Brothers spark Niles

Liberty's Burt Stellers said his team still is trying to make the transition from football to basketball.
By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
LIBERTY -- On a night when their top two performers got in foul trouble early, the Niles and Liberty High basketball teams had to call on other players to step up and be counted in the outcome.
The Cleary brothers of Niles -- Andrew and Sean -- answered the call and sparked a third-quarter surge that helped the Red Dragons take a 41-33 lead early in the fourth period.
That rally was barely enough to help Niles hold off the Leopards, 46-43, in a battle that went down to the final shot Friday night at the Liberty gym.
With Bill Frech, Niles' leading scorer last year with an 18-point average, hampered by three early fouls, the Cleary brothers combined for 12 of the Red Dragons' 16 third-period points to help them pull away from a 23-19 halftime lead.
Andrew Cleary, a 5-10 senior, had seven points and Sean Cleary, a 5-11 junior, had five points in that third frame, and they both finished with 13 points with Andrew connecting on three 3-point goals.
Kershaw hampered
Liberty definitely was weakened by Edward Kershaw's foul trouble. The talented Kershaw, a 6-5 senior and one of the top players in the area, got two fouls in the first minute of the game, and had two more before the end of the third quarter before fouling out.
Kershaw finished with only nine points but he got seven of them in the third quarter when his shots started dropping to help prevent Niles from turning the game into a rout.
Mychal Doblanski, a 6-1 junior and a talent in his own right with all the moves and shots, picked up the slack for Liberty with 17 points to help the Leopards make a game of it.
And John Humphrey, a 6-2 senior, was tough on the boards for the Leopards with 12 rebounds and seven points. Liberty won the boards, 41-35.
Cleary brothers deliver
Coach Bob Price of Niles (2-1) said the Cleary brothers made victory happen.
"The Cleary brothers are tough kids," he said. "They make key shots. They work hard. They work well together. They definitely were giving us a much-needed spark."
But although Frech was burdened by fouls, he did manage to provide Niles with the margin of victory.
Because with Liberty trailing 41-36, Joe Webb hit a 3 and Doblanski a 2 to cut Niles' lead to 41-38, but Frech canned a 3-point goal with 4:10 left to make it 44-38.
Then Sean Cleary supplied the insurance with two foul shots with about 25 seconds left to lift Niles ahead by 46-40.
Liberty goes down shooting
But Liberty refused to wilt. Webb connected for a 3 with about 12 seconds left to pare Niles' lead to 46-43.
However, Webb missed a 3-point goal attempt at the buzzer that would have tied the game.
Price also lauded Justin Shelton, a 5-8 senior who had six rebounds along with Sean Cleary and Frech.
"Shelton got some big rebounds toward the end for a small guy. He has a nose for the ball. He's the toughest kid I've ever coached," said Price.
Liberty coach Burt Stellers said his team still is trying to make the transition from football to basketball and is not yet in the shooting mode.
"We didn't shoot real well. We were only 8-for-25 in the paint in the first half," said Stellers, who said Kershaw was struggling because of his fouls.
"He was in foul trouble all night," said Stellers. But Kershaw also missed a lot of shots.
Stellers said his team was outplayed.
"[Niles] hit some key shots and key free throws down the stretch," said Stellers, "They have been playing together a lot and work pretty good [together]."
kovach@vindy.com