 3-10 3-4 10, Weber 2-6 0-0 4, James 2-5 1-2 6, Black 0-1 0-0 0, Scott 3-5 0-0 6. Totals 22-59 FG, 11-15 FT, 63 TP
CLOVERDALE (67) – Neese 11-18 9-9 36, Moore 5-12 2-7 13, Winders 4-5 0-1 10, Wilkes 2-6 0-0 4, Pfaff 1-2 0-0 2, Watts 1-3 0-0 2, Rossok 0-1 0-0 0, Miller 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-47 FG, 11-17 FT, 67 TP
Robinson 16 15 13 19 – 63
Cloverdale 12 12 30 13 – 67
3-point shooting – Robinson 8-20 (Dirks 4-12, Wright 2-4, White 1-1, Weber 0-2, James 1-1), Cloverdale 8-16 (Neese 5-9, Moore 1-3, Winders 2-2, Wilkes 0-1, Watts 0-1). Turnovers – Robinson 12, Cloverdale 11.
Next game – Cloverdale (8-5) plays at Owen Valley on Friday, Jan. 6 in Western Indiana Conference action.