HYDE — All signs point to a defensive battle between the Clearfield and South Fayette schoolboy basketball teams in their PIAA Class AAAA Tournament opener at St. Marys Area High School Friday night with a 7:30 tip-off.
Both teams have been very stingy.
The District 9 champion Bison allowed 48.7 points a game and held opponents under 50 in 11 of their wins and even two of their losses with their switching, man-for-man defense.
The Lions, District 7’s No. 5 seed by virtue of New Castle’s win over previously-undefeated Quaker Valley in the WPIAL championship game, limited teams to 50 or fewer points 11 times, including three of their setbacks.
“They play solid man defense, but they occasionally will go to a 1-3-1 zone and a three-quarter court press,” Clearfield coach Nate Glunt said.
Offensively, South Fayette (17-8) counts heavily on four of its five starters, sophomores Connor Mislan, the leading scorer, and Drew Franklin in the backcourt and 6-2 seniors Tim Locher and Noah Plack on the wing and in the post, respectively.
“They have two excellent guards, a wing who can score and a really good athlete inside,” Glunt said. “No. 22 (Flack) is going to Delaware to play football. He can jump and is an excellent rebounder.
“They also have a quick guard (junior Braden Hoy) they bring off the bench.
“They are the best team we will have played this year. They are well-coached and excellent in transition.”
Indicative of just how well the Lions can play was their 55-45 loss to New Castle in the WPIAL quarterfinals.
Seeded No. 7 after finishing behind Belle Vernon in Section 3 of the WPIAL’s three Class AAAA groups, South Fayette had the No. 2 seed down 27-21 at the half and still led 35-30 in the third quarter before the Hurricanes ended the game on a 25-10 run.
Three of the Lions’ losses were to teams in higher classifications.
South Fayette’s scoring average of 53.1 points is slightly higher than Clearfield’s 52.0
The senior-oriented Bison have been very balanced with only Reese Wilson in double figures at 12 points per game but Cade Walker, a sophomore, at 9.3, Jon Gates at 8.5, Ryan Chew at 7.5 and Wyatt Porter at 5.0 all are capable of stepping behind the arc and making three-pointers.
Junior forward Taye Lynch (5.5 ppg) has been very productive off the bench, while junior guard Keagan Hess and freshmen Jake Lezzer and Karson Rumsky can be counted on to provide important minutes, too.
Keys for the Bison, according to Glunt, will be retreating quickly on defense, boxing out under the glass and taking care of the ball with their motion offense.
The winner will meet either New Castle (21-4) or Fort LeBoeuf (8-15) in the second round.
Fans should note that a Class AA girls game between District 9 champ Coudersport and District 7 fifth-place California will start at six o’clock.
Bison Scoreboard:
Date Opponent Score Record
12/08 CURWENSVILLE 54 – 52 1 – 0
12/13 CENTRAL 45 – 56 1 – 1
12/15 @ Huntingdon 62 – 85 1 – 2
12/20 @ Bellefonte 50 – 41 2 – 2
12/28 @ Purchase Line Christmas Tourney
12/28 vs. Harmony 73-31 3 – 2
12/29 @ Purchase Line Christmas Tourney
12/29 vs. Purchase Line 45 – 56 3 – 3
01/05 TYRONE 56 – 63 3 – 4
01/08 @ Punxsutawney 54 – 68 3 – 5
01/10 @ Bald Eagle Area 56 – 45 4 – 5
01/12 PENNS VALLEY 40 – 28 5 – 5
01/15 @ Clarion-Limestone 57 – 41 6 – 5
01/16 @ Philipsburg-Osceola 49 – 42 7 – 5
01/19 @ Central 46 – 50 7 – 6
01/22 DUBOIS 69 – 60 ot 8 – 6
01/24 HUNTINGDON 70 – 53 9 – 6
01/26 BELLEFONTE 42 – 35 ot 10 – 6
01/30 @ Tyrone 43 – 75 10 – 7
02/01 BROOKVILLE 38 – 40 10 – 8
02/02 BALD EAGLE AREA 64 – 46 11 – 8
02/07 @ Penns Valley ppd. 11 – 8
02/09 PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA 51 – 42 12 – 8
02/12 @ Curwensville 49 – 29 13 – 8
02/15 @ Penns Valley 36 – 38 13 – 9
02/21 District 9 AAAA Semi-finals
02/21 ST. MARYS 60 – 57 14 – 9
02/28 District 9 Finals
02/28 vs. Bradford @ DuBois 42 – 36 15 – 9
03/09 PIAA Playoffs
03/09 vs. South Fayette @ St. Marys