The Clarion-Goldfield-Dows boys basketball team used four players in double figures to score a nice 68-52 home win over Hampton-Dumont/CAL last Friday. The Cowboys led 34-20 at the break.
Connor State swished 17 points through the nets on 7 of 9 from the field. Coady Olson was next in line with 16 points, which included draining four baskets from long range. Christian Gaytan and Jaxon Carpenter both added 10 points apiece. Mateo Martinez chipped in six points, Aiden Harrington five points and both Jacob Moore and Cael Chase a bucket each. State crashed the boards for six rebounds, with Gaytan, Olson, Carpenter and Chase all getting four caroms each. Martinez finished with three rebounds, Harrington two rebounds and Tyson Berning, Alex Carrillo and Kaeden Bricker one each.
Carpenter showed good unselfish play in dishing out seven assists, with Gaytan making six assists from his spot on the floor. Olson, Harrington and Carrillo all had one assist each. Olson picked off four steals, with Carpenter making three and both Gaytan and Harrington two each. Gavin Wilson and State had one each. Gaytan and State also added a blocked shot each to their line.
“Again, tempo helped us,” stated head coach Brandon Lantzky. “Our shooters arrived in this game. I think the key to this one was being able to knock them out of their 2-3 zone early and from there they had a difficult time defending us. We were able to force them into a lot of turnovers and hurried shots. The first three quarters were pretty good basketball. We will need to learn how to put four quarters together for us to reach the next level. I think that will happen with time. Again, this was a great team effort. Our guys were aggressive and got after loose balls, and rebounding was another key for us in this game.”
In an earlier game, when only the unofficial scoring was reported, the team won 66-34 at Eagle Grove last Monday, December 9th. The official scoring totals show Martinez actually had 17 points, not 16 as reported earlier. Gaytan finished with 12 in board duty, with nine of those on defense. State got a double-double with 11 rebounds to his credit. Bricker grabbed seven caroms, Olson and Harrington five apiece and Martinez four. Wilson had two rebounds to his credit, while Carpenter, Morales and Berning all finished with one each.
There was plenty of unselfish play going on as Carpenter dished the pumpkin for four assists and both Gaytan and Harrington three apiece. Martinez, Olson, Morales, Wilson, Chase, State and Bricker all finished with two assists each, with Berning making one. Gaytan, Carpenter and State all picked pockets for two steals each, with Martinez, Morales, Moore and Chase all contributing one apiece. State went vertical for three blocked shots and Gaytan two, with Martinez and Olson adding one each.
“We were able to control the tempo,” said Lantzky. “I thought that even though we did not shoot the ball from outside, we were able to get to the rim in transition and force a lot of turnovers. This was a great team effort and we were able to experiment with some different combinations of personnel in the second half, which will help us in the future.”
In a game not reported on last week, the team lost 55-36 at Clear Lake on December 6th. Olson led the scoring with 10 points and State was close to doubles at nine points. Carpenter and Chase had four boards each to share that lead, with Gaytan and Carpenter making three assists each. State had three steals and Martinez, Chase and State all a blocked shot apiece.
The team travels to Humboldt this Friday to finish out the December part of their schedule.
