Turnovers haunt Steers in loss

FARWELL — There are turnovers … and then there are turnovers, as in the open-court kind.

The Farwell Steers made too many of the latter on Friday and absorbed a 55-48 loss to Clarendon.

For the game, the Steers committed 25 turnovers. Coach Shane Perkins was less concerned about the number of floor errors as he was the type.

“It’s been a problem most of the year,” Perkins said. “It’s not just the shots you don’t get, it’s how many layups they (Broncos) get at the other end.”

Clarendon (12-5) finally broke open what had been a tight contest early in the final period, snapping a 35-35 tie with a 14-1 surge that all but put it out of reach with under three minutes left.

Jamal Butler and Lamarcus Penigar each finished with 14 points for the Broncos, with all but two (by Penigar) coming in the second half.

Clarendon coach Chris Conkin said his squad’s offense operates around Butler’s ability to produce inside.

“We were kind of stagnant the first half, but a lot of that had to do with their defense,” said Conkin, who spent five seasons (2001-06) on the boys basketball staff at Farwell, the last three as head coach. “I thought we moved a little better in the second half, and that allowed us to get it into our big guy (Butler).”

Both teams found it hard to score in the first half. Farwell had five turnovers and trailed 5-0 before getting its first points on a basket by senior Jose Rodriguez with just under two minutes left in the first quarter, and the teams struggled into halftime locked in a 15-15 tie.

The Steers (13-6) got 3-pointers from juniors Leefe Actkinson and Jonathan Mora on their first two possessions of the second half to take a four-point lead. They still led 29-25 before the Broncos scored eight unanswered, including back-to-back layups off backcourt turnovers.

Farwell pulled even just over a minute into the final period on a short shot from the lane by Rodriguez, but the Steers managed only one more free throw over the next four minutes as Clarendon took control.

While Farwell struggled to maintain control of the ball against Clarendon’s aggressive defense, the Broncos finished the contest with a relatively modest 14 turnovers.

“They’re a good team,” Conkin said of the Steers. “We’ll probably match up with them again down the road in the playoffs. They’re always a good team here.”

Mora had two of Farwell’s four 3-point baskets and finished the game with 14 points, while Actkinson also reached double digits with 12 — including 10 in the second half.

“I thought we did a good job of defending them 5-on-5, and we competed well for rebounds,” Perkins said. “But sometimes we were getting rebounds and then giving it right back to them, and they were shooting layups.”

The Steers return to action on Tuesday in a neutral-site matchup with Sanford-Fritch at Vega.