In probably his best career effort, senior Eric Rohlfing scored 15 points against visiting Madelia on Tuesday before he had to be carried off the floor with a knee injury.
Mended by school nurse Kally Remiger, Rohlfing was ready enough to play for the second half, but putting the senior back in the game wasn’t worth the risk as the Clippers were already ahead 45-25 en route to a 91-62 domination.
Head coach Dan Fredrickson wasn't completely surprised by the outcome against a team that has given the Clippers trouble over the years. Last year they split with the Blackhawks.
“I knew we have the offensive weapons for it to click the way it did. Eric was hitting his shots in the paint. We were unstoppable right away. Isaac (Mueller), Ben (Holden) and Eric...In my opinion you have three All-Conference players on the floor."
But the rest of the starting five was also a big part of the Clippers’ early success, the head coach said.
Elijah (Sullivan) stepped up and played with some real confidence too, and then Cam (Cameron Seely) with the hustle plays, the defense, the rebounding, did a nice job.”
Rohlfing took the jump ball in for a score (above) and then made the Clippers next three baskets too. Seely, starting for Alex McCabe, who was away with family, took a Holden assist up and in. Mueller dropped the first of a hat trick of threes he would have for the night and then scored twice after Clipper steals for a 17-3 Orange & Black advantage.
Later, Rohlfing scored to put the Clippers ahead 26-6 but hyper extended his knee just after.
“When Eric went out, Jackson Meyer came in and played some nice minutes,” Fredrickson said. “Lucas Walechka had a nice second half too.”
Mueller typically matches up well against Madelia's junior star Ja'Sean Glover, but the effort also has gotten him in foul trouble, something that did not happen on Tuesday, Fredrickson said. Scoring through the back door and behind the arc as well, the Clippers led 45-24 at the break.
“We put so much pressure on them offensively right away that they were going to have to score to catch up. Isaac, in my opinion, is the premier point guard in our conference right now, and if you try to pressure him, that stuff is going to open up.”
Despite six Madelia threes in the second half and 22 points by Glover, the Clippers, with seven players scoring, extended their lead for the decisive win.
“Their number one (Vaughn Nolan) came in and got hot, but our whole defense revolves around trying to stop Ja’Sean, and still he is a handful,” Fredrickson said. “He’s going to be the Valley’s top scorer. He’s going to score 3,000 points. He’s probably one of the most elite offensive players I’ve seen play in Class A, but us coming out and scoring the way we did definitely put pressure on them to try to match it, and they didn’t have the weapons for that.”
Glover lead all scorers with 31 points. Holden paced the Clippers with 25 points. He also pulled down 20 rebounds. Also with a double-double, Mueller had 22 points and 10 rebounds. With eight points and 10 rebounds, Seely was a basket away from a double-double. Meyer chipped in eight points. Sullivan made two treys for six points.
Madelia came into Cleveland with a one-point loss to JWP, a win over St. James Area and a loss to Section 2A powerhouse Mayer Lutheran in an overtime where Glover was fouled out.
The 3-0 Clippers host Truman/Martin Luther/GHEC on Friday. The 2-0 Jaguars beat Loyola by a basket and JWP by 27.
Cleveland 45 46 91
Madelia 24 38 62
Points 91 (Ben Holden 25, Eric Rohlfing 15, Isaac Mueller 22, Elijah Sullivan 6, Cameron Seely 8, Jackson Meyer 8, Lucas Walechka 5, Carter Barto 2)
Rebounds 47 (Holden 20, Mueller 10, Sullivan 2, Seely 10, Krenik 2, Carter Barto 3)
Assists 27 (Holden 7, Mueller 8, Sullivan 6, Meyer 1, Seely 2, Colin Krenik 1, Walechka 1, Kolby Gens 1)
Steals 7 (Holden 1, Mueller 3, Sullivan 1, Meyer 2)
Blocks 2 (Holden 2)
Turnovers 6
2FG 29-57 (51%)
3FG 10-24 (42%) (Holden 2, Rohlfing 1, Mueller 3, Meyer 2, Sullivan 2)
FT 3-5 (60%)
Isaac Mueller dribbles around Madelia star Ja’Sean Glover.
Elijah Sullivan scrambles for a loose ball.