TYRONE – The Clearfield Area High School boys basketball team took double digit leads throughout Friday nights game at Tyrone only to see the Golden Eagles inch back into the Mountain League battle.
But in the end the Bison prevailed, 59-50, to remain unbeaten on the 2015-16 season at 5-0.
It was a rough, but clean, contest as both teams combined for 50 free throws with Clearfield being 21 of 33 and the Golden Eagles going 10 for 17 from the charity stripe.
Clearfield head coach Nate Glunt spoke about the physical play during the game, saying “It was an extremely physical game with every rebound being a fight, in a good way, not dirty at all. And the officials let us play tonight. It was just a good battle out there.”
The Bison started out of the gate with a purpose, taking a 10-5 lead mid-way through the opening quarter after a steal and a bucket by Tommy Hazel.
Tyrone answered the Bison and inched to within two points at 11-9 on a basket by Golden Eagle Dylan Thomas with approximately two minutes to go in the first.
Buckets by Ryan Lezzer and David McKenzie pushed Clearfield’s margin to 15-9, but the big blow was yet to come as Evan Brown drained a three point shot with just two seconds left to give the Bison a nice 18-9 advantage after eight minutes of action.
The second quarter was the only one the Golden Eagles would outscore their visitors, 13-9, to cut the deficit at the half to 27-22 in favor of Clearfield.
Tyrone’s second quarter was fueled by sophomore Jacob Meredith with six points who hit a trey with 21 seconds left before the break.
The third frame started with Tyrone going on a 7-3 run to cut the lead to one, 30-29, before Clearfield kicked in the offense going on a much needed 11-2 run.
The run for Clearfield was led by Will Myers with five points and Brown with four, which gave the Bison another double-digit lead at 41-31 with 2:40 to go in the third quarter.
Anthony Politza, a senior for Tyrone, drew his squad closer with a bucket and a free throw to make it 41-34 after three quarters with the Bison still out in front.
The closest the Golden Eagles would come in the final quarter was 45-38 with 5:48 remaining in the battle.
Myers and Brown again paved the way on offense in the final stanza as Myers scored seven, all from the line, and Brown dropped in six.
The Bison shot 19 fourth quarter free throws, making 11.
Myers led all scorers with 20 as Brown hit for 14 and Hazel scoring 13.
Tyrone, now 3-2, also had three players in double figures with Thomas scoring 15, Politza tossing in 14 and Meredith adding 10.
Glunt continued, commenting, “A lot of teams are well coached just like Tyrone and they make us adjust to what they are doing. These are all tough games and I feel that makes us a stronger team.“
Tyrone did win the junior varsity game, 49-31, over the Bison.
The Bison travel to Punxsutawney to play the Chucks on Monday night.
Listen to the Clearfield-Punxsy game on WOKW-FM, 102.9, with the pre-game show starting at approximately 7:15 pm.
CLEARFIELD – 59
Evan Brown 5 3-6 14, David McKenzie 2 1-2 6, Tommy Hazel 4 4-4 13, Cody Spaid 0 0-0 0, Will Myers 4 9-13 20, Caleb Strouse 0 3-4 3, Ryan Lezzer 1 1-4 3, TOTALS – 16 21-33 59
TYRONE – 50
Zach Soellner 0 0-0 0, Parker Mitchell 2 2-2 6, Jacob Meredith 4 1-4 10, Dylan Thomas 5 4-4 15, Anthony Politza 6 2-5 14, Alex Weaver 1 0-0 2, Gary Weaver 0 0-0 0, Michael Lewis 1 1-2 3, TOTALS 19 10-17 50
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
CLEARFIELD 18 9 14 18 59
TYRONE 9 13 12 16 50
THREE-POINTERS: CLEARFIELD – Myers 3, McKenzie, Brown, Hazel TYRONE – Meredith, Thomas
OFFICIALS: Randy Burkett, Jim Klauzman, Keith Redfoot