Although they played well enough to top of Madelia in their season opener on Thursday, the Clipper C boys fell to the host Blackhawks 43-35.
Dominic Anderson and Gavin Karels dropped in threes for the Clippers, Braeden Smith (above) scored a couple of baskets from the floor, and Nathan Seeman, Charlie Perkins and Kasyn Zuehlke each added a bucket, but after missing layups late in the half, the Clippers lagged 18-16 at the break.
The Blackhawks put in a two and a three to start the second frame while the Clippers still had trouble with layups.
But Tanner Simonette, back in uniform this year, scored on a drive through the baseline, Smith pulled down an offensive rebound and tossed it back up for a bucket, Zuehlke drove for two more Clipper points, and Smith scored again, this time moving laterally on the baseline, and the Clippers were up 24-23 with 6:45 remaining.
The Clippers wouldn’t lead again though. With a pair of threes in the mix, Madelia scored 14 of the next sixteen points. Nathan Brink had the basket for the Clippers.
Trying score quickly, the Clippers put up shots from behind the arc. A newcomer to the Clipper program Alexander Kortuem made one and a pair of free shots, and Smith rebounded and scored, but the rest of the three-point attempts didn’t go through the net.
Smith led the effort with eight points. Zuehlke had six points. Kortuem scored five points, all in the second half. Simonette recorded four points. Anderson and Karels each had three points. Seeman, Brink and Perkins each chipped in two points.
The Clippers only went to the foul line once. Madelia made three of nine foul shots and four three-pointers.
The C boys host Alden-Conger on Tuesday.