February 26, 2002 11:21 PMMuskeyvalley leads
Rocks in regional opener
By Marc Nesseler, Dispatch/Argus Sports editor
It was a memorable last game at Rock Island Fieldhouse for Rock Island senior Ray
``Munchie'' Muskeyvalley, scoring 27 points in a 66-55, regional tournament-opening boys'
basketball victory over Geneseo.
It may have been an even more memorable one for senior Clayton George, who scored two
points.
George, an all-Western Big 6 Conference football lineman playing his first year of
varsity basketball, sank Rock Island's last field goal in mop-up duty with 19 seconds
left. It was his second basket, and his second attempt, of the season. George's
career-high received an ovation that easily outdistanced that for any of Muskeyvalley's
career-high points.
For both, it was a perfect ending to their last home game. Rock Island, a No. 5 seed,
advances to a regional title game at 7:30 p.m. Friday, at Sycamore. Sycamore, a No. 4
seed, defeated Ottawa 65-47.
``He just decided to take over,'' RI junior Grant Snyder said of Muskeyvalley's
dominance.
Hearing the answer but not the question, RI coach Thom Sigel interjected, ``Who
Clayton? He took over and scored when he got in.''
Though playing in just six varsity games, George's work ethic is appreciated by his
fellow Rocks.
``Those two points may not be much,'' said Muskeyvalley, ``but it's a lot to a whole
team. He's become one of us. He works hard.''
As far as Geneseo coach Mike Kiss is concerned, Muskeyvalley's performance meant as
much as the Rocks' whole team.
``Take away his performance and we're probably walking out of here with a win,'' said
Kiss, whose Leafs end with a 7-19 record. ``Kids like that are special kids, tough kids. I
appreciate as a fan that he dug down and got it. Seniors like that find a little extra
this time of year.
``Phil Snyder, too, was able to find that little more,'' he added of the Leafs' senior
scorer. Snyder finished with a team-high 16 points. Jim Kiss, a junior, added 13.
Rock Island's third senior, David Wilson, also had a double-digit RI Fieldhouse finale.
He tallied 13 points.
The Rocks also improved greatly in two other aspects of the game. They committed a
season-low eight turnovers and uncharacteristically hit 15-of-20 free throws, including 11
of 12 in the fourth quarter. As a team, the Rocks have hit 56 percent of their free throws
in a 10-15 season that includes three forfeited wins for playing with an academically
ineligible player.
``We've done a lot of different things,'' said Sigel of giving a lot of playing time to
a freshman and a quintet of sophomores, Dail Rice, with eight points on 3-of-3 shooting
vs. the Leafs, among the latter. ``It just gives teams something else to think about.''
For Muskeyvalley, thinking about that last home game as a Rock will be quite
pleasurable.
``This is the postseason,'' he said. ``I started feeling it early in the game. And hey,
this is the last home game, so, why not?''
3-Point advancers: It was a Maple Leaf sweep in the pregame Country Insurance
3-Point Showdown. Moving on to Friday's competition, and topping four RI competitors, were
Kyle Lichthardt (10 of 15), Mark Goethals (9), Snyder (8) and Kiss (7).
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