Cloverdale gets second win on senior night over Eminence

CLOVERDALE — The Cloverdale Clover basketball team has faced its trials and tribulations this year with injuries and personnel losses. The Clovers used the explosiveness of Eli (Kelley) and the offensive patience of (Houston) Jobe to snap a 14-game losing streak with a convincing 64-40 win over the Eminence Eels on Tucker Court in Cloverdale Saturday night. This was a testament to the Clovers overcoming obstacles and staying together.

The Clovers overcame a slow start on senior night to explode in the middle two periods behind Kelley’s double-double and Jobe’s efficient offense to erase an early eight-point deficit to pick up the victory. The win improved the Clovers to 2-20, while the Eels dropped to 2-16 in a matchup of long-time rivals.

“We got off to a rough start in this game. A different lineup, people getting back from injury. Our timing was off, but it teaches the guys within this small game that resiliency has its part and togetherness has its part. That there is still joy to this game,” Cloverdale head coach Karl Turk said.

The Clovers started their five (Noah Betz, Scottie McGuire, Liam Ramsay, Zach Thomas, and Kelley) seniors with Betz getting a bucket to end his career despite out for the season with a knee injury. The Eels were given their compensation bucket and then raced to a quick 10-2 lead. The Clovers rallied some, but Eminence’s James Jeffries was hot behind the arc as he sank a pair of treys as the Eels ended the quarter with a 17-12 lead.

“All five guys shook off the missed shots, turnovers, whatever and they locked in on defense. Defense will lead to good offense and shots started to fall,” Turk said.

Despite Jeffries hitting another three-pointer to start the quarter for the Eels, the Clovers began to come back and scored nine straight points to take a 21-20 lead on two Kelley free throws. Despite five more points from Jeffries that allowed Eminence to re-take the lead, Cloverdale finished with a flourish. Levi Johnson knocked down a pair of free throws and then Jobe drilled two from long range and the Clovers led 33-27 at the intermission. The pressure defense of the Clovers began to take its toll on the Eels.

“The work is starting to show. As the season has matriculated, Houston has faced some challenges. Teams have been face-guarding him and he hasn’t been played like that before. We are proud of the growth Houston has made. He is definitely our most explosive scorer and I am proud of his shot selection,” Turk said of the freshman gaining his game-high 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting.

The Clovers then put the game away early in the third quarter. Cloverdale used a 13-3 run to extend the lead to 46-30. They then closed the quarter with an 11-2 run and a commanding 57-35 lead entering the final quarter. Kelley began to exert himself in the period as he blocked shots, scored inside, and pressured the ball on the perimeter and generally wreaked havoc. The senior finished the game with 18 points, 13 rebounds, five blocked shots and a thunder dunk.

“We told him (Kelley) how much we appreciate him and need him. We asked, ‘How do you want to write the end of the season?’ His confidence is growing and I love it,” Turk said.

Cloverdale pushed the lead to as much as 29 points before slowing the game down and milking the clock a little in the final stanza. They would eventually set the final margin at 64-40.

Jeffries led Eminence with 21 points as the only Eel in double figures. Jobe had 22 points for the Clovers with Kelley adding his 18 and Levi Johnson getting 11 points.

“We talked at halftime that we weathered the storm and were up. How do we want to punch back? We wanted to get back to basics,” Turk said.

Cloverdale’s next contest before sectional play starts is a Western Indiana Conference game against Sullivan in a makeup game from last week Tuesday evening.

EMINENCE (40) – Bieler 2-12 3-6 7, Girt 3-10 0-0 8, Jeffries 7-14 1-2 21, Eisenhour 0-2 0-2 0, Myers 2-7 0-1 4, Leek 0-0 0-0 0, Hilbert-Belcher 0-0 0-0 0, Gregory 0-0 0-2 0, Cromer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-45 FG, 4-13 FT, 40 TP.

CLOVERDALE (64) – Ramsay 0-2 0-0 0, Kelley 7-9 4-4 18, Thomas 0-9 0-0 0, McGuire 2-2 1-2 5, Betz 1-1 0-0 2, Schabel 2-4 0-0 6, Jobe 7-14 4-5 22, Johnson 4-9 2-2 11, Henderson 0-0 0-0 0, Peck 0-0 0-0 0, Boyd 0-1 0-0 0, Shepherd 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-52 FG, 11-13 FT, 64 TP.

3-point shooting – EHS 8-23 (Bieler 0-4, Girt 2-6, Jeffries 6-11, Eisenhour 0-2), CHS 7-23 (Ramsay 0-1, Johnson 1-1, Kelley 0-1, Thomas 0-6, Schabel 2-4, Shepherd 0-1, Jobe 4-9) Rebounds – EHS 27 (Bieler 1, Girt 6, Jeffries 3, Eisenhour 2, Myers 6, Hilbert-Belcher 2, Gregory 3), CHS – 36 (Ramsay 4, Johnson 2, Kelley 13, Thomas 4, Henderson 1, McGuire 2, Boyd 1, Schabel 4, Jobe 4) FG Pct. – EHS 31.1, CHS 44.2. FT Pct. – EHS 30.8, CHS 84.6. Turnovers – EHS 20, CHS 12.