HYDE — The Clearfield Area High School boys basketball team exceeded preseason goals by rolling to a 19-3 record and earning the No. 1 seed for the District 9 Class AAA Playoffs.
Friday night, the Bison will have the opportunity to embellish the already-successful season when they try to unseat defending champion Punxsutawney in the 7:30 p.m. title game at Clarion University’s Waldo S. Tippin gym.
Clearfield’s last 9-AAA championship, its second, was in 2009.
The Chucks defeated the Bison 54-35 in last year’s championship game, but most of the pointmakers were seniors, though several players who will play prominent roles in the rematch did see action.
When they met in Bison Gym back on Dec. 22, Clearfield prevailed 57-47, but first-year coach Nate Glunt cautioned his team can’t be overconfident because of that result.
“They were up one (30-29) at the half, and we gradually opened the lead, but it was still anyone’s game going into the fourth quarter,” he said.
The Bison had three players in double figures with Will Myers scoring a game-high 20 points, Tommy Hazel netting 14 and Erik Sellers adding 11. Cody Spaid just missed a double-double as he had nine points and 14 rebounds.
David McKenzie will join those four in the starting lineup.
Myers and Hazel, both sophomores, rank in the Top 20 in District 9 points with 324 and 308, respectively. Myers’s 16.2 average is 13th and Hazel’s 14.0 average is 21st.
Sellers, the lone senior on the squad, also averages in double figures, 10.3, with 226 points, and Spaid, a junior, is right behind at 9.5 with 209 points.
Sophs McKenzie (3.3 ppg) and Evan Brown (4.1) share playmaking duties, and junior Caleb Strouse will help out inside.
The Bison are averaging 60.9 points on offense and holding opponents to 46.2.
They haven’t played since Feb. 10, and Glunt isn’t sure how the layoff will affect them.
“Those things keep you up at night,” he said. “It’s almost like a new season with 2½ weeks off.
“I thought we had two good weeks of preparation. There were weeks where we had only one practice between games, and we were able to go back and work on some fundamentals and little things.”
Glunt did his best to keep the Bison from losing their edge by scheduling a one-day scrimmage against five WPIAL (District 7) teams as well as another with West Branch.
“They were really helpful,” Glunt said. “We tried to make it like a game as much as we could. It just changes the complexity of practice. All of a sudden, the kids get ratcheted up. They have done an excellent job of maintaining their focus.”
Punxsutawney checks in with an 11-11 record and averages of 46.5 points on offense and 49.4 on defense.
“They’re a team we can’t just focus on one or two guys,” he said. “They’ll put five guys on the floor who can all score, so it’ll be a big challenge for us defensively.”
Junior Ryan Sloniger had 18 points, junior Keeston Perry 10 and junior Dylan Huey nine against the Bison in the first game.
Seniors John Matthews and Andy Fedigan, sophomore Ethan Riley and freshman Brandon Matthews will see plenty of action for the Chucks.
“Huey is their main inside presence and really has good post moves,” Glunt said. “The older Matthews is an excellent ball handler, and Riley is an excellent shooter.
“They have two players, Fedigan is one, similar to Sellers, that football type of body about 6-2 and 200 pounds. They’re athletic and play inside, and they can shoot jump shots.”
The Chucks, who haven’t played since Feb. 13, have fared about the same as the Bison against several common opponents.
Clearfield beat St. Marys 66-62, Brookville 53-45 and DuBois 53-49.
Punxsy swept St. Marys 61-57 and 57-54 as well as Brookville 59-49 and 50-37 while splitting with DuBois, losing 48-42 in late January but gaining revenge 43-34 Feb. 6.
The Chucks lost 66-56 to Bald Eagle Area, a Mountain League foe the Bison defeated 77-72 in the Purchase Line Holiday Tournament and then 79-56 and 63-49 in league play.
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 | 53 – 28 | 16 – 1 |
| 01/30 | @ Tyrone | 42 – 47 | 16 – 2 |
| 02/03 | BALD EAGLE AREA | 62 – 49 | 17 – 2 |
| 02/06 | @ Penns Valley | 57 – 63 | 17 – 3 |
| 02/09 | CURWENSVILLE | 64 – 36 | 18 – 3 |
| 02/10 | PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA | 63 – 21 | 19 – 3 |
| 02/27 | District 9 Championship Game | ||
| 02/27 | vs. Punxsutawney (@ Clarion U.) |