While visiting Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial over Cleveland in varsity boys basketball action on Tuesday was as skewed as the 82-46 score indicated, the program is headed in the right direction said Mike Meyer, who is now in his second year as head coach.
“We actually felt pretty good about tonight. It’s ugly up on the scoreboard, but we have three sophomores starting for us, and some nights we’ll have younger guys playing; we had an eighth grader (Bode Bartell) in tonight. But we saw a lot of good things. The defense played well at times. Our press breaker looked decent. We didn’t score a lot of points off of it, but we didn’t turn it over a lot, and Lake Crystal had a good press.”
Filling their entire portion of the sidelines, the Knights have a score of experienced players on the varsity team. Five are seniors and the other 15 are juniors. Meyer thinks the Knights will be tops in the conference with Martin County West right up there and Mankato Loyola in the mix.
“That’s a very good team in Lake Crystal. They have been playing together for a long time.”
The Knights scored the first 13 points, including a three after the Clippers knocked the ball out of bounds and six more baskets on steals. Kale Kelley’s jumper from the free-throw circle broke the streak.
Later, Blake Lyons dashed through the paint and scored and made the ensuing free throw and then took a Gabe Sullivan handoff up and in, but the Knights kept the pressure up and were in front 40-10 before the Clippers scored again when Lyons drove in for a bucket and Jorden Rossow put in a layup from the left side.
As the half drew to the close and the Knight starters took a siesta, the Clippers rallied for a dozen points, eight from Carter Barto (above), with four of them from the free-throw line, and four from Lyons. At the intermission, the Knights had doubled up on the Clippers, 53-26.
With a dozen points, including the last six of the game when he pounded the ball inside, Barto kept at the Knights in the second half. Sullivan and Lyons each added four points.
Barto, back on the floor after missing all but the first two games last year due to an injury, led all scorers with 23 points. He also pulled down 10 rebounds. Lyons had 14 points and four assists.
“It’s good to have Barto back here and not hurt anymore,” Meyer said. “Blake looks like he is ready to be a leader, so good things will come out of tonight’s film even though it’s always tough to lose by that many points. We have to take away some of the smaller accomplishments from the loss and come back and improve the next time we play them. We’re going to go into every game trying to win, but we know part of this process is understanding there will be some games where we get beat up. We just have to stick to our process.”
Sullivan contributed four points. Rossow and Kelley each added a basket.
The Clippers were scoreless from behind the arc and made 10 of 18 free throws. LCWM, with three players in double figures, made nine threes and were three of five from the foul line.
The Clippers turned the ball over 13 times and had seven steals. Kyle Connor had three steals.
The Clippers lost seven seniors from last season to graduation: Wyatte Devens, Ethan Fuller, Kolby Gens, Carter Dylla, Lucas Walechka, Colin Krenik and the injured Jackson Meyer. Three or four of them typically started, and another one was quick off the bench. This year, they have only conducted a handful of practices since the season started.
“This whole program is at a point where we have to rebuild,” Meyer said. “It’s a long process, but the guys work hard every day in practice, and our hope is that games like this don’t defeat them, and they still come back ready to work tomorrow.”
The Clippers have three seniors on the roster: Dakota Alitz, who hasn’t participated in a couple of years, newcomer Jordan Schmidt and Braeden Hastings, who sometimes started in the 2022 season.
“We got Braeden back,” Meyer said. “He didn’t play tonight, but it will be nice to have a guy with some experience. When he is caught up to speed, he will be able to contribute.”
On December 1 against host Wabasso, the Clippers fell 72-49. The halftime score was 41-12.
Barto had 22 points. Lyons and Sullivan each had eight points. Connor had five points. Alex Johnson put in two baskets in the second half for four points. Kelley had a second-half basket for two points.
The Clippers didn’t make any threes and were nine of 20 from the foul line. The Rabbits put in one three and made nine of 16 free-throw attempts.
Back at the Wabasso tournament the following Saturday, the Clippers fell to Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda 62-33. The halftime score was 33-18.
No Clipper hit double figures. Lyons had eight points. Barto, Sullivan and Connor each scored half a dozen points. Kelley had four points, and Johnson had three points.
The Clippers didn’t put in a three and were successful in three of eight free-throw attempts. The Coyotes racked up 18 points from beyond the arc and made 10 of 28 free shots.
While coaches over the years have given lip service to connecting the program all through the ranks, Meyer is practicing what he preaches. Assistant coach Andy Schmidt also coaches the second graders. Assistant coach Travis Mons coaches the fourth and sixth graders. Junior high coaches Nancy Heldberg and Kate Anderson keep a communication line open with Meyer.
“Hopefully from here all the way down we’re on the same wavelength and not have these gaps where we have these down years but instead build and continue to have competitive teams year after year,” Meyer said.
The varsity Clippers will have another tough contest on Friday when they bus down to Sherburn to play Martin County West.
Blake Lyons holds off a Knight defender while he tosses inside.
Gabe Sullivan takes the ball to the hoop.
Blake Lyons puts up an off-balance shot.
Kale Kelley drives between a pair of defenders.
Carter Barto twists inside.
Kyle Connor wrestles for a loose ball.
Jorden Rossow takes the ball down court.
Kale Kelley pivots around a Knight defender.
Mike Meyer, Travis Mons and Andy Schmidt are in the process of making a vertical program. Helping with Xs and Os on the right is Carter Kopet (CHS 2018).
Clipper fans
Clippers on defense vs. Wabasso. (photo courtesy of Patty Sullivan)