PREPARING FOR DISTRICT

Coming out of the Christmas break, Clifton Cubs return to action in Troy Trojan Tournament in preparation for balanced & tough District 17-3A battle

After staying home for the holidays, the Clifton Cub boys basketball team looks forward to picking up right where they left off by playing in the Troy Tournament this week.

Winning seven of their last nine games, the Cub enjoyed an extended 12-day break by carrying some momentum into the Christmas holidays. But after splitting two games going into the holidays against quality opponents, the Cubs (12-4) still have some work to do in preparation for a tough District 17-3A battle.

Following games in the Troy Tournament Dec. 27-28, Clifton will play two more non-district games against Hamilton Jan. 5 and Rio Vista Jan. 8 before opening District 17-3A competition hosting Whitney Jan. 12.

“It was good for the kids to get a little bit of a break and spend time with their families,” Daniel said. “This year, it’s good that we don’t come back and play a district game right away. It will be nice that we will get four games in two days right when we get back in the Troy Tournament. But then, we will also have a chance to practice on what we need to work on and what we need to prepare for our first district opponent.”

By sinking five three-pointers, senior Jacob Wells tossed in a game-high 22 points to lead Clifton to a convincing 53-40 road victory over the Troy Trojans Dec. 12. After battling to a 19-19 deadlock at halftime, the Cubs came out strong in the second half to put the win away as junior Maddox Hinojosa scored 12 points and junior Ray Ochoa added nine.

“I felt great about the way we played against Troy, especially the second half,” Clifton boys basketball head coach Tom Daniel said. “It was tied in the first half, but we definitely outplayed them in the second half. They’re a good team, so doing that on the road was really nice. Our defensive played really well in that game, limiting their top player to three points.”

Hoping to avenge last season’s loss to Waco Rapaport, the Cubs came out after halftime with the game tied, but the Ravens ran away from Clifton for a 61-52 win Dec. 19 in the Clifton High School Gymnasium. Wells led the Cubs with 13 points, followed by Hinojosa with 11 and Ochoa with 10.

“We didn’t get enough stops in the fourth quarter,” Daniel said. “We couldn’t low them down. And we didn’t make enough free throws in the first three quarters. But it’s a learning experience. We will definitely shoot a bunch of free throws in practice, and we’ll focus on defense the next couple of days. But they’re a good team, and they were a good test for us.”

Playing nine games over a 10-day period, the Cubs built on a third place finish at the Dublin Tournament recently by winning three straight at the highly-competitive Hamilton Tournament before losing in the championship game Dec. 7-9.

Facing Class 4A Lampasas in the title tilt, the Cubs fell behind early, battled back to take a lead into the fourth period before the Badgers responded in the final frame to take home the trophy.

“We had a lead going into the fourth, but we had a hard time stopping their big kid the entire game,” Daniel said. “He kind of wore us down, we didn’t have much of an answer for him. We dug ourselves a hole early and fought back to take the lead. But we had to fight back so hard, we kind of ran out of gas in the end. They’re a good 4A team, and we had our chances to win. But we didn’t quite get the job done.”

In the championship game against Lampasas, junior Jonah Payne led Clifton with 19 points, followed by senior Jacob Wells with 11 points and junior Ray Ochoa with 10. The Cubs stormed into the championship game on a roll, opening the tournament with a hard-fought 61-55 win over Goldthwaite before knocking off Troy, 63-19 and host Hamilton, 68-41.

In the victory over Goldthwaite, Ochoa and Well led Clifton with 15 points each, followed by junior Joaquin De La Hoya with 14. Wells tossed in a season-high 24 points against Troy, followed by Payne with 12 and De La Hoya with 10, while Ochoa and Wells led the way in scoring against Hamilton with 16 points each.

“It was a really good tournament,” Daniel said. “We played well in most of the tournament. We played great against Goldthwaite all four quarters. In the other games, we played well for the majority of the game.

“The kids doing a really nice job. They’re playing well as a team, we’re starting to score a few more points recently, which is exciting. I know what we are capable of defensively, so if we can consistently score 60-something points like we have recently, then we will be tough to beat for sure.”

Playing in the competitive Dublin Tournament Nov. 30-Dec. 2, the Cubs won three of four games to take home the third place trophy. After opening the tournament with a solid 48-39 victory over Brady, the Cubs saw their four-game winning streak snapped as Class 5A Stephenville handed Clifton a 52-42 loss. But the Cubs rebounding for resounding back-to-back wins over Tolar, 49-28, and Goldthwaite, 50-30, to capture third place. In the tournament closing victory over Goldthwaite, Ochoa led Clifton with 13 points, followed by De La Hoya with 12.

“We still have some things we need to work on offensively, mostly just all being on the same page,” Daniel said. “When we are doing the right things, we are creating opportunities for ourselves. Tournaments are good because they put you in some tough spots. And I want to see how we do in tough spots.

“I love tournaments because we are able to see different teams that we don’t usually play. Everybody we play does something a little bit different. And the thing I really liked about the Dublin Tournament is that every team we played was a good test for us. There wasn’t a weak team in that tournament.”