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Clark guard Damion King (5) dribbles through traffic in the Cardinals¿ 59-38 loss to Covington Catholic Tuesday night at Norton Gymnasium. (James Mann/jmann@winchestersun.com / November 28, 2012) |
George Rogers Clark coach Scott Humphrey doesn’t want his team to dwell on a loss to Covington Catholic. Instead, the Clark coach wants the Cardinals to look ahead following a 59-38 setback to the Colonels in the season opener for both teams Tuesday night at Norton Gymnasium.
“Covington Catholic handed it to us tonight, but we can’t let that domino to where it affects our practice ... and we have to go at it,” Humphrey said afterward. “We have to look at it like we have 29 more games, which are basically scrimmages to get ready for the postseason. We’re looking at about 80 more practices.¿We’ll look at the film and try to get better from what we did tonight.”
Humphrey, who is replacing every starter from last year’s 10th Region championship squad, said the Cardinals came “prepared to win.”
“When we hit the floor, we had the anticipation of winning,” he said. “We can’t really live and die on that right now and put all of our eggs on just winning the game. We have to make sure we’re learning each and every night out. It has to be a learning experience. Every game and every practice there has to be some improvement.”
The Cardinals opened impressively and led early 9-8, but the guests scored 14 of the last 16 points of the quarter, turning the one-point deficit into a 22-11 advantage and extended the margin to 27-14 with 6:19 remaining in the second quarter. Clark closed the gap to 32-25 on a 3-pointer by Malachi Israel at the 5:27 mark of the third quarter, but the Colonels closed the quarter with a 15-4 run to put the game away.
Clark managed just one field goal — the trey by Israel — in the third frame and went through an eight-minute spurt without a field goal.
“We’re going to have to play through that and I foresee that (happening during the season),” he said. “There will be times through the year to where we are going to struggle to score. That’s going to be an issue all year. We scored 11 in the first quarter and that’s a good quarter for us, but we can’t give up 22 points like we did.”
Covington Catholic standout Nick Ruthsatz, son of Colonels’ coach Scott Ruthsatz, led all scorers with 26 points and scored 15 of his team’s 22 points in the first eight minutes. Ruthsatz drained four shots from long range and connected on a jumper as the buzzer expired to end the first quarter.
“He’s just so heady and he’s got everything to his offensive game,” Humphrey said. “He creates for others and he (makes shots) when he’s open or when you pressure him. He’ll break you down.”
Israel paced the Cardinals with 15 points, scoring 10 of those in the second half. Khamarkis Blanton came off the bench and just missed double digits with eight points, all of which came in the second quarter.
Despite the loss Humphrey said his team “did some really good things” and he saw “noticeable improvement from scrimmages in a couple of areas. He added that his squad also showed its youth and inexperience and said the game will serve as a learning experience for his squad.
“I thought at times, we looked like what we are, and that’s just an inexperienced, undersized team,” he said. “They’re a very good team and for late November, it’s impressive with how far they are along.”
Next game: 3 p.m. Saturday at Pendleton County
CovCath 22 08 17 12 — 59
Clark 11 11 07 09 — 38
CATHOLIC¿(1-0) — Frederick 5, Schuh 8, Wichman 4, Ruthsatz 26, Tobler 11, Hemmer 2, Heppler 3.
CLARK¿(0-1) — Rose 5, Sharrock 2, Warner 1, Caudill 2, Israel 15, Bruton 2, King 2, Blanton 8.
“Covington Catholic handed it to us tonight, but we can’t let that domino to where it affects our practice ... and we have to go at it,” Humphrey said afterward. “We have to look at it like we have 29 more games, which are basically scrimmages to get ready for the postseason. We’re looking at about 80 more practices.¿We’ll look at the film and try to get better from what we did tonight.”
Humphrey, who is replacing every starter from last year’s 10th Region championship squad, said the Cardinals came “prepared to win.”
“When we hit the floor, we had the anticipation of winning,” he said. “We can’t really live and die on that right now and put all of our eggs on just winning the game. We have to make sure we’re learning each and every night out. It has to be a learning experience. Every game and every practice there has to be some improvement.”
The Cardinals opened impressively and led early 9-8, but the guests scored 14 of the last 16 points of the quarter, turning the one-point deficit into a 22-11 advantage and extended the margin to 27-14 with 6:19 remaining in the second quarter. Clark closed the gap to 32-25 on a 3-pointer by Malachi Israel at the 5:27 mark of the third quarter, but the Colonels closed the quarter with a 15-4 run to put the game away.
Clark managed just one field goal — the trey by Israel — in the third frame and went through an eight-minute spurt without a field goal.
“We’re going to have to play through that and I foresee that (happening during the season),” he said. “There will be times through the year to where we are going to struggle to score. That’s going to be an issue all year. We scored 11 in the first quarter and that’s a good quarter for us, but we can’t give up 22 points like we did.”
Covington Catholic standout Nick Ruthsatz, son of Colonels’ coach Scott Ruthsatz, led all scorers with 26 points and scored 15 of his team’s 22 points in the first eight minutes. Ruthsatz drained four shots from long range and connected on a jumper as the buzzer expired to end the first quarter.
“He’s just so heady and he’s got everything to his offensive game,” Humphrey said. “He creates for others and he (makes shots) when he’s open or when you pressure him. He’ll break you down.”
Israel paced the Cardinals with 15 points, scoring 10 of those in the second half. Khamarkis Blanton came off the bench and just missed double digits with eight points, all of which came in the second quarter.
Despite the loss Humphrey said his team “did some really good things” and he saw “noticeable improvement from scrimmages in a couple of areas. He added that his squad also showed its youth and inexperience and said the game will serve as a learning experience for his squad.
“I thought at times, we looked like what we are, and that’s just an inexperienced, undersized team,” he said. “They’re a very good team and for late November, it’s impressive with how far they are along.”
Next game: 3 p.m. Saturday at Pendleton County
CovCath 22 08 17 12 — 59
Clark 11 11 07 09 — 38
CATHOLIC¿(1-0) — Frederick 5, Schuh 8, Wichman 4, Ruthsatz 26, Tobler 11, Hemmer 2, Heppler 3.
CLARK¿(0-1) — Rose 5, Sharrock 2, Warner 1, Caudill 2, Israel 15, Bruton 2, King 2, Blanton 8.
