SPRING MILLS – Clearfield couldn’t afford a slow start Wednesday night against a Penns Valley basketball team coming off just its second loss of the season, but the Bisons dug themselves a hole with 17 turnovers in 32 first-half possessions.
Clearfield never recovered, though they were still in the Mountain League crossover game at intermission facing a 23-12 deficit.
The host Rams, who lead the Nittany Division at 5-0, broke it open with a 16-point third period and padded their record to 12-2 with a 50-33 victory.
Clearfield is 2-10 after its fourth loss in a row, all to ML-Nittany opponents.
The Bisons, who are 2-3 against Allegheny Division foes, got nine points from Jack Mellgard and seven from Andrew Redden.
Senior guard Kevin Montminy dominated for Penns Valley with 28 points.
The 2010 Associated Press All-State third-teamer, who reached the 1,000-point plateau in the second game of the season and was the Most Valuable Player in two Blair County tournaments, outscored Clearfield 23-19 through the first three periods.
The Bisons will be on their home hardwood Friday night as Bald Eagle Area comes calling for another Mountain League crossover game.
In the prelim, Ryan Hogue and Shawn Lord scored seven points apiece for the Clearfield junior varsity in a 47-32 loss.
CLEARFIELD — 33
Beau Swales 2 0-0 5, Curtis Frye 1 0-0 2, Andrew Redden 2 1-2 7, Jack Mellgard 4 0-0 9, Robbie Myers 2 0-0 4, Derek Morgan 1 0-0 2, Christian Lezzer 1 0-0 3, Vaughn Metz 0 0-0 0, Shawn Lord 0 1-2 1. TOTALS: 13 2-4 33.
PENNS VALLEY — 50
Collin Smith 0 0-0 0, Kevin Montminy 10 4-5 28, Sam Snyder 2 1-4 5, Ethan Thomas 0 0-2 2, Trevor Fultz 0 0-0 0, Garrett Zubler 1 0-0 3, Derek Dashem 0 2-3 2, Travis Witmer 0 0-0 0, Ryan Brown 0 2-2 2, Austin Auman 2 0-0 4, Ryan Patton 0 2-4 2, Nick Engle 1 0-0 2, Dalton Ulmanic 0 0-0 0, Luke Weaver 0 0-0 0, Cameron Tobias 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 17 11-20 50.
Three-Point Field Goals – Clearfield 5 (Swales, Redden 2, Mellgard, Lezzer); Penns Valley 5 (Montminy 4, Zuber).
Score by Quarters
Clearfield 5 7 7 14 – 33
Penns Valley 14 9 16 11 – 50
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 12/13 | @ Huntingdon | 38 – 73 | 0 – 1 |
| 12/16 | @ Central | 35 – 50 | 0 – 2 |
| 12/17 | @ DuBois | 31 – 48 | 0 – 3 |
| 12/21 | TYRONE | 39 – 65 | 0 – 4 |
| 12/27 | Lions Club Invitational | ||
| vs. Somerset | 38 – 61 | 0 – 5 | |
| 12/28 | Lions Club Invitational | ||
| vs. Harmony | 40 – 52 | 0 – 6 | |
| 01/05 | PHILIPSBURG | 44 – 31 | 1 – 6 |
| 01/07 | @ Central Mountain | 48 – 45 ot | 2 – 6 |
| 01/10 | INDIAN VALLEY | 26 – 44 | 2 – 7 |
| 01/12 | @ Bellefonte | 40 – 52 | 2 – 8 |
| 01/14 | LEWISTOWN | 25 – 35 | 2 – 9 |
| 01/19 | @ Penns Valley | 33 – 50 | 2 – 10 |
| 01/21 | BALD EAGLE AREA |
