ELEVATION ­—Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther’s Carter Fox elevates to fire a jumper over Cleveland’s Carter Barto (21) during Valley Conference basketball action Thursday night in Truman. The Clippers’ Blake Lyons looks on. (Photo courtesy of Susan Petrowiak)

TRUMAN — The Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther Jaguars fell in a nailbiter, 58-57, on Thursday night in Truman against the Cleveland Clippers.

The Clippers’ aggressive trapping press and stellar shooting from deep propelled them to the Valley Conference victory.

The Clippers were dealt an uphill battle as the size discrepancy on the two sides was apparent. Cleveland was forced to work the ball around the horn in hopes of finding a good shot all game long.

Clippers head coach Mike Meyer was proud of his team’s grit.

“Our hope was that we would be able to take them out of position and take some of their (Jaguars) height away from the basket,” Meyer said. “We have a good big who does well battling with guys, so we felt pretty good about him, but when he isn’t in the game, we were looking to find a mismatch on the perimeter.”

Coming out of the halftime break, the game was tied at 23, and the Clippers would go back-and-forth the rest of the way before sealing the win 58-57.

Leading the Clippers offensively on the night was junior guard Brennan Kortuem. Kortuem finished with 17 points, including a couple timely buckets down the stretch.

His partner in the Clippers’ backcourt was freshman guard Carson Lyons. Lyons managed the game well throughout, controlling the pace of play.

He finished with 15 points to go with his seven rebounds and four assists. He also did his fair share on defense, picking four pockets along the way.

The Clippers leaned on senior big man Carter Barto when it came to paint production. Barto finished with nine points to go with his 14 boards.

The Jaguars’ leading scorer was freshman guard Eli Jensen. Jensen came off the bench to convert 4 of his 10 3-pointers to total 14 points.

Junior forward Jackson Madsen did his best to win on the interior. Madsen ended with a game-high 15 boards to combine with his 13 points for a double-double.

Despite an off shooting touch, Carter Fox still totaled 11 points to go with his eight rebounds, eight assists and three blocks. His defensive presence on the interior caused issues for the Clippers throughout the night.

With the win, Cleveland (6-7) will look to continue its luck at 7 p.m. Monday against Glenville-Emmons in Cleveland.

As for Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther (4-10), it’s back to the drawing board as it prepares for a 7 p.m. clash with Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial on Tuesday in Truman.

CLEV           23-25–58

GTML         23-24–57

CLEVELAND (58)

Kortuem 5-18 4-6 17, C. Lyons 5-9 4-7 15, Barto 3-11 3-5 9, Bartell 3-6 0-0 8, B. Lyons 2-8 0-0 5, Rossow 1-4 2-2 4, Connor 0-2 0-0 0.

GTML (57)

Jensen 4-10 2-2 14, Madsen 6-13 1-2 13, C. Fox 5-13 0-0 11, Shell 2-5 0-0 6, Hastad 2-4 1-2 5, Borkenhagen 1-2 0-0 3, Grathwohl 1-4 0-0 3, Brudelie 1-2 0-2 2.

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Girls Basketball

Blue Earth Area 50, Minnesota Valley Lutheran 31 — The Bucs went on a 30-4 run in the second half to snatch a win away from the chargers during non-league action Thursday night in Blue Earth.

Lola Lundquist sparked BEA’s charge with 25 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals.

Her partner in the backcourt was senior guard Katherine Armon, who contributed 14 points to go with four boards and four steals to the Bucs’ cause.

Madelyn Ferguson got it done on the glass for Blue Earth Area, collecting a team-high 11 rebounds to go with six points.

With the loss, Minnesota Valley Lutheran (3-11) will look for a better outcome at 6 p.m. Tuesday against New Ulm Cathedral in New Ulm.

Blue Earth Area (2-11), will look to make it two in a row at 7:30 p.m. tonight against Maple River in Blue Earth.