Despite a hard-fought 53-38 loss to the Columbia Central Golden Eagles on Friday night, the Clinton Redwolves had a bright spot to celebrate. Senior guard Jalen Stelzer reached a major career milestone, surpassing 1,000 points in his high school basketball career. In addition, senior Calen Keith contributed 11 points in the loss, while other players like Chase Gillman and Louie Della-Badia added key contributions on the offensive end.  The Redwolves faced a tough opponent in the Golden Eagles and were already dealing with a challenging situation, missing three key players. Despite these absences, Clinton came out strong in the first half, trailing by just four points at halftime, 27-23. The Redwolves’ offense was efficient early, with Stelzer and Keith playing pivotal roles, and Clinton was able to keep pace with the Columbia Central size and speed.
Stelzer reached the 1,000-point mark early in the first quarter. With an early layup and a free throw, Stelzer reached the milestone, a moment that brought the home crowd to their feet. The senior finished the game with 11 points.  While the first half showed promise for the Redwolves, the second half proved to be a different story. Despite staying within striking distance early, Clinton struggled to generate offense after halftime, managing only 15 points in the entire second half.  The second half was really the difference in the game as the Redwolves had some open shots that we didn’t convert.  Despite the slow start to the season, there is a lot of season left, and the Redwolves are optimistic in the way they are trending.  The Redwolves will pick back up with league play on Thursday at home vs Ida.