Clear Lake 50.
Charles City 47
In the second game of the season, the Lions faced a tough Charles City team on Nov. 30. The Comets were coming off a close loss to Xavier and showed speed and agility on the Lion’s home court.
From the tip-off the Comets took control of the game early, putting the Lions in a deep hole that only grew through the first half.
In the first quarter, the Lion offense could only muster four points, while the Comets scored 11 on multiple Lion turnovers. The physicality of the game was high as sophomore Thomas Meyer stepped out of the game with a cut on his face.
He wasn’t out long, however, and returned to help on both sides of the ball, utilizing his height to defend the goal as well as put shots in.
The second quarter was a little more even for the two teams, but Charles City still grew its lead by one, outscoring Clear Lake 13-12 to lead heading into halftime 24-16.
The Lions found it tough to stop senior Jack Hanson who shot his way to 17 points including four three-point shots that combined well with senior Keenen Wiley’s 17 points.
In a tale of two halves, the Lions came out with ferocity in the third with Titan Schmitt leading the way.
The Lions found a quick and shifty Schmitt as he shot his way to a team-high 18 points which helped the Lions overcome the deficit, outscoring the Comets 17-9 in the third.
Heading into the final minutes of the game, the Lions and Comets sat knotted up at 33.
Taking care of business, Clear Lake looked to have the game in the bag but a foul with just over one second remaining on the clock, along with a technical after, put the win in jeopardy.
The shooters undefended free-throws could tie the score and send the game to overtime, but the shots came up short and the Lions improved to 2-0 on the season.
The victory saw Schmitt with 18 points that came off four-of-nine field goals, including three three-point shots and seven free-throws. Thomas Meyer sat at 14-points on five goals and four free-throws and Gavin Anderson scored 10-points on three goals including three three-pointers and one free-throw.
Meyer led the team in blocks with four and steals with two. He also grabbed seven rebounds. Trevor Theobald led the team in assists with six.
“In the first half we were being too timid, we weren’t attacking the basket and sat behind the three-point line shooting them,” said Lion leading scorer Titan Schmitt. “Going into halftime we knew we’d have to come out in the second half and play hard.”
The team did just that which also woke up the crowd and got the gym rocking which helped energize the guys on the court.
“It’s awesome, it gives us a lot of motivation as a team even if we aren’t doing the best and it keeps us going,” said Schmitt. “We know we can win these close ones. We have to keep going hard, execute and it will go our way.”
The Lion coaching staff was proud of the way the boys stood up to the challenge and didn’t back down, making it a fun game to coach.
“We knew we played terrible the first half but they came out and showed us something we hadn’t seen, it was the second game of the year and I explained to the kids that there’s adversity in life and you have to battle,” said coach Michael Oimoen. “It’s a rollercoaster and it’s fun. That’s why I do it.”
The team, after the win, came up and congratulated Coach Oimoen on the win, who was filling in for head coach Jeremey Ainley that night.
“I don’t get to do it often, but I love doing it and I love the kids and we love having fun.”
Clear Lake 66,
Fort Dodge 30
The Clear Lake Lion boys basketball team opened its season against the Fort Dodge Dodgers on Tuesday, Nov. 28.
It was a tight game through the first with the Lions and Dodgers tied at 12 headed into the second quarter where the Lions found a groove and outscored the Dodgers 17-7.
Headed into halftime, the Lions were feeling good, leading by 10.
It was the third quarter, though, where Clear Lake shined, outscoring Fort Dodge 27-3.
Up 56-22, the Lions were able to let off the gas a touch and take the opening game victory 66-30.
Leading the Clear Lake Lions at the bucket was senior Cael Stephany who had 13 points that included three three-point goals. Junior Thomas Meyer added 12 points from six-of-seven goals.
Titan Schmitt, also a junior, scored 11 and was perfect from the free-throw line, going four-of-four.
Senior Dylan Litzel also scored in double digits with 11 points and was four-of-five from inside and three-of-four from the stripe.
Sophomore Trevor Theobald led the team in assists with eight, while scoring five points and grabbing six rebounds.
