Late collapse leads Brown County to win over Cloverdale

CLOVERDALE – Things were looking really good for the Cloverdale Clover boys’ basketball team, holding a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter.

The Brown County Eagles closed with a 24-3 run in the final six minutes to keep the Clovers winless on the season 59-54 Friday night.

The Clovers looked good in the early going. They were able to handle the Eagle pressure and get good looks at the basket, jumping out quickly to a 13-4 advantage.

A trio of three pointers, two from Zach Thomas, paced the quick start. Noah Betz won the battle of the boards and hit 4-of-4 foul shots to give the hosts a seven-point lead after the opening period.

The Eagles would make a run in the second, taking advantage of turnovers, cutting the lead to one after a three from Eli Wrightsman.

The Clovers responded and built the advantage back to seven behind four points from Houston Jobe. Brown County answered again as Eli Harden nailed a late three to make it a four-point game at the half.

The Clovers got back to what was working for them in the opening quarter, methodically handling the Eagle 2-2-1 press. After a couple of Betz scores, the Clovers were up 16 and were in control.

A recurring theme, the Eagles were able to cut into the advantage and make a late run to cut the lead to single digits before the end of the quarter.

The pace quickened as the Eagle press finally was speeding up the Clovers. Seven quick points for Cloverdale gave the home team its biggest advantage of the night at 16.

As the pace continued to quicken, the game got a little ragged. The Clovers started turning the ball over and worse off, they started fouling. Brown County got to the free throw line 14 times in the final quarter.

Still, the Clovers were up eight points when point guard Tayt Jackson fouled out. Two possessions later Eli Kelley fouled out and the Eagles took advantage, making 10-of-14 from the line to make it a three-point game.

A three from Brady Bond tied things up and, with the Clovers scrambling, five late points sealed the Brown County win.

“We didn’t handle success very well. We would get up double-digits and abort what we were doing, trying to find something different. We didn’t come away with the victory, but we had a lot of small wins,” said Clover coach Karl Turk.

“We still got work to do. Trying to close out one under pressure is a new experience for us, but credit Brown County for coming and taking it from us..”

The improving Clovers had four players score in double figures. Jobe headed the attack with 15, Kelley had 13, Betz added a double-double with 12 points and 13 boards, and Zach Thomas finished with 12. Eli Wrightsman was the game’s high scorer with 23 and Matt Horn had 10 for the Eagles.

Team Stats

Individual Stats

Scoring - (CL) Jobe 15, Kelley 13, Betz 12, Thomas 12, Jackson 2; (BC) Wrightsman 23, Horn 10, Bond 8, Hubbard 8, Lewis 4, E. Harden 4, C. Harden 2

Rebounding - (CL) Betz 13, Kelley 7, McGuire 6, Thomas 2, Jobe 2, Jackson 1, Johnson 1; (BC) Horn 8, C. Harden 6, E. Harden 6, Lewis 4, Wrightsman 4, Hubbard 3, Bond 2, E. Harden 1