The boys’ basketball team’s season came to a disappointing end on Feb. 28 as they lost 62-58 to MICDS in the district final.

The Hounds beat Westminster in the semifinal game on a baseline jump shot by senior guard Devonte Bell with three seconds left in the game.  The Hounds clinched their 50-48 win once they stole the impending inbounds pass near half court.
In that semifinal game, the Hounds fell behind early and struggled to deal with Westminster’s slow offense that aimed at having two-minute possessions and just keeping the ball out of Clayton’s hands.  By slowing down the tempo of the game and working the ball down low to their senior center Daniel Alexander (finished with 23 points), Westminster was able to limit Clayton’s usual up-tempo, high energy game plan.
But Bell and junior guard Ahmad Smith helped carry the team back into the game, as both finished with 13 points to lead the team.
“ They played a weak man and they were a little slow so I was able to take advantage of that and get behind their defense for a lot of back-door cuts,” Smith said.
The district finals were played on a Friday night at 8 in Clayton’s own Stuber Gym.  The place was packed for the second straight game, but the district final held an atmosphere that seemed three times as intense as the one for the semifinals just two days before.
The two teams seemed on a collision course for the district finals and the fans got just what you would expect from a game involving the top two seeds in the district.
MICDS came into the game having been 18-3 in their last 21 games while Clayton three of their last four going into the game.
Clayton had actually beat the Rams at MICDS earlier in the season, but the MICDS team that showed up for district play was a revamped and much better team than the one the Hounds easily defeated 71-58 on Dec. 10.
The visiting Rams started the game off just as hot as they had been going in, at one point, leading by 15 points in the first quarter.  But the Hounds slowly got back into the game, lead by Bell and junior guard Christian Thomas.
“I would love to replay that game, we got behind early and had to play catch up the rest of the way, which hurt us,” Thomas said.
Thomas was the key contributor in a solid second quarter that saw the Hounds trim MICDS’ lead to just four at the break.
In the second half, the Hounds gave the Rams a large dose of Bell.  The senior captain willed the Hounds through the third quarter and well into the fourth as it seemed only a matter of time before the team would take the lead.  And they did just that on a Bell three-pointer that sent the crowd into a frenzy with about three minutes left in the game.
From then on, the teams traded baskets, before MICDS took a one-point lead with a minute to play.  After the Hounds called time out, they ran the clock down to about ten seconds before Bell went into his crossover move on MICDS senior guard Michael Scott (who also had a game-high 24 points and six steals).  Scott came through for the Rams with by far his most clutch steal of the season.
After an intentional foul was called on the Hounds during Scott’s breakaway and he hit one of two free throws, the Hounds still had to foul MICDS again.  MICDS’ senior McPherson Moore (17 points in the game) went to the line and clinched the game, sinking both attempts.
Bell and Thomas both finished with team-highs of 22 points in the game, but poor free throw shooting (62 percent from the line), a hot handed MICDS team (shot nearly 70 percent from the field), and too many turnovers lead to the Hounds’ demise.
“That game was similar to most games, we just dug too big of a hole for ourselves and even though we battled back we just couldn’t make that one big play late in the game,” head coach Ryan Luhning said.
The Hounds finished the season 17-9, and will look to improve on their playoff run last year.
“My favorite part of the season was even after we lost, just seeing the stands full, the crowd supportive, and to see the class our guys showed, and just how disappointed they were meant a lot,” Luhning said.  “It’s good that the attitude at Clayton is now that rather than be content with making the district title game, we expect to go much further.  That’s an attitude that will be key in being successful in the near future.”
That task will be a lot tougher because of the loss of eight key seniors including four-year starting point guard Bell, the only point guard the senior class has seen play for the Hounds in their time here.  Bell, a three year varsity captain, finished his career with 1,386 points and averaged nearly 15 points per game this season, which was second on the team behind Thomas.
The team also loses seven other players that contributed to the team, including senior sharpshooter Sumner Ahearn, center Max Goldfarb, three-year guard Alex Kasnetz, and defensive specialist Josh Pickens.  The team will lose just over 50 percent of their points from this season.
“We are going to have to replace eight guys who gave their heart and soul to our program,” Luhning said.  “We need guys to commit to the program as much as these seniors did for four years.”
As some seniors’ career’s come to an end, many look back on what was a great season.
“I had a lot of fun, and I’m going to miss everything,” Ahearn said.  “I’m going to miss how close all the players are and how we can join together to be a team.  Hopefully, I’ll be remembered as one of the best shooters to ever walk the halls at CHS.”
Ahearn is planning on playing basketball at the Division III level in college.
Now, the team must look ahead to next year.  Although the Hounds lose eight seniors, three starters return in Thomas, Smith, and sophomore guard Charlie Harned.
“We are losing eight contributing seniors, but Christian [Thomas], Ahmad [Smith], Charlie [Harned], and [sophomore guard] Clayton Buchanan will all have to be counted on all the time next season,” Luhning said.  “It is time for them to step up, they will have to be our leaders.”
In terms of next year, there are a lot of unknown factors for the team, as there should be with as many roster spots open as there are.
“[At the freshmen and junior varsity level] There is some talent, but it is going to be a matter of who puts the time in,” Luhning said.  “It is very raw talent that just needs to be refined.”
The returners are also aware of what needs to happen in the offseason.
“Everyone needs to get stronger, become better ball handlers, and become more consistent shooters,” Thomas said.
Thomas lead the team in scoring and rebounds, averaging 20.8 points per game to go with 9.6 rebounds per game.  Those two averages were among the leaders in the Metro area.
“My strengths are scoring, rebounding, and passing, but I still need to improve every aspect of my game to take it to the next level,” Thomas said.
Thomas starting bringing his game up this season, and colleges took note.  Iowa, Kansas State, UNLV, SLU, UMKC, SIUC, SIUE, Denver, Evansville, and LSU have contacted Thomas to play basketball at the collegiate level.
While the last two years, the team has had great success because of a wealth of talent, next season will be interesting to see how the team handles a new bevy of key players.
“Clearly our strengths next year will be Christian Thomas and we need to build around him and become a more well-rounded team,” Harned said.
Just because the team lost eight seniors though, their goals for next season have not changed.
“Our first goal will be to win the conference title outright, we aren’t looking to share that,” Thomas said.  “From there, we want to win districts and just get greedy the rest of the way.”
If the team wants to do that, they know that the new faces of the program will have to really step up next year, and that starts in the offseason.
It will be interesting to see how the Hounds can rebound from this heartbreaking end to the season, but clearly, the attitude and will to go further next season is present in an up and coming program that features one of the areas prominent players returning next season.