Cloudland stuns University High 78-64 in Mountain East conference play
Published 1:48 am Tuesday, January 14, 2020
Star Photo/Danny Blevins Bentley Gilbert is stripped of the ball by University High’s Kaleb Meredith.
Star Photo/Danny Blevins Cloudland’s Hayden Shell tries to pass the ball against University High’s Zach Rice.
BY DANNY BLEVINS
STAR CORRESPONDENT
George Washington Carver once said, “do the common things of life in an uncommon way”. On Friday night against a tough University High team, a scrappy Cloudland High School team did just that. They found a way to win in an “uncommon way”.
This is why the game is played on a court rather than on paper. What the Jr. Bucs did not realize is Cloudland came into the game with a willingness to do what they had to do to win this game. University High learned this very quickly.
The second quarter would be the difference in the game. Cloudland came out like men on a mission and unfortunately for University High, they stood in their way.
The teams were tied at one point 15-15 during the second, but this was the last lead change of the game. Cloudland began pulling away on the scoreboard thanks to the play of Elijah Blair and Hayden Shell.
When the second quarter ended, Cloudland had taken a 34-24 lead.
Cloudland’s Coach Gary Harrison must have given his team some speech at the break, and it worked. The third quarter was all Cloudland as they took a ten-point lead and made it into a 25-point lead thanks to their tough defense and scoring after the turnover.
Meanwhile, Cloudland’s Blair was putting on a shooting clinic. The muscular Blair would not be stopped as he hit shot after shot under the goal.
When he was not doing damage, Cloudland’s Hunter Shell was taking up the slack and the Jr. Bucs frustration was obvious.
This frustration came to a head during the fourth quarter. Two University High players were called for technical fouls and their coach was also called for a technical foul when he voiced his displeasure toward a referee.
After the game Coach Harrison was very proud of his team.
“We played really good defense tonight, and every one of our boys gave all they had on that court. They played their butts off against a very good team that is well-coached. I am very, very proud of all of them,” Harrison stated.
University High was led in scoring by Kaleb Meredith with 14 points. Mason Broome had 12, John Carter had six, Marshall Fleenor had six and Ben Vargo had five.
