Boys basketball: Brady Clark, Kewanee top Princeton for TRAC East title

KEWANEE – The Princeton Tigers faced a lot of obstacles Tuesday night at Kewanee’s Brockman Gymnasium.

They were in serious foul trouble early with three starters with two fouls in the first quarter and they lost one to injury at the end of the third quarter.

They even overcame a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter and scored the first four points of overtime.

The one thing they couldn’t overcome was Brady Clark.

The Kewanee senior scored a career-high 38 points, willing his dad’s Boilermakers to a 64-59 win. Clark had 10 points in the fourth quarter and five more in overtime as the Boilermakers outscored the Tigers 9-4 for the win.

“He’s pretty good. He’s got a lot of ability that you can’t teach. And No. 1 is competitiveness,” Kewanee coach Matt Clark said of his son. “He told me in fourth quarter, ‘Dad, give me the ball.’ Sometimes, he tries too hard, but tonight he was on a mission. He put a lot on his shoulders.”

The Boilermakers (21-8) clinched the Three Rivers East championship at 8-2, avenging a 61-55 loss at Princeton on Jan. 8.

The Tigers fell to 14-13 overall and 7-3 in league play for second place. Princeton’s other losses came to Bureau Valley and Hall.

Tigers coach Jason Smith said Clark was just a handful.

“Clark’s a special kid, and he gets to the hoop whenever he wants. We tried to double team him, and he still got some shots,” he said. “Hats off to Brady. He’s a heck of a player.”

The Tigers mounted two second-half comebacks and almost won the game at the end of regulation.

They fell behind 40-30 midway through the third quarter and outscored the Boilermakers 10-5 to pull within 45-40 at quarter’s end. Daniel Sousa took a hard foul on a layup as time expired, made 1 of 2 free throws and did not return, his head draped by a towel the rest of the night.

Kewanee went up 50-43 on a spin move by Clark midway through the fourth quarter.

The Tigers mounted another comeback. Noah LaPorte followed two baskets with a layup and free throw to convert a three-point play to tie the game at 53 with 51.8 seconds left.

Clark sank 1 of 2 free throws at the 21.1 mark, but LaPorte answered with another basket to put the Tigers ahead 55-54, their first lead since the first quarter.

Clark, who scored all 10 of Kewanee’s fourth-quarter points, hit the second of two free throws with 1.1 seconds remaining to tie the game and send it into overtime.

The Tigers struck first in overtime. Tyson Phillips scored on a cut and pass from Luke Smith and Jordan Reinhardt followed with a scoring drive for a quick 59-55 lead.

Princeton did not score again, however.

Clark scored on two drives to tie it, and Braydon Conley scored his only two points of the game in the post to put the Boilermakers up for good at 61-59 with 1:05 left.

It was just the kind of knock-down, drag-out game both teams expected with the conference championship on the line.

“I talked to coach [Smith] today and said, ‘Whoever wins the game, it’s going to be a close one.’ I didn’t predict an overtime, though,” Matt Clark said. “Two even teams. We give them some problems. They give us some problems in certain areas. It was a wild and crazy game at times.”

“It was a great atmosphere to be a part of it, but the better team won tonight,” Smith said.

Brady Clark said he loves playing in a game like this.

“Last time I played like this was my sophomore year when we played Princeton for the regional title at Hall. Kind of wanted a little revenge,” he said. “Knew it was going to be tough game, and it was. They have a great team. They’ll probably make a run in the postseason.”

Smith said the Tigers did their best to overcome all the adversity thrown their way.

“It’s all part of the game,” he said. “I’ve got to coach better. I think the kids that came in held their own in the first half. Sometimes things don’t go your way and you have to overcome them. There’s a lot of life lessons learned here.”

LaPorte, who picked up his third foul in the second quarter and fouled out in overtime, led the Tigers with 16 points.

Reinhardt had 14 points while Phillips had 10 points, Sousa nine and Korte Lawson eight.

Blaise Lewis added 12 points for Kewanee.

* Notes: Princeton won the JV prelim 42-36.