“Our senior high team is starting to gel and play really well together at times,” stated Coach Frank Cluck. “Senior guard, Austin Cluck, has been a leader for our team both on the court and in the locker room. He is a very skilled player with a high basketball IQ and is willing to do whatever is needed for our team to succeed. He is averaging 12.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game currently.”
“I would also like to mention senior guard Austin Swaim and junior guard Darryl Kattich. Both of these young men have been leading us with their defense. Each of them may be asked to defend our opponent’s best offensive player on any given night. Plus both guys are helping us on the offensive end of the court, as well. Austin Swaim is averaging 12.0 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game and Darryl Kattich is averaging 9.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game.”
Recently, the Cedarville Sr Pirates picked up back to back victories. One in conference against Paris last Tuesday in which the Pirates got the upper-hand 67-39 and then again on Friday against Lifeway 61-48 where Cedarville led 56 to 32 after 3 quarters. Austin Cluck led the Pirates with 16 points along with 3 rebounds and 4 assists. Cluck, who after high school wants to go to college and learn how to be a basketball coach and math teacher, has been playing basketball since he was three years old but started playing competitively at Cedarville Elementary in the 3rd grade.
“My dad got me interested in basketball. I loved hearing stories about when he played and coached. So far this year, the best games I’ve had have been because of my teammates. Yeah, I’ve had some decent shooting games throughout the season, but when I shoot well, it’s just because my teammates create those shots for me. My favorite games so far were most recently Valley Springs and Paris. As the year has gone on, we’ve seen a lot of improvement as a team, and even in the loss against Valley Springs, that teamwork was starting to show.”
“The best thing about this year is getting to play with my friends from Cedarville Elementary School. I’ve gone to Alma since the 6th grade, and while I’ve enjoyed making friends and playing basketball there, it’s good to play again with the guys from little league. Right now we are looking forward to playing our next game. Our team doesn’t take each game for granted. We’re grateful for every opportunity to play, so we’re keeping our eyes on one game at a time.”
Also bringing in the treasure from last Friday’s big win was Dylan Cluck with 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 assists and Darryl Kattich with 10 points and 4 rebounds. Coach Cluck added, “Austin Swaim (24 min) held Lifeway’s guard, Green, to 13 points in 3 quarters of play and Cody Dickens held shooter “Melton” to just 2 points through 3 quarters. Melton ended up with a total of 5 after hitting a 3 in the 4th. Also, Bradlee Blankenship came off the bench and secured 4 rebounds with 6 minutes of playtime.”
“Hopefully, our group is taking one game at a time because we all know that we should be grateful for each game that we are allowed to play. Covid-19 has made this year very unpredictable with cancellations and rescheduling. I think our boys look forward to each time we are allowed to compete!”
Photos courtesy of Malinda Mizell
