EATON TWP. — It was a tournament time special in the opening game of the Midview Division I sectional Monday afternoon.
Despite coming in as a substantial underdog, Cloverleaf (9-12) battled a strong Admiral King (14-7) team from the Lake Erie League down to the wire before falling 49-46 in the first of three games played at Ed Kubuski Gym on the opening day of the area’s big-school tournament.
King advances to a sectional championship game against top-seeded Brunswick at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
The Admirals got their first two baskets of the game on steals that they converted into easy layups, a formula King used much of the day. Cloverleaf finished with 15 turnovers, King scoring simple baskets after seven of them.
But the Colts didn’t wilt. When avoiding turnovers, they mixed up a blend of
3-pointers and layups to score enough to lead for much of the game. Their biggest advantage was 26-13 with 4:13 left in the first half.
Cloverleaf’s zone defense bothered the Admirals for much of the game. King did not make a 3-pointer and only attempted four of them, content with passing the ball around in hopes of someone breaking open inside.
The fourth quarter was a low-scoring one as neither team gambled offensively with the score tight. It was tied at 43 when the Admirals finally took charge, forging ahead on Bryant Parker’s long jumper with 2:30 to go.
Then came the backbreaker as King’s Christopher Kimbro spotted a wide-open Brandon Alexander and made a perfect long pass to him for a layup with 38 seconds remaining to put the Admirals up 49-43.
King’s go-to-guy was Adrian Casey, a 6-foot-4 junior, who scored 20 points and pulled down 15 rebounds.
“We didn’t come out as hard as we were supposed to,” Casey said. “But overall, I’m happy with the win and how my teammates played.”
“Casey’s a very sound player for us,” King coach Mike Scott said. “It’s good to get that first win under our belt. Our defense got us going today, a case of defense creating offense. Cloverleaf did a good job of packing it in.
“Every possession counts come tourney time. We executed in the fourth quarter when it counted big.”
Cloverleaf coach Fred Hardiman saw his team lose steam in the final quarter.
“We missed a lot of opportunities because we weren’t patient,” he said. “We didn’t attack the basket enough in the fourth quarter because we became tentative at times.”
Contact Jerry Rombach at 329-7137 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

Admiral King 49, Cloverleaf 46

CLOVERLEAF (46): Parker Hewit 7-6-22, Tyler Luce 3-1-7, Dustin Connor 3-1-7, Cody Roberts 2-0-6, Billy Parker 2-0-4, Dylan Vargo 0-0-0, Cory Bittner 0-0-0, Kyle Juszcyk 0-0-0, Dave Long 0-0-0, Jordan Marley 0-0-0. Totals 17-8-46.
ADMIRAL KING (49): Adrian Casey 8-4-20, Christopher Kimbro 4-2-10, Terrance Atkinson 2-3-7, Bryant Parker 2-0-4, Brandon Alexander 2-0-4, Gary Donald 2-0-4, Cody Buckholz 0-0-0, Malcom Barnett 0-0-0, Michael Hannibal 0-0-0, Tyrell Holley 0-0-0. Totals 20-9-49.
Cloverleaf    14    12    15    5    —    46
Admiral King    10    13    18    8    —    49
Three-point goals: Cloverleaf 4 of 5 (Hewit 2, Roberts 2), Admiral King 0 of 4. Field goals: Cloverleaf 17 of 54 (31 percent), Admiral King 20 of 53 (37 percent). Free throws: Cloverleaf 8 of 8, Admiral King 9 of 18. Rebounds: Cloverleaf 33 (Parker 7), Admiral King 37 (Casey 15). Turnovers: Cloverleaf 15, Admiral King 8. Fouls: Cloverleaf 14, Admiral King 12.

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