CLARION — PennLive.com had Mars ranked No. 7 in the state for the start of the PIAA Class AAA boys basketball playoffs.
Based on an extraordinary effort against the highly-touted Fightin’ Planets Friday, Clearfield should have been No. 7-A.
Anyone in the capacity crowd who watched the predominately-junior Bison quintet battle the senior-laden and state tournament-tested Fightin’ Planets deep into the fourth quarter at Clarion High School would concur.
The exciting, seesaw game boiled down to the final four minutes when the Fightin’ Planets turned a one-point lead into a hard-earned 68-60 win to advance to the second round for the second year in a row.
“Every publication we saw had Mars going to the Final Four with three Philadelphia teams,” Bison coach Nate Glunt said. “For us to play with them, I’m extremely proud.
“They weren’t better than us. We just needed to make more shots in the fourth quarter.”
Behind a tremendous performance by Tommy Hazel, the Bison were shooting over 50 percent (21-for-40) and clinging to a 54-52 edge going into the final eight minutes.
Hazel had pocketed 24 of his season-high 25 points and 10 of his 12 rebounds at that point, but neither he nor any of his teammates could buy a field goal in the final period.
The Bison did go 6-for-8 at the foul line, with Evan Brown and Will Myers calmly swishing two free throws apiece in pressure-packed one-and-one situations.
Myers, who became the eighth Bison to reach the 1,000-point plateau with a three-pointer late in the third period, got the District 9 champions to within a point, 60-59, with 3:56 remaining.
However, their only other point came on Dave McKenzie’s free throw with 37 seconds left as the Bison were off-target on seven field goal attempts and had four turnovers down the stretch.
Super sophomore Robby Carmody drove for two of his 17 points with 2:52 left and, after three Clearfield misses, found John Castello under the hoop to make it a two-possession game.
“One of my regrets is not slowing us down when it was a one-point game,” Glunt said. “We just got in too much of a hurry. I should have done a better job of trying to get the ball inside to Cody or trying dribble penetration before we shot. That’s where I take responsibility.”
“I’m not mad at them for taking those shots, though. In the first half and the third quarter those shots were going in.”
After the teams traded turnovers, Carmody grabbed another Bison miss and again got the ball inside to Castello, and the 6-5 standout who is a member of both the 1,000-Point Club and 1,000-Rebound Club made two foul shots for a 66-59 advantage with 1:11 remaining to pretty much seal it for the Fightin’ Planets, the No. 3 qualifier for District 7 (WPIAL).
Castello, who will play basketball at Shippensburg in the future even though he is considered a Division I football prospect, exhibited good moves and touch in the paint to earn scoring laurels with 29 points with Carmody forced to really work for his usual contribution. Point guard Christian Schmitt chipped in 11 points.
Clearfield also had a trio in double figures with Hazel nailing six of his first nine three-point tries, several under heavy pressure, for his big outburst and Myers and Cody Spaid adding 10 apiece.
Spaid matched Hazel’s dozen rebounds for a double-double and also blocked three shots.
Fatigue might have been a factor for the Bison in the waning minutes.
“I think we were a little bit tired,” Glunt said. “I probably should have taken them out more, but with the flow of the game I just wanted to keep them in.
“The way they pressured the ball so hard, I wanted two point guards on the floor with Evan and Dave. The way Tommy was playing I couldn’t take him out. That’s the best I’ve ever seen him play.
“Their big guy didn’t come out, so I was hesitant to take Cody out because I wanted big guy versus big guy. We did take Cody out a couple times in the third quarter, and Caleb (Strouse) came in and played really well.
“And Will could have caught fire at any time. He didn’t have as many opportunities as usual because Tommy got it going, and they were making it tough for him to get a good look.”
A pivotal point in the game occurred midway through the third quarter after Clearfield had opened its biggest lead, 47-42.
On a play where the Fightin’ Planets were whistled for a charging foul, Hazel was assessed a technical foul in what evolved into a momentum changer when Schmitt sank the two free throws and Carmody cashed a nice pass from Alex Gruber to put Mars right back in it.
“Tommy never pushed the kid,” Glunt said. “The kid jumped into him, and he put his arms up to defend himself, and the kid fell down. That was disappointing the official made that call.”
Instead of being up five with possession, the Bison were back in a nail-biter that developed after they fell behind 23-14 late in the first quarter with Mars getting eight points from Castello inside, six from Carmody on putbacks and a fast break and a pair of three-pointers from Schmitt.
Clearfield closed to within a point with a 9-0 run highlighted by Hazel’s third triple.
Spaid, who also had a great start with eight points, opened the second period with a go-ahead basket, and the two teams were separated by two points the rest of the half only when Brown’s three-pointer and McKenzie’s layup off a Spaid feed made it 31-27.
Myers knifed through the Fightin’ Planets for a difficult scoop shot as time was running out to give the Bison a 38-37 edge at intermission.
“If we don’t have nine turnovers and give up 13 second-chance points, we might have been up seven, eight or nine,” Glunt said.
Holding Carmody, who already has 10 Division I offers, to 17 points was a team effort, but Glunt singled out McKenzie’s defensive effort.
“I thought Dave played phenomenal defense,” Glunt said. “We put Evan on the best guard and pretty much give Dave the other team’s best athlete because of his height and quickness and athleticism. He did a great job defending Carmody, who is a legitimate D-I player.”
Glunt credited the Fightin’ Planets (20-7) for withstanding the Bison’s challenge.
“They didn’t take us for granted,” he said. “They played hard. They came out ready to play, and we responded, and it was back and forth the entire game.
“It was a great high school basketball game, just both teams making plays. Just an awesome game in a great environment. The fans were fantastic. Our fans supported us all season and continued tonight.”
Glunt had high praise for the Bison, who repeated as District 9 champions, won their first Mountain League title, recorded the program’s second non-District 9 playoff victory and finished 23-3, a three-win improvement over the 2014-15 team.
“It’s just been an awesome season, and I’m so proud of them.”
Spaid, Strouse, Carter Wood and Sammy Evans are the seniors.
The 6-7 Spaid, who came on strong in the second half of the season, has committed to play at Pitt-Greensburg.
“I’m proud of the person he’s become,” Glunt said. “He has matured into a fine young man, and we’re really excited for him. Pitt-Greensburg is Division III, and they made the NCAA Tournament this year.
“Strouse is going to play at Penn State DuBois next year. Caleb was a great defender and rebounder who improved a lot in his ballhandling and shooting. He does all the little things you need to win.
“At the beginning of the year, I said we had seven starters, and then we had six when Carter got sick. He got mono and strep throat at the same time and never complained. He was extremely unselfish and kept working.
“We’re gonna miss Sammy. He and I had a lot of talks, and he was the eternal optimist.”
Mars will be out to return to the state quarterfinals in a Tuesday game against District 10 champion Strong Vincent, which ousted District 7 sixth-place finisher Hampton 71-51 Friday night.
MARS — 68
Aaron Gruber 1 0-0 3, John Castello 12 5-7 29, Steve Castello 0 0-0 0, Christian Schmitt 3 3-5 11, Robby Carmody 8 0-1 17, Alex Gruber 4 0-0 8, Sam Morrissey 0 0-0 0, Bailey Trzeciak 0 0 0-0 0, Nathan Sablowski 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 28 8-13 68.
CLEARFIELD — 60
Evan Brown 3 2-2 9, Will Myers 3-3-4 10, Cody Spaid 5 0-0 10, Tommy Hazel 8 3-4 25, Dave McKenzie 2 2-5 6, Caleb Strouse 0 0-0 0, Carter Wood 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 21 10-14 60.
Three-Point Field Goals – Mars 4 (Aa. Gruber 1, Schmitt 2, Carmody 1); Clearfield 8 (Brown 1, Myers 1, Hazel 6).
Score by Quarters
Mars 23 14 15 16 – 68
Clearfield 22 16 16 6 – 60
Officials – Chuck Glasser, Frank Garritano, Chris Garritano.
Final 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 Eagle 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 | ||
| 03/04 | vs. Mars (Clarion HS) | 60 – 68 | 23 – 3 |