The Clarksville boys basketball team earned their first win under first-year head coach Jonah Woodward on Friday with a 69-47 win over Tripoli in Iowa Star Conference-North action.
Woodward notes the highlights of tracking down their first win.
“Our energy in the second half was the biggest factor. We kind of started a little bit slow, were able to switch up some defenses and able to throw them off balance,” says Woodward. “In the second half, I thought our kids woke up and started competing a little bit harder. It really solidified for our guys on how to close out a game when they have to lead at the half. Credit to the guys, they deserved it. They’ve been through a lot of adversity this year and feels good to get the win.”
Woodward on game changing performers in the win and their daily impact on the team.
“John Stauffer for the third game in a row had a double-double, and tonight he finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds. Sam Hoodjer has gone through a lot of adversity this year, and he had 36 points, seven rebounds. When Sam and John are going, our team is going to follow them. The energy and leadership they had tonight and their performance, I thought is really going to help push our team going forward.”
Senior Sam Hoodjer is averaging 21 points and seven rebounds per game, and senior John Stauffer is averaging 12.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game to help propel the Indians.
Clarksville will go on a three game road trip to close out the first half of their season this week.
Woodward on development and the benefit of road trips.
“Taking care of the ball on the offensive end, limiting our turnovers. That starts with stepping to the basketball, possessing it, assessing it, ripping it through, and then make the next best decision. We wanna play at our pace, we don’t wanna get sped up by other teams. Our kids are going in the right direction with that. They’re coming in every day trying to focus, get better and be diligent about the work they need to do. We’re really looking forward to facing three teams on the road. It’s gonna make us mentally tougher for the end of the year, we’re super excited about that.”
Clarksville (1-4) will be at Dunkerton on Tuesday.
