Shorthanded Indians fall to Chariton
By Matt Pfiffner
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mpfiffner@osceolaiowa.com
Things went from bad to worse for the Clarke boys’ basketball team this past week. The Indians, struggling to score and find wins this winter, lost second-leading scorer Joe Lampe to an ankle injury last week in practice. Reserve Dillon McDowell was injured in a car accident Monday after school, so the Indians were two men down when Chariton came to town for a South Central Conference contest.
The Indians led most of the first quarter thanks to eight points from Jason Ehrhardt, including a pair of 3-pointers. Clarke took a 12-10 lead into the second quarter.
“It was all going our way early,” Clarke Coach Jim Smith said.
That all changed in the second quarter, when the Chargers started converting steals into easy baskets and held the Indians to four points in eight minutes. When Chariton’s Patrick Lahart hit a 3-pointer with two seconds left, it gave the Chargers a 29-16 lead at the half.
A key point in the game came midway through the third with Chariton holding a 33-20 lead. The Indians held the Chargers scoreless for several minutes, but couldn’t put the ball in the basket either. Chariton finally broke through late in the period and led 40-23 at the end of the third.
“Our defense held them, but we didn’t take advantage of the opportunities we had. That’s where the game was won,” Smith said.
The Chargers would go up by as many as 23 points in the fourth quarter on their way to a 56-39 SCC victory.
“Our lack of depth showed and we just have struggled to score all year,’ Smith said. “We had the shots we wanted, but just couldn’t knock them down.’
Ehrhardt finished the game with 10 points, three rebounds, two steals and two assists. Ian Compton added 10 points and five rebounds. Randy Scadden had three rebounds, five assists, four points and two steals, while Mike Kalk had four points and four rebounds. Matt Mason pulled down five rebounds.
The Indians fell to 1-12 overall and 0-8 in the SCC with the loss.
Clarke traveled to Carlisle Saturday night and came home with a 68-37 non-conference loss.
Scadden had nine points and three rebounds, while Ehrhardt added eight points and also grabbed three boards. Compton had six points and three rebounds, while Ryan Phillips had a team-high three assists.
The night before in Osceola, the Indians fell to SCC rival Albia, 83-49.
Compton led the Indians with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Ehrhardt added eight points and four assists. Kalk had eight rebounds, two assists and five points, while Drew Moffett added six points and Scadden had five points and four rebounds.
