HYDE – Reversing the outcome of a Feb. 14 home game will be the challenge for the Clearfield Area High School boys basketball team Thursday night when the Bisons travel to St. Marys for one of the two openers in the District 9 Class AAA Playoffs.
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No. 4-seeded Clearfield (5-17) and No. 1 St. Marys (15-7) will tip off at 7 p.m. while No. 2 Punxsutawney (9-13) is entertaining No. 3 Bradford (6-16) in the other semifinal.
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The date, site and time for the championship game is undetermined, but both teams will advance to the PIAA Tournament.
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Coach Forrest Campman’s Bisons hung with the top-seeded Flying Dutch throughout their non-league scrap, leading for the last time at 21-20 with 5:41 left in the third period and trailing only 38-34 with 47.4 seconds left.
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Four of the Flying Dutch’s 15 free throws made it 42-34 at the buzzer.
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Two nights later, Clearfield rebounded to defeat Punxsutawney 50-39, halting a seven-game losing streak and avenging a 49-32 loss at Chucktown on Jan. 31.
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Junior center Robbie Myers leads the Bisons in scoring and rebounding.
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He was in double figures 16 times and totaled 285 points, a 13.0 average that is tied for 28th in District 9. His season and career high was a 30-point performance at Philipsburg-Osceola Feb. 12.
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Under the boards, Myers has held his own on both ends of the floor with 77 of his 169 rebounds coming on missed Clearfield shots.
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Senior guard Jack Mellgard has boosted his average to 9.7 ppg with double digits in the last three games, including a career-best 18 against Punxsy in the finale.
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The other Clearfield starters will be senior forward Andrew Redden (5.9 ppg with 99 rebounds), junior guard Curtis Frye (4.9 ppg) and either senior Derek Morgan (2.5 ppg) or Beau Swales (1.6 ppg).
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Campman utilizes an eight-player rotation with freshman Christian Lezzer (4.4 ppg) and senior Vaughn Metz guaranteed their share of action.
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St. Marys, which has made a remarkable turnaround from 2-18 last season, is led by 6-3 senior forward Dylan Reigel (13 ppg) and 5-10 junior guard Justin Quiggle (12.1 ppg).
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The Bisons were able to keep Quiggle under control with their 1-3-1 trap, but Reigel paced the Flying Dutch with 19 points.
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Other St. Marys starters that night were 6-6 senior forward Ryan Mancuso (6.5 ppg), 5-11 junior forward Jimmy Werner (8.2 ppg) and 6-2 senior forward Bobby Vollmer (4.2 ppg).
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Providing depth at forward are seniors Ryan Uhl (6.4 ppg) and Rocco Harshbarger. Uhl is 6-6 and Harshbarger 6-3.
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Seniors Jordan Weinzierl (3.0 ppg) and Ryan Hockman are the backup guards.
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Clearfield has played for the district title the last three years, beating St. Marys 49-37 two years ago for its first championship since 1999 and losing 56-28 to Bradford last year and 63-37 to Bradford in 2008.
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St. Marys, which last reigned in 2000, has lost in the district finals four of the last eight years, according to D9Sports.com.
Clearfield Bison Final Regular Season Scoreboard
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 | Â | Â |
 | vs. Somerset | 38 – 61 | 0 – 5 |
12/28 | Lions Club Invitational | Â | Â |
 | 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 | 59 – 45 | 3 – 10 |
01/25 | @ Juniata | 58 – 33 | 4 – 10 |
01/27 | HUNTINGDON | 38 – 49 | 4 – 11 |
01/31 | @ Punxsutawney | 32 – 49 | 4 – 12 |
02/02 | CENTRAL | ppd. | 4 – 12 |
02/04 | @ Tyrone | 42 – 43 | 4 – 13 |
02/07 | CENTRAL | 52 – 54 | 4 – 14 |
02/09 | @ Philipsburg | ppd. | 4 – 14 |
02/11 | CENTRAL MOUNTAIN | 49 – 55 | 4 – 15 |
02/12 | @ Philipsburg | 57 – 63 | 4 – 16 |
02/14 | ST. MARYS | 34 – 42 | 4 – 17 |
02/16 | PUNXSUTAWNEY | 50 – 39 | 5 – 17 |
02/24 | D9 Playoffs @ St. Marys | Â | Â |