Clark’s 19 Not Enough for Dubs in Loss

By Brandon Petersen

It was a frustrating night for the Westcliff men's basketball team Thursday, as visiting Indiana Tech (RV) shot 50-percent from three and left with a 78-68 win.

Blake Davison had a heck of the night for the visiting Warriors, as he finished with a game-high 24 points.

Besides Davison's effort, however, the game played out relatively evenly, and the Dubs consistently found themselves hovering around five back for much of the second half.

Micaiah Hankins (nine points) collected three first-half fouls and ended up playing 10 minutes less than he had in a win Wednesday.

Eric Clark stepped up, especially from three, where Clark was on fire in the second half.

The junior from Cerritos finished with a team-high 19 on 4-of-6 from range.

Meanwhile, Rayven Turner was his usual consistent self, finishing near a double-double with 10 and seven.

It wouldn't be enough.

"They're receiving votes for a reason," Westcliff head coach Jerred Cook said. "Nationally ranked opponent, and we learned a lot about ourselves tonight. They're a very disciplined team, and they beat us in some areas – and I just think they wanted it more."

Jeremiah Paulino had another solid performance with Hankins on the sideline. Paulino finished with 10 points and three rebounds.

Aaron Strings had seven, Raymond Hawkins chimed in with six, as did Evan Hoosier.

"For us, we're still putting things together as a team," Cook said. "I saw some bright spots from some of our guys tonight. Excited to see how Eric Clark continues to grow within the program. He's buying in, all around, and I think this is a product of all the hard work he's put in the past couple of weeks."

Despite the loss, the Warriors did have several positives to consider.

Westcliff shot 8-of-21 from three for a 38-percent clip.

After losing the turnover battle Wednesday, they evened it up Thursday, committing four less than they had in Wednesday's win.

They were also even with a taller Indiana Tech squad in the rebounding battle.

It wasn't a bad performance, the Warriors just got beat.

"The game was close," Cook said. "We just got beat on some categories that we shouldn't have. Biggest thing – we've talked about it before – no layups, no threes. Tonight, they hit 12, and as we know, that's the separator for us."

Westcliff (3-4) will have no time to worry about the loss, as another contest looms Saturday.

The Dubs will head back out on the road for meeting with Point Loma.

Tip is scheduled for 4:30 pm.