The Clarkson/Leigh Boys Basketball Team won 45-32 at David City Friday night to end the regular season before falling 71-40 to Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family in the D1-3 Sub-District Semifinals from Norfolk Catholic Tuesday night.
The Patriots led the Scouts 16-6 after one, and won the 2nd quarter 12-8 to take a 28-14 lead into the locker room.
Clarkson/Leigh won the 3rd quarter 13-10 to extend their lead to 41-24 at the end of three.
David City doubled up the Patriots 8-4 in the 4th quarter.
Jarred Novotny had 21 points while Carter Hanel notched 10 points and 16 rebounds, good enough for a double-double.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 16-7 lead at the end of one, and won the 2nd quarter 12-10 to take a 28-17 lead into the locker room.
Things unraveled for Clarkson/Leigh in the 3rd quarter as Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family outscored the Patriots 26-12 to increase their edge to 54-29 at the end of three.
The Bulldogs won the 4th quarter 17-11.
Hanel led the way with 10 points while Novotny and Eli Hays registered 9 apiece.
I think H/LHF showed why they are the defending D-1 State Champs.
Clarkson/Leigh's season ends at 8-14.
I think it was a successful season for the Patriots in many ways.
Clarkson/Leigh won their last 3 regular season games and played their best basketball in early to mid-January.
The Holiday Tournament win over Arcadia/Loup City was big as well.
All positives to build off of for next year for what was a pretty young team this year.
Novotny was the team's leading scorer this year, finishing with 330 points.
Hanel led the team in rebounding with 243 boards on the season.
The Patriots graduate just one senior in Isaak Wiese.
Clarkson/Leigh brings back nearly everyone next year, including Lance Paprocki, Hays, Kyle Kasik, Drew Beeson, Kanyon Held, Mason Whitmore, Hanel, Tommy McEvoy, and Mitch Beeson.
I think having McEvoy back fully healthy next year will make a huge difference for the Patriots.
I look for Clarkson/Leigh to be even better next year and even better than that in 2021-2022.
I think the Patriots are definitely a team to look out for and be reckoned with in the future.
These kids are multi-sport athletes so you know they will be very active and get after things throughout the course of the summer.
Of course family vacations are always nice during the summer so the kids should enjoy their vacation to wherever they go if they take one and enjoy the summer and time off from school.
With that said, the kids have to put the time in in the gym and in the weightroom this offseason as well.
The kids have to get bigger, faster, and stronger, and become better ball players than they were this year.
With another year of development and maturation I fully expect Clarkson/Leigh to do fine things in 2020-2021.
I think the Patriots will improve from this year to next year as I felt they improved from last year to this year.
The Clarkson/Leigh Girls held off Howells-Dodge 41-39 in the C2-5 Sub-District Final from Norfolk Catholic last Thursday night.
The Jaguars led 12-10 after one before the Patriots won the 2nd quarter 15-11 to take a 25-23 lead into the locker room.
Howells-Dodge won the 3rd quarter 7-6 to make it a 31-30 game at the end of three.
Clarkson/Leigh won the 4th quarter 10-9.
Kennedy Settje had 12 points while Cassidy Hoffman totaled 9 points and 10 rebounds. Alissa Kasik chipped in 7 points.
Head Coach Matt Murren says his team was ready for a four quarter battle. "We knew going in that it was going to be a battle. Howells-Dodge has improved throughout the year and came in winning 8 of their last 11 games. It was just your typical postseason battle between two rivals. I am glad that we were able to come out on top. The game was close from start to finish. Our biggest lead of the game was 4 points and theirs was 5 points. In the 4th quarter the lead for either team never extended beyond 3 points. Kennedy Settje hit a 3 pointer with 4 minutes left to put us up 40-39. Our defense was able to get stops late in the game, that allowed us to move on to sub-state. We made a giant stop with 6 seconds left and secured the board."
The Patriots (19-5) battle GACC (22-3) in the C2-4 District Final from Fremont High Friday night in action that will be aired on 107.9 the Bull.
The Bluejays won 47-33 over Ponca in the C2-4 Sub-District Final from Pender last Thursday night.
Murren says GACC is a great team. "Year in and year out GACC is a top program. Coach Stracke does a great job with his teams and they are having another great year. They are a team that is extremely athletic and like to use their athleticism defensively to cause issues. They look to speed teams up and force them into turnovers. On the offensive end, they can really score the ball from the perimeter with the 3 and do a great job of finding their posts inside. It's going to be a fun matchup, our kids will be prepared for them and we are excited to get the opportunity to play in a sub-state game."
This is the 2nd straight year Clarkson/Leigh is in a Sub-State game as they fell 41-25 to Blue Hill in last year's Sub-State Final.
Another difficult matchup and opponent for the Patriots this year, but to be the best you have to beat the best.
Murren says his team has to simply play their game and execute. "We just need to make sure that we come out and play our style of basketball. We started the year searching for our identity and as the year has gone along we have found out the team we are and the style we like to play. At the end of the day, Friday night comes down to how we handle their pressure, defend in transition, and limit 2nd chance opportunities. These are all things that we've preached all year and we are going to keep the same mindset as we approach this game."
There's no doubt Clarkson/Leigh will need to play their best game of the year to come out on top.
Murren says his squad is thrilled to be back at Sub-State with an opportunity to qualify for state. "At the beginning of the year we talked as a team and I told the girls we could be back in this spot if we work hard and peak at the correct time of the year. I'm not sure how many believed me at the time but as the season has gone along, they have started to believe and trust in one another and it's led us to this point. This group has done such a great job of working together, improving and having fun daily that they've given themselves this opportunity to advance to state. If we are able to come out on top Friday night, it would mean a lot to the team, fans, parents and community. We have been building for these moments now and we are glad to have another chance to do it."
Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on the Bull.
I would suggest getting there early if you plan to go with both West Point Schools playing back-to-back.
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