It was a Clarke v. Chariton showdown Monday as the Indians and Chargers met for the third time this season for round one of the Class 3A regional playoffs, winning 67-51 to advance to round two of regionals. Their first game at Chariton on Dec. 1, saw Clarke with an 81-44 win, followed by a 79-74 loss at home on Feb. 3. Clarke will travel to Pella Thursday to face the Dutch (13-9) with the game slated to begin at 7 p.m. Last year, Clarke defeated Creston in the first round of playoffs 71-63, and lost in round two to Bondurant-Farrar 83-40; Bondurant-Farrar went on to win the Class 3A state championship.
The game opened with Clarke in possession, and Jesus Vega in for a basket to put a quick two on the board. Bo Otto stole the ball from Chariton, but was too strong on the shot followed by Jack Cooley’s rebound being too strong. Chartion’s Quinten Gruwell was in for the rebound, and Logan Shore’s first attempt at a three came up short. A rebound by Otto found Ashton Giza trying for a deep three that came up short. Mason Smith of Chariton found his first three of the evening, and another attempt by Giza in the corner was too strong. Otto was fouled on the shot, and went 0-2 at the free throw line.
Both teams battled for steals and a loose ball that was recovered by Cole White, and Cooley put his first two on the board with a spin and a basket to move one point ahead of Chariton. Chariton put two more on the board in the first quarter, with Clarke putting up seven more to end the quarter 11-7. Clarke put 15 more points on the board in the second quarter and Chariton 10, going into halftime at 26-17 in Clarke’s favor.
Coming back from halftime, Clarke worked their way up to a 13-point lead over Chariton, as Smith found his footing in making baskets for the Chargers to lessen the gap to 45-35 going into the final quarter.
With Clarke in possession to start the last eight minutes, it was a combination of plays and teamwork that kept Clarke ahead of Chariton. Closing their gap to a seven point deficit, the Chargers began pressing harder on the Indians, trying to get the ball away and fouling them into the bonus. This would see Cooley, Castro and Otto all going to the free throw line, with Cooley there twice. With less than 50 seconds to play, Chariton subbed in their senior players. The final play of the game had Castro steal the ball away and get it to Cooley, who dunked it to end the game.
Clarke’s win bumps their season record to 18-5.
Clarke 67, Chariton 51
Cl. - 11–15–19–22
Ch. - 7–10–18–16
Clarke
Totals (FG FT PTS) – 25 14-20 67 Ashton Giza 2 0-0 6, Jesus Vega 4 1-2 9, Bo Otto 2 3-6 7, Jack Cooley 8 7-8 23, Cole White 2 0-0 4, Brock Watson 5 1-2 11, Oscar Castro 2 2-2 7. FG shooting – 38.5%. 3-pts – 3 (Giza 2, Castro 1). Rebounds – 40 (Giza 3, Vega 4, Otto 6, Cooley 13, White 8, Watson 4). Assists – 19 (Vega 2, Otto 6, Cooley 7, Watson 2, Castro 2). Steals – 16 (Vega 1, Otto 5, Cooley 4, White 1, Watson 2, Castro 3). Blocks – 5 (Vega 1, Cooley 2, White 1, Castro 1). Turnovers – 6. Team fouls – 9. Fouled out – 0.
Chariton
Totals (FG FT PTS) – 21 1-3 51, Mason Smith 12 0-1 27, Cameron Gibson 1 0-0 3, Logan Shore 5 1-2 13, Quinten Gruwell 1 0-0 3, Brock Oxenrider 1 0-0 3, Gavin Masters 1 0-0 2. FG shooting – 38.2%. 3-pts – 8 (Smith 3, Gibson 1, Shore 2, Gruwell 1, Oxenrider 1). Rebounds – 34 (Smith 3, Gibson 3, Shore 3, Gruwell 13, Oxenrider 8, Master 1, Jacob Goben 1, Connor Briggs 2). Assists – 16 (Smith 1, Gibson 8, Gruwell 2, Oxenrider 5). Steals – 4 (Gibson 1, Gruwell 1, Oxenrider 2). Blocks – 1 (Gruwell). Turnovers – 17. Team fouls – 17. Fouled out – 0.
Other games
Ballard 62, Clarke 58
B. - 2–12–32–16
C. - 19–14–14–11
Totals (FG FT PTS) – 22 8-12 58, Ashton Giza 4 0-0 12, Jesus Vega 1 0-0 2, Bo Otto 2 1-2 6, Jack Cooley 5 3-4 13, Cole White 3 1-1 7, Brock Watson 5 3-4 14, Oscar Castro 2 0-1 4. FG shooting – 45.8%. 3-pts – 6 (Giza 4, Otto 1, Watson 1). Rebounds – 29 (Vega 2, Otto 2, Cooley 16, White 3, Watson 3, Castro 1). Assists – 16 (Otto 5, Cooley 4, White 1, Watson 2, Castro 4). Steals – 13 (Giza 3, Vega 2, Otto 4, Cooley 3, Castro 1). Blocks – 1 (Cooley). Turnovers – 18. Team fouls – 9. Fouled out – 0.