HYDE –When Friday night often rolls around for the town of Clearfield, it means bright lights at the Bison Sports Complex. During the winter, it was the Arthur J. Weiss Gymnasium that saw some intense action thanks to the great wrestling program at the school.
Now, the town has another reason to be excited, and on Friday night it could be seen inside the Bison Gymnasium. There were no mats to grapple on, nor was there turf to clean from a pair of cleats. Instead, it was the hardwood and the Clearfield Bison basketball squad that brought in the people on a chilly evening
A new coach, new confidence, and a new desire had the entire team rolling through a tough schedule, but yielding only one loss in the process. On this night, the gymnasium was at a fever pitch even during warm-ups before the opening tip-off with the visiting Huntingdon Bearcats. Both sides of the gym had rowdy fans, and the student section seems to keep growing with each game, and for this one they all came in their hunting gear, as they were ready to find some prey.
Turns out, the team on the floor was hunting something of their own as well: victory. From the opening tip to the final buzzer, Clearfield was not going to be denied. Despite being at a disadvantage in height, the entire team made sure to get in on the action, and that effort led the home team to a decisive 59-41 win.
Afterward, head coach Nate Glunt made it clear what was a big difference in the game, that being the crowd.
“Unbelievable atmosphere. I believe our student section did a phenomenal job. They do a great job at having fun, being kids and having fun but not crossing the line where it’s inappropriate. They are just excited to be here. They were ‘Hunting the Bearcats’ and did a great job,” he said. “The community supports us, packed in like they did. I just was asked on the radio how we maintained the energy: the crowd.
“We did get tired. We didn’t get home till 11:30 last night from Central, then come play again today, it’s just a great community win.”
Clearfield started out strong with some quick buckets, but it wasn’t until a couple of key three-point shots in the first quarter by Tommy Hazel and Will Myers that gave Clearfield a 15-9 advantage, a lead that was never lost. At the same time, the biggest difference in the eyes of Glunt was rebounding. Clearfield pulled down 41 total boards, with Myers leading all with 13. That was extremely tough considering how Huntingdon’s Kobben Frederick was one of the tallest centers the Bison had seen all year.
“Frederick just jumps out of the gym. He’s 6′ 6″, all-state triple jumper,” Glunt said. ” And (Nate) Gearhart just knows how to play basketball. I thought Sellers did a great job boxing him out. That’s just part of the game we’ve focused on since Philipsburg.
“We got the six-point lead, and then maintained our defensive intensity, and assignments. We’re fundamentally sound, boxing out, trying to maintain one side of the floor. We’re a young team, we’re still learning every night. I thought it was a great team effort.”
Frederick finished the night with 17 points and seven boards, while Gearhart added another 14 and seven, respectively.
However, Clearfield had two top scorers on their side of the ball. Hazel ended the night with 14 points and nine rebounds, but Myers stole the show as he finished with a double-double with 25 points and 13 rebounds. At the same time, Glunt was most impressed with the overall effort by the entire team as a whole. Erik Sellers finished the night with nine points and nine rebounds, while Cody Spaid added in eight more in each category. The teamwork aspect to Glunt was what caught his attention.
“We were penetrating and getting it to the open man. These kids are so unselfish, they do a great job at finding each other. With the way Huntingdon is, Gearhart is a great player, they get him the ball, and I agree with what they do. It takes a lot of emphasis to try and stop him,” Glunt said.
Late in the game, the Bison were starting to lose the lead, as it was down to six points in the fourth quarter. But then the Bearcats began getting into foul trouble, and a majority of the time it was Myers they were putting on the line once Clearfield got the double bonus. In the fourth quarter alone, Myers was at the line for eight shots, and made seven of them.
For Glunt, the foul shots were what sealed the victory.
“It was a close game. We tried to get the ball to Will and I kept thinking ‘I really don’t want him to pass it.” He did an excellent job. It was an eight or nine-point game, they get a stop and get a three, if we don’t make our foul shots, it’s like ‘here we go.’ They did not quit playing, they play great defense too,” he said.
Clearfield was able to substitute in the junior varsity players with about 1:30 left in the game, after they already won the opening contest between the two schools in a 54-49 triumph. It gave the starters a chance to take a curtain call and cap off a night where they played a complete game, something that Glunt fully admitted was not a common occurrence on the season.
“Great point. I thought we played four quarters. I thought it was a big key that we started out hot, that got the crowd into it, momentum, and it just was maintained.”
Still, even after the excitement of the victory, the leader of the Bison squad was not just enjoying the victory, but already planning for what was next.
“Great community win, great effort by the kids, and we’re looking forward to Bellefonte,” Glunt said.
Now at 15-1, the Bison will host the Red Raiders next Wednesday night.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Huntingdon 9 10 13 9 – 41
Clearfield 15 12 14 18 – 59
Huntingdon 41
Shetron 0 0-0 0, Stratton 0 0-0 0, Solesky 0 0-0 0, King 0 0-0 0, Frederick 7 3-8 17, Mitchell 2 0-0 5, Montgomery 0 0-0 0, H. Speck 1 0-0 2, Sellers 0 0-0 0, M. Speck 1 1-3 3, Gearhart 6 2-2 14, Keper 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 17 6-13 41
Clearfield 59
Heichel 0 0-0 0, Brown 0 0-0 0, Wilson 0 0-0 0, Strouse 0 0-0 0, Sellers 4 0-0 9, McKenzie 1 1-2 3, Wood 0 0-0 0, Hazel 5 2-2 14, Royer 0 0-0 0, Spaid 4 0-4 8, Myers 6 12-13 25. TOTALS 20 15-21 59
GAME STATISTICS
Huntingdon/Clearfield
Field Goals Made-Attempted: 17-46/20-54
Turnovers: 14/14
Rebounds: 25/41
Team Fouls: 19/16
Three-Point Shots: Mitchell/Sellers, Hazel (2), Myers
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 | ppd. | 13 – 1 |
| 01/22 | @ Central | 44 – 25 | 14 – 1 |
| 01/23 | HUNTINGDON | 59 – 41 | 15 – 1 |
| 01/28 | BELLEFONTE | ||
| 01/30 | @ Tyrone | ||
| 02/03 | BALD EAGLE AREA | ||
| 02/06 | @ Penns Valley | ||
| 02/09 | CURWENSVILLE | ||
| 02/11 | PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA |