HYDE — One of the season’s goals for the once-beaten Clearfield Area High School boys basketball team was to three-peat as District 9 champion, and the 22-1 Bison get that opportunity Thursday night against Punxsutawney at DuBois High School in a rematch of one of their tougher wins.
Already owners of back-to-back Class AAA titles, the senior-oriented 22-1 Bison are targeting the first AAAA crown in the new six-classification format.
They’ll put a 13-game winning streak on the line that includes a 65-41 over the Chucks on Jan. 30 that was a five-point game midway through the third quarter.
Then, a 15-5 run enabled the Bison to carry a 46-31 lead into the final period, and coach Nate Glunt finally was able to relax a little.
“Their coaches always do a good job of putting together a game plan to take away what you do well,” he said. “They play multiple defenses and they’ll give you different presses.
“They played triangle-and-two and 1-3-1 and 1-2 zones in the first game. They vary their presses, too, with 1-3-1 three-quarter trap, 1-3 and fullcourt trap. And they mix it up during the game.”
Glunt anticipates another a battle from the 15-8 Chucks, who went into a tailspin after the loss to the Bison, dropping three of their last five District 9 League games before defeating St. Marys 77-57 in the semifinals last Wednesday.
“This is a district championship game, and we need to play well to win,” he said. “We need to get good shots and make shots, and we need to make them take tough shots. And you always need to rebound.”
Junior Brandon Matthews (13.2 points per game) and Devin Kelly (12.5 ppg) lead the Chucks in scoring, but Ethan Riley, Ethan Blose and Jacob Horner joined them in double figures against St. Marys. Riley and Blose, who came off the bench at Clearfield, each had a trio of three-pointers.
“Kelly is an excellent player,” Glunt said. “He’s an athlete and he attacks the basket. “Matthews is kind of the all-around guy. He can get to the basket, he creates for his teammates and he can score. “Riley is a shooter. You cannot leave him open. They have another shooter in (Jacob) Weaver. And Blose is coming around and playing well now, too.
“Defense is absolutely critical.”
All the Bison have to do is play their switching man defense they have all year as they’ve held opponents to 41.9 points a game, with only three crossing the 50-point threshold.
Offensively, the Bison have shown they have the firepower to hang with anybody, averaging 68.8 points.
Shouldering the brunt of the load most nights have been 1,000-point scorer Tommy Hazel (18.9 ppg), all-time boys points king Will Myers (17.8 ppg) and ever-improving playmaker Even Brown (14.8 ppg).
Dave McKenzie (3.8 ppg) is the fourth senior in the starting lineup, with junior Reese Wilson (3.2 ppg) the lone underclassman. Both have been outstanding complements to the big three in their roles of help defense, setting screens and going to the boards.
Depending on who needs a break or who might be in foul trouble, junior Jon Gates (3.3 ppg) or senior Ethan McGinnis usually are first off the bench. Junior Ryan Chew has proven to be a very good defender, too.
The District 9 champion will advance to the PIAA Class AAAA Tournament against the fifth seed representing District 7 (WPIAL) in a first round game Saturday, March 11.
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 | 65 – 45 | 7 – 0 |
| 01/03 | @ Brookville | 83 – 59 | 8 – 0 |
| 01/06 | @ Bald Eagle Area | 73 – 30 | 9 – 0 |
| 01/09 | @ Central | 46 – 57 | 9 – 1 |
| 01/11 | PENNS VALLEY | ppd. | 9 – 1 |
| 01/12 | PENNS VALLEY | 51 – 34 | 10 – 1 |
| 01/13 | @ Philipsburg-Osceola | 75 – 28 | 11 – 1 |
| 01/19 | CLARION-LIMESTONE | 82 – 48 | 12 – 1 |
| 01/20 | HUNTINGDON | 67 – 54 | 13 – 1 |
| 01/23 | @ DuBois | 62 – 47 | 14 – 1 |
| 01/25 | BELLEFONTE | 73 – 40 | 15 – 1 |
| 01/27 | @ Tyrone | 79 – 45 | 16 – 1 |
| 01/30 | PUNXSUTAWNEY | 65 – 41 | 17 – 1 |
| 01/31 | BALD EAGLE AREA | ppd. | 17 – 1 |
| 02/01 | BALD EAGLE AREA | 68 – 36 | 18 – 1 |
| 02/03 | @ Penns Valley | 66 – 55 | 19 – 1 |
| 02/06 | CURWENSVILLE | 85 – 37 | 20 – 1 |
| 02/08 | PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA | 78 – 47 | 21 – 1 |
| 02/22 | District 9-AAAA Semifinals | ||
| 02/22 | vs. BRADFORD | 59 – 35 | 22 – 1 |
| 03/02 | District 9-AAAA Finals | ||
| 03/02 | vs. Punxsutawney |