HYDE — The defending champion Clearfield Area High School boys basketball easily cleared the first hurdle in the District 9 Class AAA Playoffs, but turning back St. Marys in the title game on the Clarion University hardwood Friday night will be another matter.
Coach Nate Glunt knows the Bison (21-2) won’t be nearly as dominate as they were in ending Bradford’s season Wednesday night when they shot 50 percent, outrebounded the Owls 38-12 and held them to 20 points through three quarters in a 59-34 victory.
The Flying Dutch, who advanced to the 7:30 p.m. tipoff in Waldo S. Tippin Gym with a 68-66 squeaker over Punxsutawney, present much more of a problem even though two of their losses were to Bradford, 46-41 and 69-65.
The latter setback was one of only two the Flying Dutch have absorbed since early January. They sailed to nine wins, including two over Punxsy, 68-66 and 64-54, in their last 11 games to earned the No. 2 seed.
Undefeated District 9 League champion and No. 1 Class A seed Elk County Catholic pinned three of the losses on St. Marys’ 15-8 record.
The Flying Dutch struggled early, falling to 1-3 with a 68-59 loss at Clearfield Dec. 26 when Will Myers and Tommy Hazel combined for 47 points.
“It was a close game, though, and they’ve played much better in the second half of the season,“ Clearfield coach Nate Glunt pointed out.
A big reason for the Flying Dutch surge has been 6-5 senior Brady Bauer, who exploded for 33 points in Wednesday’s semifinal win to raise his average to 11.6 per game.
“He’s probably their most improved player, but they also have three excellent guards who can handle the ball, shoot well and get to the basket.”
Backcourt mates Jeff Wehler, a 6-1 junior who transferred from Elk County Catholic, and senior Parker Housler, a 6-1 senior, provide plenty of offense with averages of 14.2 and 13.5, respectively.
Rounding out the first five for the Flying Dutch are 5-10 senior guard Jordan Romain (5.6 ppg) and 5-11 forward Matt Marconi (7.0 ppg).
St. Marys averages 61.9 points with a fast-paced style similar to Clearfield’s.
“They like to run like we do,” Glunt said. “It’s gonna be an up-and-down game.
“They provide a real challenge defensively. The key for us will be if we can slow them down.
“They’re too talented not to score. We just can’t make it easy for them. We’ve got to give them challenging looks, and that’ll come down to communication.”
While the Flying Dutch rank fifth in District 9 scoring, the Bison are third with a 66.7 average.
Clearfield also has a trio of double-figure pointmakers, Myers in the D-9 Top 10 at 17.1 ppg, Hazel at 12.4 and Cody Spaid at 11.3.
Defensively, the Bison have a significant edge with a 45.1 average compared to the Flying Dutch’s 57.7.
Both teams own wins against three common opponents.
Clearfield defeated Brookville 64-48, DuBois 71-42 and Bald Eagle Area twice, 89-56 and 97-57.
St. Marys swept Brookville 68-44 and 79-65, downed DuBois 62-56 and 64-43 after losing 38-34 to the Beavers in the Keystone Tipoff Tournament and won at BEA 84-73.
While the Bison will be seeking their third district crown in seven years, the Dutch will be looking for their first since 2011, with the winner advancing to a PIAA play-in game next week.
Their game will be preceded at 6:00 p.m. by the District 9 Class AAA girls championship contest between No. 1 seed Punxsutawney (19-4) and No. three seed Bradford (11-12) at 6 p.m.
Bison Scoreboard:
Date Opponent Score Record
12/07 CURWENSVILLE 76 – 35 1 – 0
12/09 @ Central ppd. 1 – 0
12/11 HUNTINGDON 77 – 64 2 – 0
12/15 BELLEFONTE 44 – 30 3 – 0
12/16 ST. MARYS 68 – 59 4 – 0
12/18 @ Tyrone 59 – 50 5 – 0
12/21 @ Punxsutawney 48 – 66 5 – 1
12/23 @ Bellefonte 56 – 39 6 – 1
12/29&30 Purchase Line Christmas Tourney
12/29 vs. Harmony 60 – 30 7 – 1
12/30 vs. Purchase Line 63 – 24 8 – 1
01/05 BROOKVILLE 64 – 48 9 – 1
01/06 BALD EAGLE AREA 89 – 56 10 – 1
01/08 @ Penns Valley 58 – 49 11 – 1
01/12 PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA ppd. 11 – 1
01/14 PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA 80 – 42 12 – 1
01/15 CENTRAL 67 – 50 13 – 1
01/18 DUBOIS 71 – 42 14 – 1
01/20 @ Huntingdon 92 – 48 15 – 1
01/26 TYRONE 57 – 47 16 – 1
01/29 @ Bald Eage Area 97 – 57 17 – 1
02/01 @ Central 57 – 64 17 – 2
02/03 PENNS VALLEY 44 – 37 18 – 2
02/05 @ Philipsburg-Osceola 75 – 27 19 – 2
02/08 @ Curwensville 72 – 39 20 – 2
02/17 District 9 Semifinals
02/17 vs. BRADFORD 59 – 34 21 – 2
02/19 District 9 Championship
02/19 vs. St. Marys (@ Clarion U.)
