The Clarkson/Leigh Boys Basketball Team lost 78-43 to Howells-Dodge in the first round of the East Husker Conference Tournament at Howells on Saturday.
The Jaguars jumped out to a 22-8 lead at the end of one before outscoring the Patriots 28-15 in the 2nd quarter to take a 50-23 lead into the locker room.
Howells-Dodge outscored Clarkson/Leigh 20-8 in the 3rd quarter to go up 70-31 at the end of three.
The Patriots won the 4th quarter 12-8.
Daniel Beller had 17 points and 7 rebounds while Jarred Novotny totaled 11 points.
The Jaguars simply played well the first three quarters, and put the game away early.
Clarkson/Leigh (4-11) takes on Tekamah-Herman (1-17) in an EHC Consolation game at Twin River Friday night.
The Tigers lost 77-39 to Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family at Humphrey in the first round of the Conference Tournament Saturday night.
Tekamah-Herman knocked off Clarkson/Leigh 54-48 at home on January 5th for their only win of the season so far.
The Patriots could definitely use a win to get back on track as they have lost four in a row and six out of their last seven.
A win would allow Clarkson/Leigh to avenge one of their defeats this season too.
I think it comes down to playing more of a complete game if you are the Patriots.
Clarkson/Leigh has to play well the first three quarters in particular, and outplay the Tigers.
The Patriots have to play with great and tremendous heart, hustle, pride, grit, toughness, and determination.
Clarkson/Leigh has to fight hard and dive after loose balls and leave it all out on the floor.
The Patriots have to exert every ounce of energy in their bodies in this one.
Clarkson/Leigh should be gassed after this one because they fought and played hard.
The Patriots have to flat out honestly be upset about losing to Tekamah-Herman the first time around, and have to come out and do something about it.
Clarkson/Leigh has to come out and play tough as nails if you may.
The Patriots have to execute the offense and make big plays down the stretch.
Clarkson/Leigh has to make big momentum shots to give them a lead and lift them to victory.
The Patriots need to have their inside as well as their outside game working.
Beller and Novotny need to have big games scoring for Clarkson/Leigh, and Tommy McEvoy has to step up and contribute in a big way as well.
The Patriots will play the second game of the night at 6:00 p.m.
The Clarkson/Leigh Girls find themselves in the East Husker Conference Tournament Semifinals thanks to a 51-15 win over Madison at home in the first round Friday night, and a big 34-27 win over Stanton in the Quarterfinals at West Point-Beemer Monday night.
The Patriots got out to a 17-2 lead on the Dragons at the end of one before doubling up Madison 12-6 in the 2nd quarter to take a 29-8 lead into the locker room.
Clarkson/Leigh outscored the Dragons 16-1 in the 3rd quarter to extend their lead to 45-9 at the end of three.
Both teams scored 6 points in the 3rd quarter.
Ashlynn Novotny totaled 11 points and 9 rebounds while Halee Steffensmeier and Hannah Kasik notched 9 and 8 points, respectively.
The Mustangs led the Patriots 8-5 after one before Clarkson/Leigh outscored Stanton 14-9 in the 2nd quarter to take a 19-17 lead into the locker room.
The Patriots won the 3rd quarter 8-6 to go up 27-23 at the end of three.
Clarkson/Leigh won the 4th quarter 7-4.
Novotny led the way with 15 points while Kasik added 9.
Head Coach Matt Murren on the win. "The kids just battled all night. We talked about coming into the game it was going to have to happen on the defensive end of the court. And they battled all night. Awfully proud of their effort, awfully proud of their energy. Very very proud of all of them tonight."
The Patriots (16-2) take on West Point-Beemer (16-1) in the Semifinals at Oakland-Craig Thursday night in action that will be aired on 107.9 the Bull.
The Cadets downed North Bend Central 46-40 at home in Monday night's Quarterfinals.
Both of these teams are very defensive oriented and good.
These two teams normally don't play one another so it figures to be a good and tough test for Clarkson/Leigh.
These are the types of games you want to be playing in and the type of team you want to be facing in a game like this if you are the Patriots.
Clarkson/Leigh has gotten to a point they were hoping to get to.
The win over Stanton was super special, and now the Patriots are knocking on the door of an EHC Tournament Championship.
I thought the shot to put Clarkson/Leigh up 25-23 on the Mustangs in the 3rd quarter after trailing got them over the hump and ultimately allowed them to win the game.
Back to discussing Thursday's matchup though...Clarkson/Leigh has to keep dreaming big and shooting for big things.
West Point-Beemer is a great team, but so is Clarkson/Leigh.
The Patriots must play good perimeter defense to try and limit the Cadets from the outside.
Getting a hand in the faces of Sierra Kile and Sidney Swanson is very important in particular for Clarkson/Leigh I feel.
The Patriots should feel good knowing they're headed to CCC in Columbus on Saturday regardless of Thursday night's outcome, but be hungry, motivated, and determined to get to the Championship Game.
Clarkson/Leigh can't be complacent or satisfied by just reaching this point, the Patriots have to want more.
It's going to take a great game for Clarkson/Leigh to win, but it can definitely happen.
The Patriots just have to come through in the clutch and make plays when it matters most like they did against Stanton Monday night.
Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. on the Bull.
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