COMMODORE — The undefeated Clearfield Area High School boys basketball team dominated with superior height and stingy defense to roll past Northern Cambria 82-23 in the opener of the Purchase Line Lions Club Christmas Tournament Thursday night.
The Bison (6-0) were approaching two dozen points before the Colts (1-9) got on the scoreboard late in the first quarter.
They carried a whopping 30-3 lead into the second period and expanded that to 56-12 by intermission, assuring the final 16 minutes would be played with a running clock that didn’t prevent them from recording a season-high for points.
Tommy Hazel and Will Myers shared scoring laurels with 16 points apiece as the regulars went to the bench midway through the second quarter and were pulled two minutes into the third period by coach Nate Glunt.
“Every game we play is so tough that sometimes you need a game where the stress level isn’t real high,” Glunt said. “The big thing was our half-court man defense led to our offense. We had a lot of steals, which created opportunities in the open floor for us.
“And our reserves got a ton of minutes.”
Junior Johny Gates made the most of his extra playing time, registering 11 points with three of Clearfield’s eight three-point field goals.
The Bison will make the return trip Friday to play the host Red Dragons (4-3) at 7:30 p.m.
CLEARFIELD — 82
Evan Brown 2 2-2 6, Reese Wilson 2 0-0 4, Dave McKenzie 2 0-0 4, Tommy Hazel 7 1-1 16, Will Myers 7 0-0 16, Ethan McGinnis 1 2-2 4, Johny Gates 4 0-0 11, Ryan Chew 1 0-2 2, Taye Lynch 1 0 0-0 2, Ryan Lazauskas 0 0-0 0, Keegan Hess 2 0-0 5, Jake Sorbera 2 0-0 5, Wyatt Porter 2 0-0 4, Jarrit Wagner 1 1-1 3, Cade Walker 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 34 6-8 82.
NORTHERN CAMBRIA — 23
Frank Jones 0 0-0 0, Cade Hassen 0 0-2 0, Tanner Pershing 0 0-0 0, Brad McMullen 3 0-0 8, Henry Dumm 0 0-0 0, Brandon Ashurst 0 0-0 0, Logan Yonkoske 4 0-0 9, Garrett Krug 0 0-0 0, Caleb Kent 1 0 0-0 2, Aaron Krug 2 0-0 4, Mike McCall 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 10 0-2 23.
Three-Point Field Goals – Clearfield 8 (Hazel 1, Myers 2, Gates 3, Hess 1, Sorbera 1); Northern Cambria 3 (McMullen 2, Yonkoske 1).
Score by Quarters
Clearfield 30 26 12 14 – 82
Northern Cambria 3 12 2 6 – 23
Bison Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 12/09 | @ Curwensville | 81 – 38 | 1 – 0 |
| 12/13 | CENTRAL | 53 – 41 | 2 – 0 |
| 12/16 | @ Huntingdon | 68 – 51 | 3 – 0 |
| 12/19 | @ Bellefonte | 56 – 33 | 4 – 0 |
| 12/22 | TYRONE | 65 – 40 | 5 – 0 |
| 12/29&30 | Purchase Line Christmas Tourney | ||
| 12/29 | vs. Northern Cambria | 82 – 23 | 6 – 0 |
| 12/30 | vs. Purchase Line | ||
| 01/03 | @ Brookville | ||
| 01/06 | @ Bald Eagle Area | ||
| 01/09 | @ Central | ||
| 01/11 | PENNS VALLEY | ||
| 01/13 | @ Philipsburg-Osceola | ||
| 01/19 | CLARION-LIMESTONE | ||
| 01/20 | HUNTINGDON | ||
| 01/23 | @ DuBois | ||
| 01/25 | BELLEFONTE | ||
| 01/27 | @ Tyrone | ||
| 01/30 | PUNXSUTAWNEY | ||
| 01/31 | BALD EAGLE AREA | ||
| 02/03 | @ Penns Valley | ||
| 02/06 | CURWENSVILLE | ||
| 02/08 | PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA |