Clearview tipped off its season Dec. 5 with a home contest against nearby Amherst, which is coming off a victory over Orange in the Dec. 1 DiFranco Classic.
Clearview grabbed an early edge before Amherst snagged the lead late in the first quarter and handed the home-squad Clippers a 60-41 loss. Tristyn Young and Landen Bray had 22 and 14 points, respectively, for Amherst, and Ayden Cruz led Clearview with 10 points.
“We just played good (defense) and coming up to this game, we knew we had to play around without Eli Solak,” Young said. “Guys really needed to step up and get the rebounds – and they just needed to step up. (Clearview) was definitely bigger than us, but we just had to keep on boxing out.”
With Clearview’s kids going on a deep playoff run in football, the team hadn’t gotten its legs beneath them as they turned the ball over 29 times.
“I was a little bit worried about. We’re trying to kick that rust,” Clearview coach Jason Christensen said. “I still see it in practice – you know, not finishing around the rim. The foul trouble and all of that other stuff hurt, but we had some opportunties we just didn’t take advantage of.”
The Clippers came within four points of tying the game in the third quarter, down, 35-31, with a bit of momentum behind them. Coming off that sequence, the Comets queued up a 9-0 run to make it 44-31.
“If one thing this team has, it’s that they don’t have a conscience,” Amherst coach Pat Bray said. “They know they’ll let the next (shot) fly, and we’re going to go get it and play our butts off. That’s what we’ve really instilled in each other is just go and play as hard as we can, and hopefully it works out for us.”
Amherst wound up on top after a dizzying opening eight minutes, with six lead changes and fouls galore on both sides, with Clearview finishing with 22 fouls to Amherst’s 19 after four quarters. The Clippers also turned the ball over 29 times to the Comets’ 26 giveaways.
From the final nine minutes of the first half onward, the Comets led the Clippers without surrendering the lead again. At halftime, Amherst’s Young and Landen Bray led all scorers with 12 and eight points, including a Bray behind-the-back dime to Young to keep ahead of Clearview.
END Q2@SteeleBoysBBall 30@chsclippers 26
Clearview's Keith Colvin Buzzer beating triple
2:46 Landen Bray Behind the back pass to Tristyn Young was smooth!@MJournalSports @travisnelson40 @SteeleComets pic.twitter.com/mecd43EbOy
— Sean Fitzgerald (@fitzonsportsbsr) December 6, 2023
“Through the years, I was always a little bit of a flashier guy,” Landen Bray said with a wry smile. “Coming up to varsity and everything, I’ve really toned it down a lot. They’ve taught me that it doesn’t have to be flashy as long as it works. Right there I knew I had and I figured the kid wouldn’t be expecting it, so I was able to get (Tristyn) the ball that way.”
The Comets hit the road again Dec. 8 when they play Open Door, while Clearview plays host to LC8 rival Firelands that same night.
