12-13-04
BY JACK BULLOCK
WAYNE CITY - In the end, it was the same ole story for the Cisne Lions and the Clay City Wolves.

The Lions got the job done late in the contest while the Wolves failed to capitalize on its opportunity to pull the mild upset.

Cisne coach Kevin Bowen turned to his senior leaders late in a tough contest against its Midland Trail Conference rival on the opening night of the 51st Annual Conrad Allen Holiday Tournament.

The trio of Drew Glover, Jake Tannahill and Lance Endsley all produced big points in the final moments to allow the Lions to escape with a hard fought 54-51 win over the Wolves in what could be the best game of the tournament.

Clay City got a game-high 26-points from Jonathon Frohning.

However the Wolves were their own worst enemy at the end as they committed five fourth quarter turnovers, including an untimely unforced error by Tyler Frohning as the 6-foot-2 junior mistakenly stepped out of bounds on a baseline pass with just :08 to play while trailing 52-51.

Having to foul the Wolves sent Glover to the line with just :05.

The 6-foot-1 senior guard made both free throws to extend the lead.

A late shot attempt from Scott Michaels missed as the final buzzer sounded.

The Lions, on the other hand, had several chances to pull away from Clay City, but they couldn't shake the Wolves on this night.

"I kept telling the kids that these guys (Clay City) can really shoot the ball and that they are a pretty good ballclub," said Bowen, whose team is now 6-1 on the season. "Four of those guys can really shoot the ball and the big Frohning (Jonathon) was unconscious out there and he hit some tough shots when we did do a good job on him."

Facing yet another night of gimmick defenses, Cisne overcame the defensive adjustments that Clay City presented to pull out the win.

"I told the guys that we are going to face a lot of 'triangle-and-two' and 'box-and-one' defenses this year and the other kids are going to have to step up and make some shots," added Bowen.

In the early going, it looked like Cisne was going to make short work of their rival to the North.

Glover, known more as a 'slasher' to the basket, found an early comfort zone from behind the 3-point arc.

With the Clay City defense giving him the outside shot early, Glover drilled home his first two shots to spot the Lions to a 6-0 lead.

But Devan Cook, a 6-foot-2 senior, kept pace with Glover by hitting two 20-footers of his own in the opening quarter.

Combined with a pair of early baskets by Jonathon Frohning, Clay City pulled even with the Lions at 10-10 with 3:01 left in the first quarter.

Glover and teammate Ben Farleigh, a 6-foot-1 sophomore, each hit 3-pointers to close out the frame with Cisne in front 18-14.

In the opening moments of the second quarter, the Lions appeared ready to put the game away.

A 7-2 spurt gave Cisne its largest advantage of the game at 25-16.

Five-foot-nine freshman Brandon Kincart and senior Jake Tannahill got in the scoring act with a pair of midrange jumpers that was followed by yet another Glover 3-point bomb from the top of the arc.

But with every run made by the Lions, Clay City responded in kind.
The Frohning's collectively hit for 13 of the teams' 15 points in the quarter.

The Wolves got within a single point of tying the game as Tyler scored five straight points on a conventional 3-point play and then a pair of free throws with 1:17 left before halftime to cut the Cisne lead to 30-29.

But Glover finished off the half by scoring in the lane.

His 17 first half points, including all five of his 3-pointers for the game, gave the Lions a 32-29 lead at the break.

The two teams cooled down a bit in the third quarter, scoring just ten points each.

"I thought we worked our 'triangle-and-two' very well tonight and although he got a lot of points in the first half, we did a much better job on him (Glover) in the second half," said Clay City coach John Frech.

Cisne's Kincart added four straight points on two drives in the lane, spotting the Lions a 36-33 lead with 4:12 to go.

The quarter ended well for the Wolves as J. Frohning scoring six more points.

His drive to the basket with 1:20 again got his team within a point at 40-39.

But Cisne scored again, this time 5-foot-10 sophomore Tyson Lowe hit his only shot of the night from just inside the 3-point line to make it 42-39 heading to the final quarter.

Despite its own 'self-destructive' nature in the fourth quarter, Clay City managed to get the lead and subsequently put pressure on the Lions.

Tyler Frohning hit a pair of fourth quarter 3-pointers on 'back-to-back' possessions to tie the game at 47-all with 3:25 to go in regulation.

Then his brother gave the Wolves the lead on a back door cut to the basket making it 49-47.

But a conventional 3-point play by Endsley, scoring on the left block while being fouled by J. Frohning put Cisne back up.

After a Clay City timeout, Cook gave his team its final lead scoring on a short jumper to make it 51-50 with just :28 left.

But the veterans of Cisne finished out the game with four straight points by Endsley and Glover from the line.

"We had them right where we wanted them heading into the fourth quarter," said Coach Frech. "We got the lead but couldn't hold them off at the end. We need to start winning games like this instead of taking moral victories out of losing to good teams."

T. Frohning followed up his brother's 26-ponts with 11 of his own while Cook added 10.

Clay City (4-4) played without 6-foot-5 center Patrick Bangert, who has a knee injury and Coach Frech received just four additional points, two each from Michaels and Cody Allison.

Cisne (5-1) had a bit more balance with Glover's 22 going with 10 from Endsley, eight from Tannahill and six each from Kincart and Farleigh.

Both teams are back in action Wednesday night at the Conrad Allen, with Clay City taking on Thompsonville and Cisne playing Grayville.

Patoka (50) - Cain 1 0 0-0 2, Criner 2 3 2-2 15, M. Thompson 0 0 1-3 1, Smith 2 0 0-0 4, D. Thompson 1 0 0-0 2, Miller 2 1 0-0 7, Carbaugh 3 2 1-2 13, Carroll 3 0 0-0 6.
2FG-14, 3FG-6, FT-4-7.
Webber Township (79) - Scott 2 0 0-0 4, McKenzie 1 1 2-2 7, Trout 1 0 3-4 5, Ullery 9 1 2-2 23, Porter 2 1 1-2 8, Swartz 3 0 1-2 7, Michel 3 0 7-9 13, Loker 1 0 2-3 4, Chambliss 0 1 1--4 4, Braden 1 0 0-0 2, Lowery 1 0 0-0 2.
2FG-24, 3FG-4, FT-19-26.

WAYNE CITY 72, CRAB ORCHARD 60
In the night cap, the host Indians outscored Crab Orchard 21-9 in the second quarter to improve to 3-3 on the season with the victory.

Six-foot-two senior Tim Bullard topped all scorers with 23-points while two other Tribesmen, J.C. Taylor (19) and Kyle Wiggins (14) hit for double-figures.

While Clay City has two high-scoring brothers, Crab Orchard counters with two of its own.

Ray (21) and Tommy Kissing (13) topped Crab Orchard (4-6) in scoring in a losing effort.

Crab Orchard (60) - R. Kissing 7 2 1-2 21, T. Kissing 3 1 4-4 13, McCree 0 1 4-4 7, Boester 4 0 0-0 8, Morris 3 1 0-0 9.
2FG-17, 3FG-5, FT-11-12.
Wayne City (72) - Butler 1 0 6-8 8, Taylor 8 0 3-7 19, Bullard 10 0 3-5 23, Irwin 3 0 0-0 6, Bradford 1 0 0-0 2, Wiggins 7 0 0-1 14.
2FG-30, 3FG-0, FT-12-21.