Had the Clippers been able to hold Martin County West’s Jacob Wilmes to 41 points in Sherburn back on January 10 and not the 43 he had—and everything else been equal—they would have beaten the Mavericks instead of losing by a point.
So when the Mavericks came to town on Tuesday, slowing down the 6-3, 215-lb senior was goal number one.
While Wilmes still ended the night with 27 points, the Clippers avenged the earlier loss 67-63.
“When a guy scores 40 plus points against you, you’ve got to put eyes on him,” said head coach Mike Meyer. “We just wanted to frustrate him, try to take him out of the game as much as possible. He’s a really good player. It’s tough to keep a kid like that in check when he’s that dominant inside the paint without a lot of fouls.”
Up until game time, Meyer didn’t know who the Clippers would put on Wilmes, but Kyle Connor (above) ended up with the daunting task.
“I thought Kyle played a great game against him,” Meyer said. “He took ownership and frustrated him right off the bat.”
While the home court, with its energetic fans, was also an advantage, so was having Braeden Smith on the floor. The sophomore was sidelined at MCW, and while his first-half three-point attempts caromed off the rim, with 11 rebounds, he was Windex on the glass.
“He’s just a rebounding machine,” Meyer said. “It’s great to have a full complement of players. We can bring in three or four guys off the bench now, which is really helpful and how we want to play.”
“The guy (Wilmes) is big. It’s really hard to play against him,” Smith said. “But it’s fun to be back with my team. I guess I’m more of a defensive player than an offense player. But I have to keep practicing my shot to get ready for the rest of this week.”
Meanwhile, with 31 points, 15 of them from three-point distance, Brennan Kortuem was Brennan Kortuem.
“He’s been sick for a week and a half,” Meyer said. “You could just tell when he got here tonight that he was feeling better. I was glad to see him play that way again.”
The Clippers were hot out of the gate. Kale Kelley ran in a Carson Lyons assist to turn on the scoreboard. Bode Bartell made back-to-back threes. Kortuem caught a Maverick ball carrier off guard and cashed in on a steal with a layup.
Kortuem followed up with a three, and the Clippers were in front 13 to zip before the Mavericks put in a free throw.
But after Kortuem waltzed in a basket, the Knights went on a 12-point scoring binge. As the half drew to a close, Kortuem buried a three, but the Knights scored inside and made three free shots after to deadlock the game 24-24 at the intermission.
The two teams hung together for most of the second half. With the Clippers trailing 43-41, Alex Kortuem bagged a three and so did his brother, and the Clippers never were behind from there.
After Brennan Kortuem sashayed though the lane for another bucket, the Mavericks put in a three, but right after, Brennan Kortuem cancelled it for a 52-47 Clipper lead.
Later, wide open on the baseline, Smith took a long Lyons assist up and in for a 61-53 Clipper advantage. Connor drove the baseline for a bucket, but the Mavericks responded with free basket and a three.
Down the stretch, Brennan Kortuem made four of four free shots, which ended up being the difference. The Mavericks put in two free shots and sunk a three in the final seconds, but it wasn’t enough, and the Clippers held on for the victory.
With a tiro of threes and a free shot, Bartell ended the night with 10 points.
“Bode had a great game too,” Meyer said. “He’s a terrific free throw shooter, but he couldn’t get them to drop tonight. All of these guys played their hearts out. It’s fun to see them put a whole game together, and it was a really good win for us.”
Lyons ended the night with nine points, a basket in the first half and a pair of buckets and three of three free baskets in the second half.
Alex Kortuem put in a two-pointer in the first half and a three in the second for five total points. Connor made a bucket in each half for four points. Smith had two second-half baskets for four points. Kelley made a first half basket and two free shots in the second half for four points.
The Clippers had nine threes and made a dozen of 12 free throws while MCW made five threes and 12 of 22 free throws.
The Clippers pulled down 10 offensive rebounds and 24 defensive rebounds compared to 12 and 25 respectively for the Mavericks. They had 16 turnovers, one less than the Mavericks.
Lyons clutched eight rebounds and had three assists and four steals. Kelley had two rebounds, three assists and two steals. Brennan Kortuem had six rebounds, one assist and two steals. Bartell had one rebound, five assists and two steals. Connor had three rebounds and one steal. Alex Kortuem had one rebound.
The Clippers lost at St. James last night. They return to action tonight (Friday) when they have a rematch with Madelia. Earlier in the season, they lost big at home to the Blackhawks.
With Jacob Wilmes breathing down his neck, Braeden Smith hangs on to an offensive rebound.
