Lions come out on top of two OT games; move record to 9-8

   Clear Lake’s boys basketball team is hitting its stride heading into the final games of the regular season.  The Lions, who have won six of their last seven outings, came from behind to defeat Hampton-Dumont and St. Ed’s last week.  Following the pair of overtime wins, they are now 9-8 overall and 9-6 in the North Central Conference.  After hosting Webster City on Tuesday, the Lions are at home Friday and Saturday to play Humboldt and Charles City.  They close out the regular season Tuesday, Feb. 14, at Algona.

CL 65, H-D 58 (OT)
    “We performed well when we needed to, which was the last half of the fourth quarter and the
over time period,” said Lions Coach Kevin Kahler about his team’s Tuesday night matchup.   “Hampton is always a tough place to play; we’re just fortunate to come out of there with a win.”
    Clear Lake topped H-D by 31 points the first time the two teams met, but this time was different.  The Bulldogs were in it to win it.  They opened with a 14-13 first quarter score and were up 27-23 at the half.
    With three minutes to go the Lions tied the score at 49-49 and kept it knotted at 51-51 to force overtime.  The Lions outscored the Bulldogs 14-7 in OT for the 65-58 victory.
    “We didn’t execute as well offensively as we needed to, but we were able to keep it close and force the overtime,” added Kahler.
    Senior Ozzie Adams connected on eight three-pointers and scored a total of 31 points to lead the Lions.  Spencer Davidson also finished in double figures with 16 points.  The sophomore also had a pair of assists and four rebounds.
    Bryson Hamilton scored eight points and shared rebounding honors with Chase Crosby.  Both had five boards.  Crosby also scored five points.  Tanner Tusha and Gavin Sheakley scored two points apiece, while Luke Schiller added one point.  Schiller and Adams led the team with four steals apiece.

CL 61, St. Ed’s 53 (OT)
    The Lions were down 44-37 with four minutes to go against St. Ed’s, but battled back and hit free throws down the stretch on their way to a 61-53 win in overtime Friday night.
    The Lions experienced foul trouble early on, but managed to stay within six points at the break, 28-22.  After an even third quarter, the Lions outscored the Gaels 14-8 in the final period.  The Lions’ Ozzie Adams drained one of his six three-pointers in the game to tie the score at 48-48 with one minute to go. That score held and the game went to overtime.
    Chase Crosby started the overtime period with a three-point play and the Lions had momentum.   The team missed only one free throw in overtime and was an impressive 15/17 from the line in the game, which Coach Kahler called “huge.”
    “I also thought we had good production from our bench.  We had a number of kids step up for us, and that’s encouraging to see in a pressure situation,” added Kahler.  “This was a big one for us.”
    Adams was 6/12 from two-point range and 6/10 from behind the arc.  He also made four of five free throw attempts for - Read More Via e-Edition