Lions off to a powerful start

The Clear Lake boys unleashed a powerful run game and stomped the competition in their season-opening games last week.  

CL 95, IF-A 75

The Lions started the season Tuesday, Dec. 3, by handling defending conference champion Iowa Falls-Alden on the road.  Clear Lake dominated, 95-75.

“Offensively, we did a nice job of passing the ball and getting everyone involved,” said Coach Kevin Kahler.  “The real key for us was getting out in transition and running the floor.  We were able to get the ball up the floor and get some good looks early in the possession.  For the first night out, I thought our execution was pretty good.”

After a relatively close first quarter, the Lions extended their 20-16 lead to 54-33 by the half.  IF-A re-grouped in the locker room and out-scored the Lions 27-21 in the third, but Clear Lake finished strong down the stretch to win by 20.

The Lions used a balanced scoring attack to keep the Cadets down.  Seniors Spencer Davidson and Davis Dieken put in 24 and 20 points respectively, while juniors Brock Adams and Matt Stephany had 17 and 16.   Davidson and Dieken were perfect from the line, with Davidson sinking seven free throws and Dieken putting in two.

Six others got into the scorebook, including Dvein Uhlenhopp, Jack Abbas and Pete Swenson with four points apiece and Chase Lester, Tamarik Lee and JJ Theobald with two points each.

Dieken was a force on the boards, pulling down 14 rebounds.  He also had a team-high two steals and a blocked shot in the win.   Davidson, Swenson and Lee grabbed five rebounds apiece.

“Facing the defending conference champs, on the road, the first night out was a good test for us,” said Kahler.

CL 74, Humboldt 62

The Lions notched another important North Central Conference victory on Friday, topping Humboldt 74-62.

“I expect Humboldt to be one of the top two or three teams in this league, so it was another big win for us,” said Coach Kahler.  

And while the offense continued to impress, the coach said he thought the Lions  did a better job defensively against the Wildcats.

“We forced Humboldt into some difficult shots and our rebounding took another step forward,” he said.

The Lions again started strong, jumping out to a 25-11 first quarter advantage.  Humboldt fought back to out-score the home team 18-13 in the second, but never gained the lead.

“We took some poor shots in the second quarter, but we still managed to get 74 on the board,” said Coach Kahler.

Davis Dieken was a presence in the paint for the Lions.  The 6’5” senior put in 29-points to lead all scorers.  He also led the team in rebounds with nine.  Dieken scored nine of his points in the first quarter, but sat down in the second period with foul trouble. 

Spencer Davidson and Matt Stephany also finished in double figures with 19 and 13 points respectively.  Brock Adams had five points and Chase Lester and Pete Swenson each had four.  

Lester was strong on the boards with eight rebounds.  Stephany and Swenson each had seven.  Swenson also collected three of the team’s six steals in the game.

Free throws secured the win for the Lions in the final quarter.  Dieken sank 11 of 11 from the charity stripe and as a team the Lions were 19/22 from the line.

“I’m encouraged by the first two games,” said Coach Kahler.  “We have a lot to work on, but we’re off to a great start.  We just need to focus on getting better every day.”

This week the Lions hosted Webster City Tuesday and travel to Hampton on Friday.