DUBOIS – For the first time in four games the Clearfield boys basketball team put together a good first half which paved the way to a 53-49 win over DuBois Monday night on the Beavers’ home floor.
Head coach Nate Glunt of Clearfield talked afterwards about the play of his team in both halves, “It was nice to see us play a good first half for a change. The second half wasn’t as good, but we hung tough and got the job done.”
Clearfield (13-1) led after the first period 20-14, as junior Caleb Strouse gave the Bison the six-point margin with a bucket with 20 seconds left.
However, the story of the first eight minutes was the Will Myers show, as the Clearfield sophomore ripped the nets for 11 tallies, which included two three-pointers.
Myers, though, was shut down over the final three periods thanks to the defensive effort by DuBois reserve Dante Dawson, who stuck to Myers like glue.
The biggest lead Clearfield would have would be 32-21 on a basket by senior Erik Sellers with 2:52 remaining before the intermission. After that DuBois chipped away and stayed close throughout the remainder of the contest.
DuBois cut the lead to 34-27 at the break and then outscored the Bison 12-8 in the third period to keep close.
The Beavers tied the score at 37-37 with a basket from Zach Sloan with 3:01 to go in the third frame and then would go ahead by two, 39-37, on a bucket by 6’ 5” sophomore Nick LaBrasca with 2:30 left before the final period.
But, perhaps, the biggest moment of the battle was with the score tied at 39-39 when Clearfield junior Erik Brown drained a three-point shot as the buzzer sounded the end of the third quarter, giving the Bison a 42-39 lead and more importantly, momentum.
Brown’s shot was not lost on Glunt, who said, “That shot by Erik (Brown) was absolutely huge for us. It gave us just what we needed, momentum going into the fourth period against a very good and well coached DuBois squad.”
The two teams would have tie scores of 42-42 and 44-44 in the fourth period before Sellers put the Bison ahead for good, 46-44 scoring two, with 4:09 left in the game.
Tommy Hazel gave Clearfield a four point margin, 48-44, with a bucket at the 2:35 mark and Cody Spaid completed a three-point play with a basket and free throw that pretty much sealed the deal at 51-45.
Glunt closed, saying, “Every night for us is tough. We’re a young team that learns every game and tonight we found ourselves in a battle and came out with a good win.”
Clearfield had three players in double digits led by Tommy Hazel with 16, Myers with 11 and Spaid tossing in 10.
On the night Clearfield drained seven three-pointers.
The Beavers were paced by Cole Kriner who had 14, Dawson with 13 and LaBrasca scoring 10.
In the junior varsity game the Clearfield Bison also came out on top, beating the young Beavers 44-26.
The Bison are on the road for their next game at Central on Wednesday, with JV action tipping off at 6 pm and the varsity to immediately follow.
Clearfield beat Central 54-50 in the first game of the season.
CLEARFIELD – 53
Erik Sellers 4 0-0 9, David McKenzie 0 0-1 0, Tommy Hazel 6 2-5 16, Cody Spaid 3 3-4 10, Will Myers 4 1-3 11, Evan Brown 2 0-0 5, Caleb Strouse 1 0-0 2, TOTALS – 20 6-13 53
DUBOIS – 49
Cole Kriner 4 4-6 14, Zach Sloan 2 0-0 5, Michael Pfingstler 1 0-0 2, Bradyn Schwabenbower 1 0-0 2, Nick LaBrasca 5 0-2 10, Dante Dawson 6 1-2 13, John Oberlin 1 0-0 3, TOTALS – 20 5-10 49
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
CLEARFIELD 20 14 8 11 53
DUBOIS 14 13 12 10 49
THREE-POINTERS: Hazel 2, Myers 2, Sellers, Spaid, Brown; Kriner 2, Sloan, Oberlin
OFFICIALS: Bill Overly, Scott Sullivan, Bill Barton
Bison Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 12/09 | CENTRAL | 54 – 50 | 1 – 0 |
| 12/12 | @ Huntingdon | 73 – 64 | 2 – 0 |
| 12/15 | @ Curwensville | 71 – 40 | 3 – 0 |
| 12/17 | @ Bellefonte | 53 – 31 | 4 – 0 |
| 12/19 | TYRONE | 79 – 61 | 5 – 0 |
| 12/22 | PUNXSUTAWNEY | 57 – 47 | 6 – 0 |
| 12/29&30 | Purchase Line Tourney | ||
| 12/29 | vs. Purchase Line | 67 – 42 | 7 – 0 |
| 12/30 | vs. Bald Eagle Area | 77 – 72 | 8 – 0 |
| 01/06 | @ Bald Eagle Area | 79 – 56 | 9 – 0 |
| 01/07 | @ Brookville | 53 – 45 | 10 – 0 |
| 01/09 | PENNS VALLEY | ppd. | 10 – 0 |
| 01/12 | PENNS VALLEY | 49 – 61 | 10 – 1 |
| 01/14 | @ Philipsburg-Osceola | 64 – 27 | 11 – 1 |
| 01/16 | @ St. Marys | 66 – 62 | 12 – 1 |
| 01/19 | @ DuBois | 53 – 49 | 13 – 1 |
| 01/21 | @ Central | ||
| 01/23 | HUNTINGDON | ||
| 01/28 | BELLEFONTE | ||
| 01/30 | @ Tyrone | ||
| 02/03 | BALD EAGLE AREA | ||
| 02/06 | @ Penns Valley | ||
| 02/09 | CURWENSVILLE | ||
| 02/11 | PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA |