BENNETT'S MINUTES: Clovers schedule rare Dec. 7 doubleheader in different counties

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Cloverdale will have a unique doubleheader next Friday.

The Clovers were scheduled to host Indian Creek in a normal girls’/boys’ doubleheader, as happens five nights each season, with the girls playing at 6 and the boys at about 7:30.

But when the chance came up for the boys’ game to be played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Cloverdale jumped at the opportunity.

Cloverdale had played Covenant Christian in a similar game a few years ago, Clover athletic director J.J. Wade said.

Ray Compton of Compton Strategies called Wade out of the blue about two weeks ago to see if the Clovers wanted to play their Dec. 7 game there.

“I said I’d love to do it, but it’s a home doubleheader,” Wade said. “He made things right with me on the gate that we will lose from not playing at home, and then I had to call Indian Creek — and they were up for it.”

The girls’ game will still be at 6 p.m. as originally scheduled.

Wade noted the boys’ team will be going to Bankers Life Fieldhouse earlier in the evening, and he and anyone else trying to take in both games will hop in their cars after the girls’ game and hit I-70 east for the 42-mile trip to the home of the Indiana Pacers for the 9 p.m. boys’ game.

Especially impacted will be Clover parents Greg and Jamie Thomas, who have a child playing in both games.

If you know them at all, they won’t miss a second of either game.

“It was a spur of the moment thing,” Wade said. “We wanted to give our kids a chance to play at Bankers Life.”

Rescheduling of game officials and other facets of the boys’ game have gone smoothly, and everything is ready to go for the unconventional night.

Wade noted one of the most unfortunate drawbacks is that popular Cloverdale teacher/coach Karl Turk, an assistant on the boys’ team, will not be able to serve as the public address announcer for the girls’ game.

Coach Patrick Rady has been working hard the past three years to get his team to play in Bankers Life Fieldhouse in March, so this gives them an opportunity to see what it’s like.

Martinsville will play Plainfield and Wapahani will battle Lapel in two games prior to the Cloverdale-Indian Creek game.

Pre-sale tickets are available for $10 at the school, and are being sold at lunch. Tickets will cost $13 at the door.

Wade noted the public is welcome anytime during the school day to purchase tickets as well by checking in at the front office.

The Clover boys’ team also found out this week its first-round opponent in the 16-team First Financial Wabash Valley Classic at Terre Haute from Dec. 26-29.

The Clovers will meet South Vermillion in the 1 p.m. game on the first day.

Pre-sale tickets for that event are $20 and are good for all four days. Wade encourages any Clover fans planning to attend the tourney to buy their tickets in advance, since teams keep $5 of the pre-sale purchase price for their athletic department.

Single-day tickets are $7.

Clover hoop updates

While a full College Report is still being delayed due to time, two former Clover boys’ standouts are in the news.

Jalen Moore is not surprisingly leading the undefeated Olney Central Blue Knights in scoring, averaging 15.3 points per game in just 21.6 minutes. Moore is shooting 44.9 percent from the field, including 43.5 percent from 3-point range. He’s also shooting 79.2 percent from the free throw line.

Moore, who has started all eight games, also has an impressive 8.4-1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Cooper Neese, meanwhile, is patiently awaiting his debut for Indiana State on Dec. 16 at Texas Christian in the first-round of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamondhead Classic, which is played on the mainland.

The Sycamores will depart for Hawaii and play Colorado on Dec. 22, either UNLV or Hawaii on Dec. 23 and then have their final game on Christmas Day.

The first three games will be available on ESPN2 or ESPNU, and the fourth game could possibly be on ESPN3.

Indiana State has struggled recently, with four straight losing seasons, but is 4-1 this year and leading the country in 3-point shooting percentage.

Neese will only help those numbers.

We will catch up with both of these players next month.