Moore scores 47 to pace Clovers past Clay City

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

CLOVERDALE - The Cloverdale Clovers celebrated their winter homecoming with a 76-56 victory over the Clay City Eels in boys’ high school basketball action on Saturday night.

The game was a physical, chippy game that was highlighted by both teams taking more 3-pointers than twos and the state’s leading scorer (Jalen Moore) pouring in 47 points. The Clovers improved their record to 10-4, while the Eels fell to 3-11.

The teams combined to shoot 57 three-pointers and knocked down 17 of them, but the big difference was at the foul line - where the Clovers outscored the Eels by 16 on the night.

Moore picked up his 47 despite constant, physical pressure as the Eels committed 23 personal fouls on the evening and sent the senior guard to line 22 times. Moore converted 19 of those free throws. He scored on a variety of drives, steal and layups and step backs. The rest of the Clovers picked up the slack by draining some long range shots and out rebounding the Eels 41-25 on the night.

“We did a good job at times of moving the ball. When we did that, we had a lot of success. They (Clay City) do a great job of dribble drives and they have four players that can shoot the three,” Cloverdale head coach Patrick Rady said.

The two teams put on an offensive show in the first quarter, as both teams tallied 19 points. Moore had 11 for Cloverdale and the Eels hit four-of-seven from behind the arc to keep pace. Gianni Pipes scored eight points for Clay City in the stanza.

The Clovers used the 3-point line to begin to extend the lead in the second quarter. Jake Kelley and Moore each hit a pair of treys in the quarter. Cloverdale used a 15-4 run to open the quarter to establish a comfortable 39-28 halftime lead.

“Our passing was good tonight, especially in the first quarter. I thought we took good shots,” Rady said.

Clay City kept themselves in the game in the third quarter by hitting three more from long range early in the period, but the Clovers finished the quarter on an 8-2 run and led 57-46 heading into the final period.

Moore had 11 of the Clover points in the quarter, while Nick Winders added four.

Cloverdale methodically stretched its lead in the final quarter. The Clovers consistently got to the foul line and converted. They hit on 10 of 12 from the charity stripe in the quarter to keep the Eels from gaining any ground. Moore had 13 more points in the final quarter to finish with his game-high 47.

The Clovers took care of the basketball and were able to get numerous possessions off of offensive rebounds during the game. The Clovers only turned the ball over eight times on the evening and pounded the smaller Eels on the boards, 41-25. Nick Winders had 12 of those caroms for Cloverdale. Moore was the only Clover in double figures, while Ethan Rogers and Nathan Owens scored 14 for the Eels and Corbin Crosby had 10.

“We seemed to fix some of our rebounding issues tonight,” Rady said.

The Clovers will host the Cascade Cadets Tuesday night in a Western Indiana Conference showdown. The Clovers are currently tied for the lead in the Eastern Division with a 3-1 record.

CLAY CITY(57) – Rogers 4-10 5-5 14, Crosby 3-7 2-2 10, Yocom 2-5 1-2 5, Owens 5-9 1-2 14, Edmondson 1-1 0-0 2, Pipes 3-7 0-0 8, Lafary 0-3 1-2 1, Adams 0-2 0-0 0, Steward 1-2 0-0 3, Newton 0-0 0-0 0, Patterson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-46 FG, 10-13 FT, 57 TP.

CLOVERDALE (76) – Moore 13-26 19-22 47, Winders 1-4 5-6 7, Watts 2-8 0-0 6, Wilkes 2-6 0-0 5, J. Kelley 3-7 0-1 9, N. Kelley 0-5 2-2 2, Miller 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-56 FG, 26-31 FT, 76 TP.

Clay City 19 9 18 11 — 57
Cloverdale 19 20 18 19 – 76

3-point shooting – CC 9-25 (Rogers 1-4, Crosby 2-3, Yocum 0-1, Owens 3-6, Pipes 2-5, Lafary 0-2, Adams 0-2, Steward 1-2), CHS 8-33 (Moore 2-9, Winders 0-2, Watts 2-8, Wilkes 1-4, J. Kelley 3-6, N. Kelley 0-4). Rebounds – CC 25 (Rogers 2, Crosby 3, Newton 1, Yocum 3, Owens 1, Edmondson 1, Pipes 1, Lafary 6, Adams 1, Steward 4) CHS – 41 (Moore 6, Winders 12, Watts 5, Wilkes 6, J. Kelley 4, N. Kelley 5, Miller 1) FG Pct. – CC 41.3, CHS 37.5. FT Pct. – CC 76.9, CHS 83.9. Turnovers – CC 16, CHS 8.

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