Kelley steps up as Clovers defeat Eagles

CLOVERDALE — A hot start and solid play from a variety of players led the Cloverdale Clovers to 55-35 victory over county rival, South Putnam on Thursday night in boys’ high school basketball.

The Clovers jumped out to a 14-2 lead and shot 60 percent (20-of-33) from the floor to boost their record to 7-11 on the season, while the Eagles fell to 2-14.

“We really shot the ball well tonight. We had some kids playing different roles that had to make decisions and they did a good job. That will only help our depth,” Cloverdale head coach Patrick Rady said as the Clovers played without leading scorer, Kyle Thomas. Thomas has an ankle injury and no set timetable for his return.

Cloverdale came out of the gates on fire. They hit three-pointers on their first four possessions of the game before the Eagles used a timeout to try and stop the run. Walker Sims and Nolan Kelley each nailed a pair of treys to lead the way. Cloverdale opened a 14-2 lead, before ending the quarter up 17-4. The Eagles not only struggled to stop the Clovers but turned the ball over seven times in the period and managed to only get seven shots up.

“We didn’t come out with the effort and intensity that you need to play with. We didn’t execute, we didn’t hustle,” South Putnam head coach Greg Dean said.

Cloverdale maintained its lead throughout the second quarter. The Eagles cut the lead to 19-10 on a Brent Wiggins jumper, but that would be the last time the Eagles would be within single digits as Nate Nees hit the first of two consecutive three-pointers to boost the Clover lead back to 15 points at 25-10. Cloverdale would close the half up 29-13.

“Nate has been a JV player all year, but he hits shots in practice and he hits them in the JV games. We have the confidence he can hit them,” Rady said.

South managed to make a couple of small runs in the third quarter, but every time the Eagles seemed to get a little momentum, the Clovers answered with a big shot by Kelley.

The Eagles scored first to open the second half, but Kelley hit a trey, then a steal and a layup and the Clovers led by 19.

South cut the lead again, but Kelley answered again.

The junior guard scored 11 of his 24 points in the period and the Eagles had no answer for him. Cloverdale would finish the quarter up 42-28. South’s Steven Schnepp almost matched Kelley with eight points in the quarter and Dru Teipen added 5 off the bench to keep the Eagles within striking distance.

“We didn’t get out on shooters. We worked on what we needed to do for four days preparing and we allowed them to get good looks,” Dean said.

Cloverdale might have put the game away in the period, but the Clovers struggled to take care of the basketball. They turned it over eight times in the period but offset that by hitting 5-of-7 shots from the field.

“We let them get back into it some with our turnovers, but our calling card all year has been defense and we still defended well and did a lot of good things,” Rady said.

Chase Ashcraft opened the fourth quarter with an old-fashioned three-point play and Kelley hit his fourth three-pointer of the night and the Clovers opened a 20-point lead and kept at least a 15-point cushion throughout the final stanza.

“We played a lot harder in the second half, but still didn’t execute. We have to come out and play harder and more focused,” Dean said.

Cloverdale was led by Kelley with his game-high 24 points and Walker Sims added 10 for the Clovers. Steven Schnepp led the Eagles with 19 points.

When asked about Kelley stepping up for the injured Thomas, Rady wasn’t surprised and answered, “They (Kelley and Thomas) really have some battles in practice. It is really competitive. They have a hard time stopping each other.”

The Eagles will play again on Saturday in a matinee contest at home against Sheridan, while the Clovers are now off until Tuesday night when they play at Monrovia.

SOUTH PUTNAM (35) – Schnepp 8-13 1-2 19, Blaydes 0-1 0-0 0, Smith 4-10 1-2 9, Leo 0-1 0-0 0, Gregory 0-2 0-0 0, Teipen 2-4 0-0 5, Wiggins 1-2 0-0 2, Switzer 0-1 0-0 0, Rector 0-0 0-0 0, Goodpaster 0-0 0-0 0, Hammond 0-2 0-0 0, Clark 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-37 FG, 2-4 FT, 35 TP.

CLOVERDALE (55) – Kelley 10-15 0-0 24, Koosman 2-4 0-1 6, Ashcraft 2-4 5-5 9, Sims 4-5 0-0 10, Gill 0-1 0-0 0, Dickison 0-1 0-0 0, Nees 2-3 0-0 6, Firkins 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-33 FG, 5-6 FT 55 TP.

3-point shooting – SP 3-11 (Schnepp 2-5, Smith 0-2, Hammond 0-2, Teipen 1-2) CHS 10-15 (Kelley 4-5, Koosman 2-3, Ashcraft 0-1, Sims 2-3, Nees 2-3) Rebounds – SP 15 (Schnepp 3, Switzer 1, Smith 3, Goodpaster 1, Leo 1, Gregory 1, Teipen 2, Wiggins 1) CHS – 21 (Kelley 5, Koosman 6, Ashcraft 5, Sims 2, Nees 1) FG Pct. – SP 45.9, CHS 60.6. FT Pct. – SP 50.0, CHS 83.3. Turnovers – SP 21, CHS 21.