Cascade steers past Cloverdale in second half

CLOVERDALE – The Cloverdale Clovers battled the Cascade Cadets but dropped a boys’ high school basketball contest on Al Tucker Court 58-44. The game was much closer than the final score indicated.

The Clovers had a dry spell in the third quarter and a sequence of plays in the fourth doomed the hosts to the loss. Cascade pounded the Clovers on the boards (33-15) to offset a good performance from behind the arc by junior Houston Jobe.

The loss dropped the short-handed Clovers to 1-11, while the Cadets improved to 4-6.

“We competed; we have taken some shots and have a lot of players playing new defensive assignments and offensive positions. We grew some, but it is a struggle. It still goes into the loss column. This team feels like Rocky Balboa. We had to re-calibrate and reset,” Cloverdale head coach Karl Turk said of his team missing Noah Betz and Scottie McGuire from their lineup due to injury.

Jobe was hot early for the Clovers, scoring all nine of the hosts’ points in the first period from behind the arc. The Cadets answered by scoring inside around the basket and led 10-9 after one quarter.

“Credit goes to our trainer, Emma Young. Houston is one of the guys who got hurt over break and she got him ready to play. He had a good week of practice and he made some great plays. There was a lot of growth across the board,” Turk said.

Both teams were able to score in the second period. Cascade’s Brady Trebley went inside and scored, while Toby Savini got the mid-range going for the Cadets as they put up 20 points in the quarter.

Cloverdale responded by getting the Cadets in foul trouble and the Clovers knocked down 9-of-12 foul shots in the quarter. Jobe, Tayt Jackson and Zach Thomas all finished with multiple free throws in the period, though the Cadets were able to do enough as they led 30-26 as the teams headed to the locker room.

“We got a lot of help from our bench. Artrevion Henderson gave us some energy and we got contributions from Liam Ramsay and Trey Schabel. This team is still fighting and I took the time to thank the kids today. They know this is a proud program and working hard to uphold that,” Turk said.

The Cadets used a 7-0 run early in the third quarter to establish some separation from the Clovers. Following an acrobatic layup from Jackson, the Clovers went three minutes without scoring until Jackson hit a step back trey. The Cadets finished the quarter with the final five points and a 44-33 lead.

“It kind of got away a little in the third quarter. (Cascade) came out and got the better of us. They are coming off the Hendricks County tournament and that is a big bump in competition and they were playing with a lot of energy,” Turk said.

Cascade looked like they were going to put the game away after taking a 51-42 lead, but a rebound basket by Eli Kelley cut the lead to six points.

A series of unfortunate events took place that stalled the Clover rally.

Cascade’s Trebley got loose under the basket after a good defensive stand and picked up a bucket and-one. Jackson seemed to answer with a layup but was called for a charging foul and committed his fifth foul on the ensuing possession, leading to a Savini bucket and the lead was stretched back to 12 points as the Cadets would hold on for the 58-44 lead.

“This group plays hard, but right now we have a slim margin and just a few plays can make a difference,” Turk said.

The Cadets were led in scoring by Trebley with 15, Connor Sanders had 14 and Savini 13 for the balanced Cadets. Jobe led all scorers with 20 points, while Jackson chipped in with 11 for the Clovers.

Cloverdale will try and get healthier and improve their play on Saturday night as they will travel to take on a tough Parke Heritage squad.

CASCADE (58) – Trebley 6-13 3-3 15, Co. Sanders 6-7 2-2 14, Savini 6-13 0-0 13, Parsons 2-5 1-2 6, Weakley 1-2 0-2 2, Ca. Sanders 1-4 0-0 3, Hege 1-2 0-0 3, Hobson 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 23-46 FG, 8-11 FT, 58 TP.

CLOVERDALE (44) – Jackson 3-6 4-6 11, Jobe 6-15 3-4 20, Kelley 1-6 0-0 2, Thomas 2-4 3-4 8, Johnson 0-2 0-0 0, Schabel 1-2 0-2 3, Henderson 0-0 0-0 0, Ramsay 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-35 FG, 10-16 FT, 44 TP.

3-point shooting – Cascade 4-12 (Co. Sanders 0-1, Savini 1-5, Parsons 1-3, Ca. Sanders 1-2, Hege 1-1), Cloverdale 8-17 (Jackson 1-4, Jobe 5-9, Thomas 1-2, Johnson 0-1, Schabel 1-1) Rebounds – Cascade 33 (Trebley 9, Co. Sanders 1, Savini 10, Parsons 4, Weakley 4, Ca. Sanders 2, Hege 1, Hobson 1), Cloverdale – 15 (Jackson 2, Jobe 2, Kelley 4, Thomas 1, Johnson 3) FG Pct. – Cascade 50.0, Cloverdale 37.1. FT Pct. – Cascade 72.7, Cloverdale 62.5. Turnovers – Cascade 13, Cloverdale 12.