Cloverdale Clovers | Archive | December, 2008

Ashton Marshall hangs in the air, while Cloverdale’s Link Lovins comes in for a block attempt. [Order this photo]

By CAINE GARDNER

Sports Editor

Just when you caught your breath from the last time these two team met
up, here we go again. After battling in the first round of the county
tourney, Greencastle and Cloverdale were at it again Friday. The two
squads fought to a 63-61 outcome in favor of GHS, leaving both players
and fans breathless.

“I told our guys this week that playing them in the county and
then coming back and playing them the next week. I was not concerned
physically, I was more concerned mentally with how would we approach
the game,” Greencastle head coach Troy Greenlee said. “Teams that are
pretty even like that, the mental edge really means a lot.”

The breaking point of the game came with 4:38 to go in the
fourth quarter. Cloverdale had maintained its early lead, but a
slashing basket and free throw from Greencastle’s Jordan Hickam tied
the game at 52-all and set the stage for a showdown over the final
minutes of the game that had fans going wild.

Down the stretch, both teams scored from outside and on
improbable runners and it looked like 32-minutes wouldn’t contain the
game.

After the Tiger Cubs built a 62-58 lead, Cloverdale guard Brandon Moon
connected on a three-pointer from beyond NBA range and gave Cloverdale
one last chance for the win. GHS missed the second of two free throws
and Cloverdale snagged the rebound and signaled for a timeout. They
moved the ball up the court, but Jacob Clark’s three attempt was just
short. The Tiger Cubs had survived to win 63-61.

“I’m very proud of our team,” CHS head coach Pat Rady said.
“What they had to go through tonight made me believe that we could be
all right for this year’s over. They withstood some difficult times and
situations tonight.

“I’m proud of our fans. Our student body really came here and backed us, really supported us,” he added.

A raucous Cloverdale crowd greet the Clovers when they took the court for the opening tip and spurred them along throughout.

Cloverdale used that emotion to grab a quick lead that they
maintained for three-and-a-half quarters. The Clovers jumped out a 6-0
lead and held a three-point advantage after one. Greencastle came alive
in the second, but a very productive half from Moon helped the Clovers
hold their lead going into the half. They lead 31-28 when the teams
entered the locker rooms.

Early in the third, Greencastle found themselves down 10
points, but responded with a run and closed the gap back to three. As
the teams entered the fourth something had to give, but what was yet to
be determined.

Greenlee thought that the composure his team displayed in the third was key to picking up the win.

“I didn’t think we were as sharp, as we needed to be at times
tonight, but to our kid’s credit, when we got down, we didn’t panic and
give up. We made some plays when we needed plays and I just thought our
kids responded well,” Greenlee said.

Cloverdale and Greencastle traded buckets early, but after
Hickam’s three-play, Greencastle gained an advantage they road until
the end.

Despite the loss, Cloverdale showed signs of the team they will
become. They didn’t give in and continued to fight until the final horn
sounded. Rady was pleased with the effort his team brought to the court
Friday and believes their future looks bright.

“I’m not going to give up on these guys,” he said. “They showed
a lot of grit and a lot of determination. We just have to keep plugging
and keep getting better and I think we’ll be all right by the end of
the year.

“I don’t believe in moral victories, but tonight came close to
it. The kids played their hearts out. I’m just really proud of how they
hung in there on some tough situations. I am just proud of our players
tonight,” Rady added.

For Greenlee it is day-by-day for his Tiger Cubs. They’ve shown
they can accomplish some good things, but he wants them to concentrate
on getting better day in and day out. He also likes that some players
are maturing and fitting into roles nicely.

“I saw some things tonight that I was hoping to see out of some
of our guys,” Greenlee commented. “I thought Jordan Hickam made some
plays that really made a difference in the game. I though Kyle Harlan
really did a great job coming in there and making some tough plays.

“Those are the things you have to have to win games like that.
It’s going to be different guys different nights and tonight it was
those two, plus others, that made the difference,” he concluded.

Cloverdale will be on the road Tuesday at Clay City with a 7:30
tipoff, while Greencastle will go against Sullivan tonight at 8 p.m.

At Greencastle

Cloverdale 11 20 15 15 — 61

Greencastle 8 20 15 20 — 63

Cloverdale — Moon 22, Clark 12, Lovins 9, Kukman 8, Salter 8, Dean 2. Totals: FG 25-52 FT 5-10 TP 61.

Greencastle — Hickam 17, Huber 11, Bartrum 4, Marshall 6,
Nobles 7, Shuee 3, Harlan 6, Moore 6, Hutcheson 3. Totals: FG 25-52 FT
9-13 TP 63

Next game — Cloverdale will be on the road Tuesday at Clay
City with a 7:30 tipoff, while Greencastle will go against Sullivan
tonight at 8 p.m.

Cloverdale’s Zach Waycott puts the pressure on Monrovia’s Chandler Joyner during the 145 weight class match. Cloverdale defeated the Bulldogs 52-28. [Order this photo]

By CAINE GARDNER

Sports Editor

CLOVERDALE — The Cloverdale wrestling squad welcomed Monrovia Tuesday and dealt the Bulldogs a 52-28 defeat.

“Going up against some of the teams we’ve wrestled so far, it’s good to
get back on the winning track,” CHS head coach Steve Livingston said.
“I thought it set us up pretty well, we have a long break before we get
back into varsity action, so this is a good time for us to get a win
like this going into the break.”

The night started on a rough note for Cloverdale as James Green
fell to Kevin Giza by fall with one second remaining in the first
period. The Clovers quickly got back on track with Jeff Couse picking
up a win in the 130-weight class.

After a loss at 140, Cloverdale won the next four matches to push their lead to 34-12.

Zach Waycott got things going for CHS in the 145-weight
division. After maneuvering his opponent into position multiple times
throughout the match, Waycott wore him down and won by fall with 14
seconds left. Kody Kohler, Lee Secrest and Matt Hall followed Waycott
with three wins by forfeit. Brennan Jepperson also picked up a win by
forfeit in the heavyweight class.

Eldin Hesselgrave made quick work of Patrick Hollcraft in the
103 class, downing the Bulldog by fall at the 1:06 mark in the first
period. Teammate Shawn Shipp also won by fall at 112, pinning Alex Voss
with 50 seconds remaining in the first period.

Cloverdale’s Eldin Hesselgrave gains position on the Bulldogs’ Patrick Hollcraft during Tuesday’s match. Hesselgrave moved to 13-0 on the season with this first period pin. [Order this photo]

Livingston noted that his wrestlers had begun to stray from the
fundamentals before Tuesday’s meet, but he thought the team did a good
job of going back to the basics.

“The bad habit that we were getting into was leaving the basics
behind,” he said. “Some of the guys were trying to get a little fancy
before tonight, so it was nice to see our guys go back to the basics of
wrestling.

“I’m a firm believer that you don’t need to have the fanciest moves in
the world. If you’re mentally tough enough, you’re going to make
anything work,” Livingston added.

The Clovers have a week before gearing up for the county
tourney and Livingston believes that the time will do the team some
good.

“If you can’t get fired up for the county tournament, you’re
not going to be able to get fired up. I think this is going to be a
good break for us, you get to heal up, get their legs back under them,
so hopefully we’ll be full power come county,’ Livingston commented.

The Clovers will host the Putnam County Tournament next Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

At Cloverdale

Cloverdale 52 Monrovia 28

103 — Hesselgrave (CHS) PIN P. Hollcraft (M) 1:06

112 — Shipp (CHS) PIN Voss (M) :50

119 — Cecil (M) PIN Carrell (CHS) 1:21

125 — Giza (M) PIN Green (CHS) :01

130 — Helterbrand (CHS) DEC. Sizemore (M) 11-3

135 — Couse (CHS) PIN Patterson (M) 1:38

140 — Clements (M) PIN McHugh (CHS) :02

145 — Waycott (CHS) PIN Joyner (M) :14

152 — Kohler (CHS) Forfeit

160 — Secrest (CHS) Forfeit

171 — Hall (CHS) Forfeit

189 — K. Hollcraft (M) PIN Kidder (CHS) :43

215 — Fulkenberg (M) DEC. Haltom (CHS) 9-1

285 — Jepperson (CHS) Forfeit

Next match — The Clovers will host the Putnam County Tournament next Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

Greencastle head coach Troy Greenlee expressed how pleased he was with the way his team played on the night.

“Any win is a good win,” Greenlee acknowledged. “Both teams
struggled from the field, both field goal and free throw wise. What it
came down to at the end was being able to make plays here and there to
score points and I thought our kids did really well doing this. We made
just enough plays to come out with a win. We knew that it was going to
be a tough game because it is always tough between Cloverdale and us.”

Greencastle won the tip. However, turnovers and missed scoring
opportunities kept both the Tiger Cubs and Clovers in single digits in
the first quarter.

Jordan Hayden helped Cloverdale close the lead of the Tiger Cubs to
only two points by hitting a three-pointer as the last seconds ticked
off of the clock. Greencastle led 9-7 after the first quarter.

Cloverdale tied the ball game at 16 and then took the lead with
1:33 left in the quarter 16-15 because of trips to the foul line that
were successful. Both teams made their fair share of trips to that
line.

In the final minute of the half, the Clovers came alive even though the
Tiger Cubs were playing tight defense and a lot of breakaways happened,
the Clovers led at halftime 20-19. That would be the last lead
Cloverdale would see.

Greencastle had the first possession of the second half and Ashton
Marshall took ball to the basket and scored two points. With 3:40,
another tie came at 26-all. The Tiger Cubs were able to take the lead
by using fast breaks and stealing the ball.

Brandon Moon hit a last second three-point shot that helped the Clovers
close the gap before the end of the third to five points. The score was
38-33.

Hickman was able to take the ball full court and score two points to start the fourth quarter for Greencastle.

The Clovers made two trips down the court, but came up empty handed. A
major part of the Tiger Cub defense was the ability to shut down the
Clovers’ attempts to go inside.

Fouls quickly became an issue for both teams.

With 4:59 to go, Cloverdale called a timeout to get his players
regrouped and settled. The fact that they were missing their free
throws wasn’t helping the Clovers’ effort. Jordan Hayden of the Clovers
hit another big three-point shot with 2:45 to go that closed
Greencastle’s lead to six points. Both teams continued to utilize their
benches.

With a minute to go, the Tiger Cubs led 49-41. Then Hayden hit another
three-pointer to close the lead to 50-44. However, there wasn’t enough
time for the Clovers to overtake the Tiger Cubs. The final score was
51-44.

Even with their struggles, Cloverdale head coach Pat Rady expressed
with pleasure with the effort his Clovers put forth on the night.

“I was proud of the boys’ effort. They worked extremely hard,
we just came up short,” he said. “Greencastle is a fine veteran ball
club. This is their house and they played with a lot desire as well.
They’re just a very good ball club. We just got beat by a good ball
club. We know to we have to face another good ball club in North Putnam
tomorrow night. We just have to keep working and we knew it was going
to be a tough year but we have to stay positive.

“I believe in these guys and I believe that we will be a fine ball club by the end of the season,” Rady concluded.

Greencastle will face South Putnam in the championship game at 8
p.m. tonight, while Cloverdale will battle North Putnam in the
consolation game at 6:30 p.m.

At Greencastle

Putnam County Classic

Game two

Cloverdale 7 20 33 44

Greencastle 9 19 38 51

Individual statistics

Cloverdale — Moon-12, Lovins-11, Hayden-10, Salter-4, Kukman-3, Clark-2, Moore-2

Greencastle — Nobles-14, Marshall-12, Bartrum-11, Hickam-6, Huber-3, Shuee-3, Moore-3

Next game — Greencastle will face South Putnam in the
championship game at 8 p.m. tonight, while Cloverdale will battle North
Putnam in the consolation game at 6:30 p.m.