By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Cair Paravel Latin boys withstood a furious fourth quarter rally by West Franklin Friday to hold off the Falcons to win on the Lions’ home floor, 71-67.
Senior Jase Pavlik scored 18 points to lead the way as Cair Paravel topped West Franklin 71-67 Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Cair Paravel coach Chip Kueffer and the Lions' bench react to a big play in Friday's 71-67 win over West Franklin. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Lions led by 17 with five minutes remaining, but had to hit free throws in the final couple of minutes to stave off the comeback.
The Lions improved to 4-5 on the season, 2-3 in the Flint Hills League. Cair Paravel had to replace eight players from last year’s squad and coach Chip Kueffer said the learning process is ongoing.
“It helped tonight that we were at home, for sure,” Kueffer said. “The way the game played out says a lot about our youth, because we were playing a lot of young guys, and it says a lot about our leadership. So, we were able to hold onto it. Ideally, you’d like to win that game by 20. But I think we learned more from it because we were able to win a close one.”
Providing leadership, as well as 18 points, Friday was senior guard Jase Pavlik. Juniors Caleb Cleverdon and Lucas Marichal added 12 and 10 points respectively.
Coming off the bench to combine for 20 points were freshmen Chase Hastert with 13 and Blaine Durbin with seven.
“These new guys, they’ve been in the system and they’re very skilled,” Pavlik said. “The thing I like about our team is we’re smart. But we’ve got to learn to play in pressure situations. Coach said we had four turnovers at half, and I think we ended up with like 18. After the game we discussed that we haven’t been in that scenario yet.”
“To lose eight guys at a small school, that’s tough,” the Lions’ second-year coach said. “It kind of feels like my first year again because of the new league, the new schedule, playing a lot of the teams for the first time.
“The kids love each other and that makes it easier, but we’re not playing well yet. Once we get it figured out, I think we can be good.”
The Lions were undersized at every position on the floor against West Franklin, a problem Kueffer said the team faces in nearly every game. He praised Cleverdon, senior Ben Roeder and junior Drew Fay for their work in the paint against the much bigger Falcons.
“Those guys are giving up so much height, one, but, two, weight,” Kueffer said. “Those aren’t super muscley dudes, and so they’ve got to get physical, get their nose on the ball, and get floor burns early. That sets the tone for the entire game.”
CAIR PARAVEL BOYS 71, WEST FRANKLIN 67
West Franklin 12 21 11 23 -- 67
Cair Paravel 17 24 12 18 -- 71
West Franklin (3-6, 2-5) – Dowd 4-14 0-0 11, McMahan 5-16 5-6 19, Judd 2-4 0-2 4, Gonzales 5-16 2-3 12, Altic 3-8 0-0 6, Ohlde 6-8 1-3 13, Harmon 1-1 0-0 2, Cooley 0-3 0-0 0. Totals: 26-70 8-14 67.
Cair Paravel (4-5 2-3) – Pavlik 8-17 0-2 18, Roeder 2-7 0-0 4, Fay 3-6 1-2 7, Marichal 3-6 4-4 10, Cleverdon 4-9 2-2 12, Hastert 5-11 2-8 13, Durbin 3-3 1-3 7. Totals: 28-59 10-21 71.
3-point goals – West Franklin 7 (McMahan 4, Dowd 3), Cair Paravel 5 (Pavlik 2, Cleverdon 2, Hastert 1). Total fouls – West Franklin 19, Cair Paravel 15. Fouled out – Fay. Technical fouls – Marichal.
