#21 Kyle Rutledge

The Clark boys basketball team dominated the hardwood in a 49-33 victory over O’Connor. The Panthers managed to score only 6 points in the first half to Clark’s 20. Ansley Benjamin and Adam Perez each had 15 points for the Cougars while Kyle Rutledge added 9. With an 11-3 record Clark is in 2nd place in District 27-5A. They take on the first place Taft Raiders on Saturday at 1:30 at Paul Taylor.

GO COOGS!

After two “nail biter” games in the last ten days, the Clark boys basketball team took care of business against Holmes on Saturday with a 59-49 win. The Cougars were led in scoring by Ansley Benjamin with 13 and Adam Perez with 10. Kyle Rutledge added 9 and Shawn Cason had 8 points in the victory. The boys are now tied with Warren for second place in district.

Meanwhile, the Clark girls lost a tough one against the Huskies, 39-32.

Both teams face O’Connor this week.  For the girls it’s Tuesday at 6:30 at Paul Taylor – their last game of the season. The boys play on Wednesday at Paul Taylor.

GO GET ‘EM COOGS!

Niko takes his turn at hero

Looking to stay ahead of Stevens in the playoff seedings, the Clark Cougars varsity basketball team stepped up, defeating the Falcons 57-56.  Niko Maxwell’s final shot of the game sealed the victory.  The Cougars currently stand in 3rd place in a competitive District 27-5A with a 9-3 record and 19-8 overall.

Read more about this crucial win from Lorne Chan and the Express News.

Way to go, boys!

Cougars Win

The Clark boys basketball team took care of business against Jay tonight, winning 59-44. Leading all scorers was Ansley Benjamin with 17 points. Niko Maxwell added 13 and Adam Perez had 10 points for the Cougars. The win keeps Clark in second place in district play – a half game ahead of Warren. Clark faces Warren in a showdown next Tuesday.

The Clark girls found the going a bit tougher against the #1 ranked Jay Mustangs, losing 69-48. Melanie Schwartz scored 15 for the Cougars followed by Sam Beimer with 7 and Hannah Gulley and Kristen Lye with 6 each.

The Clark boys basketball team notched another victory in the second half of their district season this week, beating brandeis 58-46.  Jacob Palacios led all scorers with 15 points, followed by Ansley Benjamin with 13 and Adam Perez with 10.  The Cougars are 7-2 in district play.

Meanwhile, the Clark girls lost a close one in overtime to the broncos by a score of 61-59. Donna Matthews led the Clark scoring with 16 and Hannah Gulley added 10. The Cougars take on the challenge of the tough Jay Mustangs on Friday.

GO GET ‘EM COOGS!

On a day when the Clark girls basketball team got a much needed district victory over O’Connor, the boys team suffered its first district loss of the season.  The good news was a 44-39 win that brings the girls into a 3-way tie for 4th place in District 27-5A at the halfway mark of the district season. The Cougars were led by Melanie Schwartz with 17 points and Kristen Lye with 10. Clark outplayed O’Connor in the 3rd quarter, scoring 10 points to none for the Panthers. The girls are now 4-4 in district. Next up is Taft on Monday at 7:00 at O’Connor.

The boys meanwhile move to 5-1 in district play with a 39-44 loss to the Panthers. Adam Perez and Ansley Benjamin led the scoring with 9 points each while Niko Maxwell had 7.  The Cougars will try to rebound when they take on district leading Taft on Monday night at 8:30 in the gym at O’Connor.

GO COOGS!!

The boys varsity basketball team squeaked by the Holmes Huskies 39-38 in an unusually low scoring victory.  Clark held Holmes to only 2 points in the first quarter but Holmes returned the favor on the Cougars in the third, where Clark only scored 4 points.

Holmes has a 2-4 district record but has played all its games close in their losses.  The win keeps #23 Clark perfect in district at 5-0 and tied for first with Taft.

Clark alum making waves

2010 Clark graduate Jason Brickman earned Rookie of the Week honors as a freshman basketball player for Long Island University.  Last year’s district Offensive MVP, Brickman is making an impression not only on his team but with opposing coaches as well.  You can read about his success in this article.

#23 in Texas

The Clark Cougar varsity boys basketball team cracked the Top 25 in Texas, showing up at #23 in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches rankings.  Tied for first place in District 27-5A, the Cougars are undefeated in district and have a 14-5 overall record.

Next up for the boys is Holmes, Wednesday at 8pm while the ladies play Tuesday, also against Holmes.

Way to play, Coogs!

#21 Kyle Rutledge

The Clark Cougars passed another important district test in defeating the Stevens Falcons 60-55 at Paul Taylor.  Ranked in the top ten in San Antonio early in the season, Stevens  gave the Cougars all they wanted and then some.

Both teams came out of the gate early, tied 18-18 at the end of the 1st qtr.  Sloppy play by both teams, resulting in turnovers and missed buckets, defined the 2nd qtr.  Clark could only put 8 more points on the board while the Falcons could only add 6 giving Clark a 26-24 advantage going into the half.

What must have been a motivating halftime speech by Clark Head Coach Steve Slyestine resulted in a more intense Clark team on the court in the 3rd qtr.  Jacob Palacios started the 2nd half with a LONG 3-pointer.  With just over two minutes off the clock, the Cougars jumped to their largest lead of the game when Adam Perez sent 3 of his 11 points through the net giving Clark a 36-28 lead. A 6 point run by the Falcons tightened the game to 40-39. Ansley Benjamin made it 46-41 after Jacob Palacios stole a Stevens inbound pass and the 3rd qtr. ended with Clark up 47-43.

Stevens started the 4th qtr. with a 10-4 run and tied it all up at 53-53 at the 4:00 minute mark.  It would stay that way until there was a minute and a half left in the game and Adam Perez sunk both ends of a one-and-one.  Stevens came right back to make it 55-55.  Ansley Benjamin next hit the first of his one-and-one but missed the second.  Kyle Rutledge grabbed the rebound, however, and found Jacob Palacios at the top of the key for a three to seal the victory with :30 seconds left in the game.

The boys now own a 7 game win streak.  Following the boys game, the girls varsity lost to Stevens, giving the Lady Cougars a 2-4 record in district.