Clippers wipe out Hounds in last two minutes

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Davis goes for 30, but FM falls in Substate 5 semis to Clear-Creek Amana

BY JOHN BOHNENKAMP
PCC SPORTS

FORT MADISON - The farewell speech wasn’t something Ryan Wilson hadn’t planned.

The Fort Madison boys basketball coach wasn’t ready to say goodbye to his team on Friday night.

A 66-60 loss to Clear Creek-Amana in Friday’s Class 3A substate semifinal was not the ending Wilson, nor his team, wanted.

“We talked about expecting to win,” Wilson said. “We planned, prepared to win.”

A season in which the Bloodhounds won 18 games, surged to No. 1 in the Class 3A state rankings, ended with offensive silence in the closing minutes.

Tate Johnson (2) saves a ball that was headed out of bounds in the second quarter Friday night in the Hound Dome. Fort Madison's season came to a close with 66-60 loss to Clear Creek-Amana. Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC

Fort Madison led 57-51 with 2:20 to play, and then didn’t score again until Dayton Davis’ 3-pointer as time ran out snapped the net, the final addition to his 30-point night.

“We beat ourselves,” Wilson said.

Fort Madison seemed in control when Reiburn Turnbull scored on a drive, and then the Bloodhounds would not score in a finish that was so agonizing.

The Clippers (16-7) scored 13 consecutive points in the final 2 ½ minutes to advance to Monday’s substate final against Marion (18-5) in Muscatine.

“This group, these seniors, they found a way to win tonight,” Clear Creek-Amana coach Brandon Clubb said.

They found that way at the end.

Gage Freeman’s two free throws cut the Bloodhound lead to 57-53. Fort Madison’s Miles Dear dribbled the ball off his leg on the ensuing possession, the beginning of a series of mistakes for the Bloodhounds.

Harrison Rosenberg got a steal and a layup for the Clippers to bring them to within 57-55. Kyle Schrepfer scored on a layup on their next possession, then came up with a steal off the pressure defense. Schrepfer passed the ball to Freeman, who drove for the layup and the lead.

Senior Reiburn Turnbull tires to find away around the Clippers Gage Freeman (24) after a free throw in the 3rd quarter Friday night. Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC

CCA forced a jump ball on the Bloodhounds’ next possession, getting the ball back. Rosenberg was fouled and made the first free throw, but missed the second. Brody Clubb roared through for the offensive rebound and got the ball to Schrepfer, who was fouled. He made both free throws, and the Clippers were up 62-57 with 40 seconds left.

“We talked about it again on Wednesday at practice — offensive rebounding has hurt us in free-throw situations,” Wilson said. “We had it within three, he misses the second shot, and they get the offensive rebound.”

When Fort Madison’s Tate Johnson missed a 3-point attempt, it was clear the Clippers had survived.

Wilson ran through the entire sequence of the Clippers’ rally, then paused.

“Ball game,” he said.

Davis dominated the Clippers early. He had 10 of Fort Madison’s first 15 points, and 18 in the first half.

Fort Madison senior Dayton Davis, who finished with 31 points goes up for a shot against freshman Brody Clubb in the first quarter of Friday's Substate 5 semifinal in Fort Madison. Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC

But Davis and the Bloodhounds were stymied by a zone defense the Clippers played in the third quarter.

“It helped us rebound a little bit better,” Brandon Clubb said. “It slowed them down, turned them into jump shooters. They were really getting downhill on us for a while.

“We got some miles out of that zone.”

"I think it just slowed us down,” Wilson said. “Slowed us down, made us think. We came out passive. It just slowed us down.”

The Bloodhounds were also slowed by foul trouble to Dear, their brilliant point guard. He picked up three fouls in the first half, then got his fourth with 6:39 left in the third quarter.

Wilson didn’t bring him back until midway through the fourth quarter. 

“Kills us, right? Kills us,” Wilson said of Dear’s foul trouble. “Floor leader, senior point guard.”

The Fort Madison student section gets revved up in the second half of Friday's loss. Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC

Turnbull added 14 for the Bloodhounds.

Schrepfer led the Clippers with 20 points. Ben Swails had 17.

“I think our kids really fought through that hostile environment, the adversity,” Clubb said. “Obviously we were outnumbered here.”

It wasn’t the celebration that was expected.

“Be proud. I just told them to be proud,” Wilson said of his final message. “They put us on the map, this senior group — 18-5, ranked No. 1, played hard. This group of seniors, it’s not just basketball.“They left a mark on Fort Madison.”

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