Tornadoes fall short

By ERIC MUSKATEVC
Published December 31, 2005

HUDSON - In the end, it wasn't that Miami Northwestern's Bertrum Strachan was doing much with the ball, just that he had it.

The senior guard, who scored 51 points in a game earlier this season while leading the No.10-ranked team in Class 6A to a 15-1 start, was given the ball for nearly all eight minutes of the fourth quarter, which he converted into a free-throw clinic to hand Clearwater its second loss of the season 86-73 in the championship of the Chase Memorial Tournament at Hudson.

Strachan finished 12-of-16 from the line, with 26 points and was named the tournament's most valuable player.

Luke Loukes-led Tornado fastbreaks stunned the Bulls early. Three 3-pointers during the first quarter by Nick Nickerson and a 10-0 run helped Clearwater lead 21-15 after the first quarter. "We kind of figured they were a similar team as we were," Miami Northwestern coach Sam Watts said. "They had us shocked right away. We realized that we had to match their intensity or it was going to be a long night."

The Bulls moved to free up Strachan (4-of-7) from behind the arc, which they did. And despite 13 first-half points by Nickerson (who finished with a game-high 30 points, five 3-pointers and four assists), Clearwater trailed 41-36. Loukes (seven points, six rebounds) sat for much of the second half in foul trouble and fouled out in the fourth. That left it to Mike Postorino (six points, six assist, four steals) and Patrick Baker (eight of his 18 points in the fourth quarter) to help Clearwater cut the deficit to two points with four minutes left.

"The kids played tough right until the end," Clearwater coach Jack Coit said. "We started out really well. But when a team takes 39 free throws, you know it's going to be that kind of night."

Darian Anderson and Robert Allen had 23 and 21 points, respectively, for the Bulls.

[Last modified December 31, 2005, 00:51:03]