by Marianne Gasaway
The third time was no charm for Hampton-Dumont-CAL. Clear Lake sailed past their North Central Conference foe, 67-35, Monday night in the Class 3A Substate quarterfinal. The Bulldogs ended their season with a record of 7-15.
Clear Lake (21-1) advances to play Ballard (10-12) tonight (Thursday, Feb. 24). Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. in the CLHS gym. Ballard topped Nevada, 67-41, in their first round game. The Sub-State final is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 27 at a site to be determined.
For the third time this season and the second time in a week, the Lions mauled Hampton-Dumont-CAL. The Lions held the Bulldogs scoreless for the first three-minutes while they jumped to an 11-0 lead. The first quarter ended with Clear Lake in control, 24-8.
Seven Lions contributed to Clear Lake scoring 39 first half points. Titan Schmitt led the way with 13 points. He was one of four Clear Lake players to finish in double figures. Travaughn Luyobya, Thomas Meyer and Dylan Litzel were also strong pieces of the Lions’ offense.
“I thought we did a good job jumping early,” said Clear Lake Coach Jeremey Ainley. “We had great pace in the first half and pushed tempo and guarded at a high level. There was lots of balance from a lot of guys and great minutes off our bench. The stakes get higher and we are ready!”
