Before Mankato Loyola vs Cleveland in boys Valley Conference basketball action, Crusader head coach Sam Carlson told his team to not take the Clippers lightly.
It was good advice. Despite a 0-2 start, the Clippers, clearly upping their game from their previous two outings, led for most of the first half, took a 33-31 lead into the locker room and hung with Loyola until the 3:39 mark, when the Crusaders scored inside for a 65-63 lead.
Twenty seconds later, Loyola scored again after a steal. Braeden Smith popped in a jumper, but the Crusaders responded with another inside basket to go up 69-65. With two trips to the foul line, the Clippers had a chance to tie, but only the last of the four free shots made its way through the net, and with a pair of free shots, the Crusaders put the finishing touches on a 71-66 triumph.
While if a few things had gone the Clippers’ way, they could have left Fitzgerald gym with a W, but on the glass-is-half-full perspective, they did keep up with a 2-1 team that only lost to Madelia by two points on the road three days earlier.
“I think this is the first time this team has actually showed up,” said head coach Mike Meyer. “In our first two games, we did a lot of things wrong and a lot of things against what we have been preaching in practice. Tonight was the first time I have seen a lot more discipline from us on the offensive side of the floor. They looked a lot more confident tonight.”
Loyola took the opening jump ball up and in for a three, but on a shooting foul with a technical tacked on, two free baskets by Mason Kluntz, two more by Carson Lyons for and, with possession back for the technical, a Lyons three, the Clippers turned a seven-point play.
With a Smith layup and free basket, another Lyons three and a Garrett Heldberg three off the bench, the Clippers went up 16-11. The Crusaders scored the next six points, but Alex Kortuem bagged a jumper for his first basket of the season and followed it up with a three for a 21-17 Clipper advantage.
The Crusaders responded with a three that started a 10-point run, and it looked like the Clippers would fade from there, but with a Smith jumper for two, an easy Lyons layup, a Miles Tomaszewski three and a Lyons three a few seconds before the buzzer, the Clippers were up by two points at the break.
“I don’t think Carson was pleased with how he played the last two games,” Meyer said. “But he’s starting to understand his role on this team. Last year we looked at Brennan (Kortuem) for those (scoring) moments, and Carson is starting to understand now he’s that guy, that he can be a little more selfish and take control of these games. But he has always done it. He’s done it from the defensive effort. He doesn’t quit. He’s always going 100 miles an hour, giving it everything he’s got.”
The Crusaders scored the first two baskets of the second half, but Tomaszewski hit a three, and Kluntz drove the baseline for a bucket to retake the Cleveland lead.
The advantage swung back and forth from there. Gavin Karels got in the book with a three that put the Clippers in front 47-44, but the Crusaders made the next three baskets. Later, Smith and Kortuem bagged threes to deadlock the game 57-57 while Kluntz and Smith ran in layups and Lyons dropped in a jump shot to stalemate the game at 63 before the Crusaders broke away.
While Loyola, with its drive inside, beat up the Clipper defense, Meyer said this season he has player to sub in and keep his defense fresh.
“This is the deepest bench I’ve had since I’ve been here. We have those plug-and-play guys. We have some mistakes that need to be fixed. A lot of times they went for a drive and we went for a reach instead of sliding in front, just simple things, simple shifts that we work on every day.”
Lyons put in a hat trick of threes, four twos and three of six freebies to lead all players with 20 points. Also in double figures, Smith had 14 points, including one three. Kortuem dropped in two threes and a two-point bucket for eight total points. Also with eight points was Kluntz. Jack Mons totaled six points. Tomaszewski put in a three in each half for six total points. Heldberg and Karels each sunk a three.
The Clippers made 35 percent of their shots from the floor. They totaled 10 three-point baskets in 31 attempts. Shooting 52 percent, the Crusaders were much more efficient. They made five threes. Both teams made eight of 12 free throws.
Kluntz pulled down nine rebounds and had one assist and one steal. Smith had seven rebounds, two assists. Two blocks and two steals. Kortuem had five rebounds, one block and two assists. Lyons had four rebounds, five assists and two steals. Heldberg had one rebound. Karels had one rebound and one assist. Tomaszewski had four rebounds, one block and one assist. Mons had three rebounds, two assists and one steal. Sam Ternes had two assists.
The Clippers turned the ball over 21 times, four more than the Crusaders. The Crusaders had 11 steals, four more than Cleveland.
The varsity boys will look for their first win when they host Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons on Thursday. The Knights, also 0-3, lost to Blooming Prairie 73-56, to Nicollet 83-50 and to Leroy-Ostrander 72-69.
Also around the Valley Conference, Nicollet beat up host Martin County West 75-37 and Martin Luther/GHEC/Truman beat MCW 64-39.
Above: Carson Lyons goes up for a layup.
Mason Kluntz pulls down a rebound.
There was plenty of fan support in the Cleveland student section.