Clovers hand Wolves fifth-straight loss

ROCKVILLE – Off the back of a win against Cascade the prior night, Cloverdale traveled to Parke Heritage Saturday night for a look at a potential boys’ basketball sectional opponent.

The Clovers used a patient approach on offense to counter the Wolves’ 2-3 zone most of the night while the defense kept the opposition under 10 points each quarter to hand the hosts their fifth-straight loss 34-31.

“That was a big road win for us,” Cloverdale head coach Patrick Rady said in beating the defending Class 2A runner-up, despite Parke Heritage’s recent slide.

The lead changed hands six times in the opening quarter despite the low score as Kyle Thomas opened the night with a pair of jumpers sandwiching a Christian Johnson three.

Johnson was fouled on another three, hitting two of the three foul shots, before Noah Betz hit a three in reply.

Johnson would finish the quarter with a layup that gave the Wolves an 8-7 lead after eight minutes.

Noble Johnson would start the second period with a three and a jumper by Renn Harper gave the hosts their largest lead of the night at 13-7.

Thomas hit a three that was matched by Christian Johnson with the visitors getting the last two buckets through Brady Koosman and Thomas, trimming the gap to 16-14 at halftime.

Harper opened the second half with a jumper before the lead trading began again once Thomas hit a three and McGuire Lee hit two free throws to take a 19-18 lead.

Christian Johnson converted a three-point play that was answered by a Zach Thomas three while Renn and Kyle Thomas matched threes in the closing minutes of the third quarter, leaving Cloverdale with a 25-23 lead heading into the final period.

The Clovers opted for a patient counter to the 2-3 zone with Rady noting Lee was the hub of the attack, passing from the free throw line and picking up four assists in the process.

“We were playing McGuire out of the nail hole, looking to keep the middle occupied,” Rady said about attacking Parke Heritage’s zone. “We were running a guy on baseline trying to get behind the zone.”

Renn converted a three-point play to start the fourth quarter which Betz matched with his second three of the night.

Scoring dried up for a time before Kyle Thomas hit a three to give the Clovers their largest lead of the night at 31-26 with 2:20 to play.

Christian Johnson would eventually erase the deficit, first hitting a free throw, then scoring on a drive and adding a jumper to tie the game at 31-31.

Koosman would provide the winning basket on the next possession, evading Parke Heritage’s defense on an inbounds play for a layup, though the senior and Christian Johnson both landed hard on the play.

Betz came in and missed the and-one free throw in Koosman’s stead but the Wolves came up empty on their next possession and Kyle Thomas added a free throw to make it 34-31.

Both Johnsons had a chance to tie the game in the final 18 seconds but both missed threes as the Clovers won for just the second time over the hosts in six meetings.

Cloverdale returns to action Tuesday against Owen Valley at 6 p.m.

Scoring

Cloverdale (5 2FG; 7-3FG; 3-6 FT) — K. Thomas 19, Betz 6, Koosman 4, Z. Thomas 3, Lee 2

Parke Heritage (8 2FG; 3 3FG; 6-9 FT) — C. Johnson 18, Harper 10, N. Johnson 3