CLARION — A sizzling start by Will Myers, tough rebounding and unruffled composure against Obama Academy’s pressure defense resulted in just the second post-District 9 playoff victory by a Clearfield Area High School boys basketball team last night.
The Bison stampeded out of the chute to seize control of the PIAA Class AAA play-in game early, charged to a whopping 23-5 lead after nine minutes and rolled to a 68-51 win on the Clarion High School hardwood.
Avenging a 66-52 loss to the Eagles in last year’s play-in game thrust the Bison into the 32-team state bracket for a pairing against the District 7 (WPIAL) third seed, either New Castle or Mars, next Friday at a site, which will be in District 9, and time to be announced.
Myers produced Clearfield’s first 15 points, the majority on four three-pointers, and scoring laurels with 22 points, Evan Brown also drained a quartet of trifectas in a 19-point performance and Tommy Hazel knifed inside for most of his 15 points.
Cody Spaid just missed a double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds and eight points, while Dave McKenzie rounded out the sterling effort by the starting unit with his playmaking and defense as the District 9 champions padded their record to 23-2.
Obama Academy’s coaching staff certainly warned the youthful Eagles about Myers’ long range shooting prowess since he burned their senior-laden team for 27 points last year, but the Bison junior still left them stunned and staggering before the midway point of the first quarter.
Scorekeepers didn’t have to move their pencils off his line in the book for the first 12 points as he launched two triples, made a contested bank shot on a drive, sank one of two free throws and drilled another deep three.
After Nasir Tatum got District 8 rep Obama Academy (14-8) on the board with a three, Myers responded with a swisheroo from the right corner.
“For Will to come out and have 15 points to start the game was huge for us,” Bison coach Nate Glunt said.
Two free throws by Spaid and a baseline drive by Hazel had the Bison ahead 19-5 at the first rest stop, and Hazel quickly upped that margin by taking a defensive rebound coast-to-coast and tacking on two foul shots in the first minute of the second period.
“Offensively, we just say play ball and if you’re open, shoot it,” Glunt said.
Brown, who was six-for-nine from the floor, did just that after the Eagles narrowed their deficit to 27-12 by spotting up for a pair of three-pointers.
Obama Academy drew within 15 points again late in the half, but Spaid worked underneath for a lay-up and Brown soared through the line to grab an offensive rebound and toss in the putback and then capped a 10-point period with two free throws.
Comfortably in front 41-20, the Bison came out of the locker room and forced a timeout with Myers on target once and Brown zeroing in twice from the top of the key in the first two minutes of the third quarter for the biggest bulge of the game, 50-22.
The Eagles regrouped, amped up the pressure with more trapping and went on an 8-0 mini-run with pairs of transition buckets by Dana Strothers and Trez Jones, who led them with 18 and 14 points, respectively.
“They’re so quick and athletic, if you don’t helpside (on defense), they’re gonna attack the basket,” Glunt said. “Our helpside defense improved in the fourth quarter.”
Clearfield refused to be rattled by the intense pressure and withstood that rally to take a 53-34 cushion into the final eight minutes, and Hazel sealed it with a three-point jumper from the right corner and an easy two on a baseball pass from Myers with the Eagles overplaying the ballhandler.
“All week long in practice, we went five against six and five against seven because they’re so quick with active hands,” Glunt said. “Just trying to handle their pressure, cause they get after it.”
Five points by Jones gave the Eagles a little hope at 58-41 with a little over five minutes left, but the Bison brought them back to reality by draining 1:39 off the clock with slick ballhandling and passing before finally getting fouled.
“We got a in a little bit of a hurry and we took a couple of threes we didn’t need to take,” Glunt said. “If we make one of those, okay, keep shooting. But we were missing, so we pulled it back out and stayed patient, handled the ball, low in the catch and did all the little things right. It kind of worked out for us.”
The Bison had only five turnovers in the first half and 13 total, competition the Bison faced last summer prepared them for the Eagles’ style of play, according to Glunt.
“We went to the Naval Academy and played against teams from Washington D.C. and teams from all over the northeast,” he said. “We even played a team from Alaska. So, we’ve been in games where the other team was better than us. We are prepared to handle these situations.”
Hazel and Myers combined for 13 rebounds as they teamed with Spaid to give the Bison a well-earned 37-28 advantage under the glass.
“Two things we worked on were rebounding and ballhandling, cause that’s where they beat us last year,” Glunt said. “That’s what we worked on all offseason, and it showed.
“It was just a great team effort by all of our kids. Will came out hot. Then he cooled off a little bit and Evan stepped up and played an awesome game. Tommy was getting to the basket and doing what Tommy does. And Cody was a man in the first half.”
Glunt also paid tribute to the Bison faithful who were on hand in the good-sized crowd.
“It was a great environment here,” he said. “That was probably was the biggest thing as a stepping stone game for us, having Clearfield people. They supported us all season, but to make the trek through the snow to come to support our kids, so thankful.
OBAMA ACADEMY — 51
Isaiah Prentice 2 0-0 5, Dana Strothers 8 2-3 18, Nasir Tatum 2 0-0 5, Trez Jones 6 2-3 14, Malik Fields 1 0-0 2, Joseph Charlton 0 0-2 0, Sam Farley 1 1-2 3, Brandon Mathews 2 0-0 4, Derek Gordon 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 22 5-10 51.
CLEARFIELD — 68
Evan Brown 6 3-7 19, Will Myers 7 3-4 22, Cody Spaid 2 4-4 8, Tommy Hazel 5 4-4 15, Dave McKenzie 0 1-2 1, Caleb Strouse 0 1-2 1, Carter Wood 0 0-0 0, Johny Gates 0 0-0 0, Ethan McGinnis 0 0-0 0, Jake Sorbera 0 0-0 0, Sammy Evans 1 0-0 2, Wyatt Porter 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 22 16-23 68.
Three-Point Field Goals – Obama Academy 2 (Prentice, Tatum); Clearfield 9 (Brown 4, Myers 4, Hazel 1).
Score by Quarters
Obama Academy 5 15 14 17 – 51
Clearfield 19 22 12 15 – 68
Officials – Barry Abbott, Emery Faith and Scott Sullivan.
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.) | 56 – 42 | 22 – 2 |
| 02/25 | PIAA Play-in Game | ||
| 02/25 | vs. Obama Academy (Clarion HS) | 68 – 51 | 23 – 2 |
| 03/04 | PIAA Playoffs | ||
| vs. TBD |