LCA Blitzed Early In Loss To Clinton Christian
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Mark [email protected]
While the Cougars steadied themselves some, they couldn’t fully recover in a 72-55 loss to the Couriers.
On the game’s first possession, the Cougars lost track of five-foot, eighth-grade guard Seth Shetler, who was fouled while knocking down a trey and converted a free throw.
The next trip down the floor, Nathan Stutsman hit a trey, and less than 40 seconds in LCA was down 7-0.
Freshman Jake Harris and senior Connor Blum scored on back-to-back trips to cut the lead to 7-4 before Stutzman took the game over.
Stutzman, Clinton Christian’s big gun, averaged 30 points per game over his last six games. He had 10 in the first quarter as the Couriers ended the period with a 27-10 advantage.
“They knocked down a lot of shots in the first quarter. We talked a lot about getting out on shooters, and we came out too hard on that first one,” said LCA coach Chris Hohm. “He made the shot and then knocked down the free throw. I was glad we battled back right away; it didn’t turn in to more than 7-0. But our defensive intensity and rotations were too slow. It wasn’t enough in the first quarter.”
In the second quarter LCA chipped away at the lead, forcing five Courier turnovers and holding the visitors to 12 points. The Cougars were down 11 at halftime and had the ball to open the third quarter.
With a chance to cut the deficit to single digits, Carter Twombly was fouled trying to stick a missed shot back. He misfired on both charity tosses, and then the Cougars found themselves struggling defensively as they did in the early minutes of the game. Clinton went on an 8-0 run to open the second half and seal the outcome.
“We turned it around in the second quarter and made a good push. We started mixing things up (defensively) so they couldn’t run the same things over and over on us, and then our guys started rotating faster and playing a little bit better defense,” Hohm said. “That pride factor kicked in a little bit. I asked them in between quarters ‘we’re on pace to give up 108 points; do we really want to do that?’
“I think we lost the game in the first two minutes of the third quarter. We missed the free throws, and they went down and scored, so instead of being a nine point game after the free throws, the next time we got the ball we were down 13. That’s a four-point swing that I thought was critical. Right after that they scored bang, bang, bang, and it got out of hand after that.
“We’ve got to find a way to come out harder after halftime. We’ve struggled with that the last two games. They shot the ball well, inside and out. Part of that is our defense, but part of that is a testament to them and having good shooters and finding ways to get the ball to them.”
Stutsman finished with 33 points for Clinton Christian (15-5). Josh McDaniel led LCA with 19 points, while Jake Harmon scored 11 and Noah Twombly nine for the Cougars.
With the loss, LCA fell to 1-16 on the year, and the Cougars have won only twice since the beginning of last season. While not an advocate of moral victories on the court, Hohm said he sees the improvement in the team.
“Last year, we struggled to even have moments,” he said. “It was like a constant slow bleed where ‘OK, we’re down 20, now the game’s over.’ This year we may get down, but we claw back, but we can’t get that second claw back to tighten a game up. It’s just a consistency thing, and part of that is playing some young guys and part of that is our seniors need to make sure they step up and in those big moments.”
The Cougars play again Saturday when they host Lakewood Park.
CLINTON CHRISTIAN 72,
LAKELAND CHRISTIAN 55
CC 27 12 21 12 – 72
LCA 10 18 8 19 – 55
Clinton Christian – Wesley Garner 0-0 0-0 0, Caleb Schrock 3-4 2-3 9. Nathan Stutzman 12-17 6-10 33, Javan Bontrager 1-2 2-3 4, Ryan Hochstetler 2-4 0-0 6, Jaden Mullet 0-0 0-0 0, Seth Shetler 1-5 1-1 4, Hunter Hathaway 0-0 0-0 0, Keidrick Miller 0-2 1-2 1, Benson Yoder 6-7 3-9 15. Totals 25-41 15-28 72.
Lakeland Christian – Josh McDaniel 6-16 4-4 19, Noah Twombly 1-4 1-1 9, Jon Harmon 1-8 2-2 4, Jake Harmon 3-5 3-4 11, Landon Twombly 1-4 2-2 4, Elijah Raymond 0-0 0-0 0, Carter Twombly 0-4 2-4 2, Skyler Harris 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-42 14-18 55.
Three-pointers – Clinton Christian 7 (Stutzman 3, Hochstetler 2, Shetler, Schrock), Lakeland Christian 5 (McDaniel 3, Ja. Harmon 2); Rebounds – Clinton Christian 30 (Bontrager 9), Lakeland Christian 19 (L. Twombly 4); Turnovers – Clinton Christian 15, Lakeland Christian 12; Fouls – Clinton Christian 13, Lakeland Christian 23; Fouled out – Blum; Records: Clinton Christian 15-5, Lakeland Christian 1-16
JV – Clinton Christian 39, Lakeland Christian 30
LCA – Jeremy Gross 12, Yongjin Kwon 5, Skyler Harris 4, Trae Harris 3, Braxton Keller 2, Trenton Parker 2, Elijah Raymond 2[[In-content Ad]]
While the Cougars steadied themselves some, they couldn’t fully recover in a 72-55 loss to the Couriers.
On the game’s first possession, the Cougars lost track of five-foot, eighth-grade guard Seth Shetler, who was fouled while knocking down a trey and converted a free throw.
The next trip down the floor, Nathan Stutsman hit a trey, and less than 40 seconds in LCA was down 7-0.
Freshman Jake Harris and senior Connor Blum scored on back-to-back trips to cut the lead to 7-4 before Stutzman took the game over.
Stutzman, Clinton Christian’s big gun, averaged 30 points per game over his last six games. He had 10 in the first quarter as the Couriers ended the period with a 27-10 advantage.
“They knocked down a lot of shots in the first quarter. We talked a lot about getting out on shooters, and we came out too hard on that first one,” said LCA coach Chris Hohm. “He made the shot and then knocked down the free throw. I was glad we battled back right away; it didn’t turn in to more than 7-0. But our defensive intensity and rotations were too slow. It wasn’t enough in the first quarter.”
In the second quarter LCA chipped away at the lead, forcing five Courier turnovers and holding the visitors to 12 points. The Cougars were down 11 at halftime and had the ball to open the third quarter.
With a chance to cut the deficit to single digits, Carter Twombly was fouled trying to stick a missed shot back. He misfired on both charity tosses, and then the Cougars found themselves struggling defensively as they did in the early minutes of the game. Clinton went on an 8-0 run to open the second half and seal the outcome.
“We turned it around in the second quarter and made a good push. We started mixing things up (defensively) so they couldn’t run the same things over and over on us, and then our guys started rotating faster and playing a little bit better defense,” Hohm said. “That pride factor kicked in a little bit. I asked them in between quarters ‘we’re on pace to give up 108 points; do we really want to do that?’
“I think we lost the game in the first two minutes of the third quarter. We missed the free throws, and they went down and scored, so instead of being a nine point game after the free throws, the next time we got the ball we were down 13. That’s a four-point swing that I thought was critical. Right after that they scored bang, bang, bang, and it got out of hand after that.
“We’ve got to find a way to come out harder after halftime. We’ve struggled with that the last two games. They shot the ball well, inside and out. Part of that is our defense, but part of that is a testament to them and having good shooters and finding ways to get the ball to them.”
Stutsman finished with 33 points for Clinton Christian (15-5). Josh McDaniel led LCA with 19 points, while Jake Harmon scored 11 and Noah Twombly nine for the Cougars.
With the loss, LCA fell to 1-16 on the year, and the Cougars have won only twice since the beginning of last season. While not an advocate of moral victories on the court, Hohm said he sees the improvement in the team.
“Last year, we struggled to even have moments,” he said. “It was like a constant slow bleed where ‘OK, we’re down 20, now the game’s over.’ This year we may get down, but we claw back, but we can’t get that second claw back to tighten a game up. It’s just a consistency thing, and part of that is playing some young guys and part of that is our seniors need to make sure they step up and in those big moments.”
The Cougars play again Saturday when they host Lakewood Park.
CLINTON CHRISTIAN 72,
LAKELAND CHRISTIAN 55
CC 27 12 21 12 – 72
LCA 10 18 8 19 – 55
Clinton Christian – Wesley Garner 0-0 0-0 0, Caleb Schrock 3-4 2-3 9. Nathan Stutzman 12-17 6-10 33, Javan Bontrager 1-2 2-3 4, Ryan Hochstetler 2-4 0-0 6, Jaden Mullet 0-0 0-0 0, Seth Shetler 1-5 1-1 4, Hunter Hathaway 0-0 0-0 0, Keidrick Miller 0-2 1-2 1, Benson Yoder 6-7 3-9 15. Totals 25-41 15-28 72.
Lakeland Christian – Josh McDaniel 6-16 4-4 19, Noah Twombly 1-4 1-1 9, Jon Harmon 1-8 2-2 4, Jake Harmon 3-5 3-4 11, Landon Twombly 1-4 2-2 4, Elijah Raymond 0-0 0-0 0, Carter Twombly 0-4 2-4 2, Skyler Harris 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-42 14-18 55.
Three-pointers – Clinton Christian 7 (Stutzman 3, Hochstetler 2, Shetler, Schrock), Lakeland Christian 5 (McDaniel 3, Ja. Harmon 2); Rebounds – Clinton Christian 30 (Bontrager 9), Lakeland Christian 19 (L. Twombly 4); Turnovers – Clinton Christian 15, Lakeland Christian 12; Fouls – Clinton Christian 13, Lakeland Christian 23; Fouled out – Blum; Records: Clinton Christian 15-5, Lakeland Christian 1-16
JV – Clinton Christian 39, Lakeland Christian 30
LCA – Jeremy Gross 12, Yongjin Kwon 5, Skyler Harris 4, Trae Harris 3, Braxton Keller 2, Trenton Parker 2, Elijah Raymond 2[[In-content Ad]]
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