Perez and Cougars earning respect

After starting the season not ranked in the Express News city rankings, the Clark Cougars varsity basketball team, ranked early on by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, makes the Express News list at #4, following wins over Highlands, Reagan and Johnson.  The Cougars also moved up to #8 in the state.

Senior PG Adam Perez was also given a “game ball” by the Express News as a result of his play of late.

The Cougars next compete in this weekend’s Lone Star Invitational, a top-rated national tournament, here in San Antonio.

Keep it up, gentlemen and good job.

Lye hangs 17 on the Jags

The Clark Cougars varsity basketball teams won one but lost one to the Johnson Jaguars.  The girls played first and what looked to be a runaway win to the 12-1 Jags quickly became a contest in the 2nd half.  Down 21-32 at the half, the Coogs cut the Jags lead to 4 after three quarters.  In the 4th, with :50 seconds left in the game, the Cougars tied it at 46 but lost on a last second layup by Johnson.  The final score: Clark 46-Johnson 48.

The boys lead the entire game, including an exciting 4-8 lead after one quarter of play.  Johnson, who played possession ball and shot only 5 times in the 8:00 minute first quarter, fell behind 10-21 at the half.  In the 2nd half, the Jags showed signs of life, cutting the Cougars lead to 5 at one point but Clark turned up the pace on both offense and defense with the result being a 54-37 win.

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Cougars hustling to state recognition

The Clark Cougar varsity basketball team easily defeated the Reagan Rattlers, 68-49. Reagan, ranked #4 in the city by the Express News and ranked #17 in the state by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, won the NISD tournament last weekend. Clark, unranked by the Express News and ranked #12 in the state, played in the prestigious McDonald’s Texas Invitational tournament last weekend, defeated Richardson Berkner, the #3 ranked team in the state and played tight games with #2 and #5.

Against Reagan, the Cougars displayed an improved defense and had good play from several players, including Adam Perez, Niko Maxwell and John Chapman put up 10 points (despite the Express News stats). The Cougars never were behind during the game and steals by Perez and Justin Brickman and inside defense from Travis Matthews kept Reagan from gaining momentum.

The Cougars are now 6-2 and take on Johnson (2-5) next Monday.

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Clark boys basketball started the new season with a decisive 62-42 win over Roosevelt on Monday night. The Cougars were led by senior Niko Maxwell with 12 points and Antonian transfer Justin Brickman, younger brother of Clark alums Jordan and Jason, who also had 12. Adam Perez put up 9 points followed by Shawn Gulley with 8 and Travis Matthews with 6. Other Cougars scoring were John Chapman, Carter Josephs, Mkhael Swaidan, Jake Lindsey and Cal Harr.

The Cougars head to the prestigious Texas Invitational Tournament in Pasadena on Thursday where they will compete against some of the best teams in the state.

GO COOGS!!!

The Harlandale basketball tournament was the scene of two blowout victories for the Clark girls team. They started with a lopsided 82-7 victory over Providence and ended with a 51-16 shellacking of McCollum. In between the Cougars lost to Roosevelt 49-37.  The team continues to share the ball and the basket with scoring coming from a broad spectrum of players led by junior Kristen Lye who is averaging 11 points per game. Clark is 3-1 on the season so far.  Next up is a rematch with Roosevelt at Littleton gym on Tuesday at 6:30.

Clark boys basketball tips off the new season tonight at Littleton also against Roosevelt at 6:30.

GO COOGS!!!

The Clark girls basketball team tipped off the 2011-12 season with a 63-60 victory over Boerne Champion on Tuesday. Down 25-32 at the half, the Cougars outscored Champion in the 3rd and 4th quarters to take the win. Kristen Lye led Clark with 15 points, followed by Donna Matthews with 9 and Trei Torain with 8. A host of other Cougars got in on the scoring including: Ashley Salinas with 6 and Sam Beimer, Katy Baum, Alejandra Esparza and Kirsten Kramer all with 5 points each.

Clark made an impression on observers in Boerne.

The Cougars head to the Harlandale Tournament this weekend.

GO COOGS!!!

Cougars hit jackpot in Vegas

Three Clark Cougars and their club basketball teammates won the prestigious AAU Las Vegas Live this past week.  Adam Perez, Nikko Maxwell and Carter Josephs play for the Texas Ambassadors and powered their way through several top quality teams to win the championship.

You can read more about their success on TexasHoops.com.

Way to go Coogs!

Shawn Hamilton, the son of longtime Clark basketball coach and current NISD Assistant Athletic Director Kevin Hamilton, had the scare of a lifetime earlier this month and has the scars to prove it. Shawn, 14, was fishing off Mustang Island with his family when he was attacked by a shark and fought back. Details from the Caller Times newspaper and KRIS TV.

Johnny Lawson

Congratulations to Clark soccer player Johnny Lawson who was named the Express News player of the Year, the All Area MVP and to the EN Super Team.  Oscar Barboza also received recognition as an All Area player and EN Super Team player.

District teams were also released and you can find out more about basketball and soccer awards in their annual Winter Awards edition.

Cougars getting awards include: (continue reading…)

Jason Brickman

Looking familiar in black and white, 2010 Clark grad Jason Brickman led his Long Island University Blackbirds into the NCAA  Basketball Tournament on Wednesday night. Brickman, a freshman point guard, had 15 points including two critical free throws in the final seconds of overtime. Read about the game, seen on ESPN2, here.

Northside ISD alums (continue reading…)