March 28, 2024

Shooting woes hurt Clarke

Clarke boys basketball (4-5) played tough with South Central Conference leading Albia (8-1) but fell to the Blue Demons 74-33.

The Indians entered the game shooting 43% from the field using athleticism from the guards and the bigs down low. Saturday, Clarke shot 28.6% from the field, going 1-for-13 from the 3-point line.

“We had a gameplan. We executed the gameplan on the defensive side of the ball, and we executed the gameplan on the offensive side of the ball, except for the one fact that we could not hit a basket,” Clarke head coach Michael Fischels said.

Albia opened up with a made free throw and 3-pointer from No. 14 as Dalton Stubbe scored near two minutes into the game. The Indians drought started early. Albia continued to tack on points with consistent offensive rebounding while knocking down shots.

Fischels said he felt the defense played well, matching up with Albia through a man defense, but the offense wasn’t able to get things moving.

Albia extended its lead to 17-2 in the final moments of the first quarter. Tanner Fry ended the near 6:00 scoring drought by going coast-to-coast with a layup for Clarke’s second score of the game.

The start of the second quarter brought more struggles for the Indians. Shots continued to bounce off the rim without finding the bottom of the net and turnovers on quick offensive sets gave Albia the ball back.

The 17-4 lead that started the second quarter ballooned to 27-4 before Jack Cooley scored the first points of the quarter on two free throws at 4:07. Clarke went on another scoring drought, turning the ball over three consecutive possessions.

“We took good shots. I guess back to the drawing board in practice,” Fischels said. “Pull out the old shooting drills and keep hammering away. We get (shots) up in practice. I’ve never seen us collectively shoot the way we shot tonight. It’s just one of those days.”

Cooley scored again on a layup at 1:32 and another in the following possession to push Clarke into the double-digit range with 10 points.

As the second half started, Clarke trailed 37-10. The Indians stormed out of the gate with intensity, energizing the crowd as the defense forced turnovers and misses, and the offense scored quickly.

A pair of blocks on the defensive end fired up the bench, and the offense went on a 5-2 run, but Albia put out Clarke’s fire after a bucket and two free throws, going up 43-25 and forcing a timeout.

“I think basically the scoreboard didn’t tell the story,” Fischels said on where his team found their spark to start the second half. “Anybody who was watching saw that defensively we were doing our job. That’s what kept us there at a 37-10 score. Down 27, but how many shots did we get good looks, but they didn’t fall? I think that’s all it took for them to realize the game is playing the way it’s supposed to be played, minus the shots falling.”

Albia took the game over after Clarke’s flurry to start the second half, closing out the game up big.

Fischels said he felt the game was much closer than the 41-point difference as his group gets another chance against the Blue Demons Friday.

“I think it can absolutely be a better game than it was (Saturday) based on the sole fact that if we can get a few more balls to hit the net,” Fischels said. “Then, obviously your chances are better on any given night when you can shoot better from the floor.”

Albia 74, Clarke 33

Albia stats were unavailable at time of press.

CLARKE (33) — (FG FT PTS) Totals — 14 4-10 33. Jack Cooley 5 2-2 12, Taylor Henry 3 0-2 7, Dalton Stubbe 2 0-4 4, Cole White 2 0-4 4k Spruceton Buddenhagen 1 0-0 2, Tanner Fry 1 0-0 2, Kamis Bulis 1 0-0 2. 3-point goals — 1 (Henry). Team fouls — 18. Fouled out — None.