While visiting Waterville-Elysian-Morristown didn’t have much of an answer for Brennan Kortuem, the senior was in foul trouble for most of the game before fouling out with eight minutes to go in the second half and 28 points beside his name.
But the Clippers, on Senior Night, didn’t play up to their potential, especially in the first half, and that contributed to their 80-55 downfall, said head coach Mike Meyer.
“That’s the second time we’ve lost Brennan early in a game, and that is definitely a factor. We’re used to running an offense around him, but I would hate to look at our stats from tonight. I bet we missed 20 plus layups. Also, our whole goal tonight was to make the effort plays: get loose balls, get the rebounds, don’t turn it over, and we did the exact opposite.”
Kortuem put in a couple of threes early, but zipping the ball around and in, WEM, a double-A club with a 12-11 record, had an answer for them and more to jump out to a 25-10 lead.
Throwing in the towel is never part of the Clippers’ mindset though, and mostly on Kortuem drives and another three, they pulled within a basket, 31-29.
But moving in to stop a WEM layup, Kortuem got tagged for his second charge and third foul with 40.5 seconds left in the half. The Bucs went on to score another basket to take a four-point lead into the locker room.
Unfortunately for the Clippers, 80 seconds into the second frame, the refs ticked Kortuem again. To add insult to injury, the Bucs tossed in back-to-back triples to extend their lead.
Carson Lyons looped in a basket, and Kortuem, back out on the floor, made a basket with an and-one and a pair of free throws. With a Lyons inside bucket on a Bode Bartell assist, the Clippers were still in the ballgame but trailing 51-38.
But the Bucs buried a three followed up with a bucket inside, and a free throw for a six-point spurt. Kortuem manufactured another three-point play, and Kale Kelly added a basket, but with just under eight minutes, left, Kortuem, cruising along with a WEM ball carrier at mid court, got flagged again for his fifth and final foul.
From there, the Bucs, dumping in four threes along the way, cruised to the victory.
“We had a little spurt towards the end of the first half where we were getting the loose balls, playing the way I was hoping we would play all game, but something changed,” Meyer said. “Hopefully that is the last we see of that team, and we play the rest of the season like we normally play.”
Nine of Kortuem’s points came from behind the arc. Lyons put in seven buckets for 14 total points. Kelly had three baskets in the second half for six points. Bartell added three points, all in the first half while Kyle Connor put in a first half bucket. Off the bench, Tanner Simonette had a basket in the second half.
The Clippers shot 32 percent from the floor. They made six threes and six of 10 foul shots while the Bucs shot 44 percent. They rained down 10 threes and made 10 of 12 free throws.
The Bucs outrebounded the Clippers 54-30 and committed 20 turnovers, 15 more than the Clippers.
Lyons hauled down nine rebounds, made one assist and had one steal. Bartell had one rebound, three assists and three steals. Brennan Kortuem had seven rebounds and three steals. Kelley had two rebounds and one steal. Connor had one rebound. Alexander Johnson had three rebounds. Alex Kortuem had one assist. Braeden Smith had three rebounds and two steals. Sam Ternes had one assist.
The Clippers went on to play well against host Kasson Mantorville but lost 84-70 on Friday. On Monday, they lost 75-72 to host Sleepy Eye Public (see separate story) They head back to Sleepy Eye tonight (Tuesday) to take on St. Mary’s.
Above: The seniors were honored on Senior Night. They are, from L-R, Alex Johnson, Brennan Kortuem, Kale Kelley and Kyle Connor.
