The Clarion-Goldfield-Dows boys basketball team is in the midst of an unexpected game drought after scheduled games Friday at Humboldt and Saturday at Garner Hayfield Ventura were postponed due to the weather. The Cowboys’ last game was a 59-44 win at home over West Hancock on Saturday, December 7.
C-G-D Head Coach Jason Berning on the Cowboys’ extended time away from competition.
“We need to all the time on the court we can get. Weather in Iowa, December, or in January, we know very well that very rarely cooperates. We would have loved to play just because we didn’t have a game this week,” says Berning. “We really need to get on that floor. We use this time to prepare, get a little bit of practice time in and just get ready for whenever our next one is.”
Berning on growing the confidence of emerging leaders.
“The West Hancock game, I think really started to show what Chaz Lane is capable of offensively. He had 28 points and the shots were falling that night. Huxley Lingenfelter, was in double figures in rebounds. Chaz and JD Morrical were one rebound short of a double-double. Three guys were right at double-doubles. Those three guys, again, it’s important for us to get them going and feeling comfortable and feeling confident. The more comfortable they get, I think the more that our play is going to pick up.”
Chaz Lane is averaging 17 points and nine rebounds per game, JD Morrical is putting up 12 points and seven boards per game, and Huxley Lingenfelter adds nine points and eight rebounds per game, as part of the Cowboys’ leading trio.
As part of C-G-D’s first half schedule, five of seven games are at home, the Cowboys will play their final two of that stretch to conclude the first half of the season this week.
Berning on making the most of playing on home floor.
“We got to get a little home cooking going for us. First little bit, we kind of struggled shooting the ball at home, but we trust again that that’s going to get better. We need to take advantage of our crowd and take advantage of our home gym. Being familiar with that and not having to travel, I think that’s a big part of it there. Settling into routine is important and getting those home games, we got to try to pick up wins in as many of those home games as we can. Hopefully we can end on two positive notes there.”
The Cowboys (1-2) will host Clear Lake on Tuesday.
