HUNTINGDON — The shorthanded Clearfield Area High School boys basketball team ran into one of the most explosive offenses in the region Wednesday night as undefeated Mountain League front-runner Huntingdon built a 51-24 halftime lead and went on to post an 87-48 win.
The Bearcats, with three starters among seven lettermen from a 23-3 team that was District 6 Class AAAA champion and won two PIAA playoff games, had five players put up double-figure points in topping 80 points for the 10th time in 15 games.
Nick Rigby led the way with 24 points and got support from Jackson Ritchey with 16, Nick Gearhart and Andrew Miller with 14 apiece and Owen Lane with 12.
Clearfield (8-8, 3-6 ML) got 13 points form Karson Rumsky and 11 from sophomore classmate Simon Quigley in his first start.
Taye Lynch topped the Bison in rebounds with 12, while Luke Winters, another sophomore making his first start, was credited with six assists.
Quigley had two of his four three-pointers and Lynch added five points in the first quarter, when the Bison kept the Bearcats in their sights.
Ritchey’s nine points propelled the hosts to a 23-15 lead that they ballooned with a 28-point second period behind Rigby’s 12 points.
Huntingdon came out of halftime with a 22-point outburst, keyed by Rigby’s nine points, to stretch the margin to 73-34 before both teams netted 14 points in the final eight minutes.
At 8-0, the Bearcats sport a two-game lead in the league.
The Bison will look to get back on track Friday when they host Philipsburg-Osceola.
Quigley’s 13 points were high for the Clearfield junior varsity, which came out on the short end of a 66-43 final.
CLEARFIELD — 48
Taye Lynch 3 1-2 8, Karson Rumsky 6 0-0 13, Barrett Kline 1 0-0 2, Luke Winters 2 0-0 4, Simon Quigley 4 0-0 11, Nick Ryan 0 0-0 0, Kandyn Hudson 1 0-0 3, Graeson Graves 2 0-0 4, Ryan Gearhart 1 0-0 3, Nick Collins 0 0-0 0, Max Paul-Cook 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 20 1-2 48.
HUNTINGDON — 87
Jackson Ritchey 7 2-2 16, Nick Gearhart 5 3-3 14, Owen Lane 6 0-2 12, Will Sulesky 1 0-0 2, Nick Rigby 11 2-5 24, Andrew Miller 5 1-2 14, Chad Brindle 2 0-0 5, Tony Poorman 1 0-0 2, Alec Cooper 0 0-0 0, Darin Harman 0 0-0 0, Sergio Ramirez-Sesma 0 0-0 0, Nathan Via 0 0-0 0, Taigen Hood 0 0-0 0, Connor Jackson 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 38 8-14 87.
Three-Point Field Goals – Clearfield 7 (Lynch 1, Rumsky 1, Quigley 3, Hudson 1, Gearhart 1); Huntingdon 3 (Gearhart 1, Miller 1, Brindle 1).
Score by Quarters
Clearfield 15 9 10 14 – 48
Huntingdon 23 28 22 14 – 87
Bison Scoreboard:
Date Opponent Score Record
12/07 CURWENSVILLE 77 – 32 1 – 0
12/10 WEST BRANCH 57 – 33 2 – 0
12/12 BALD EAGLE AREA 73 – 48 3 – 0
12/14 HUNTINGDON 53 – 63 3 – 1
12/17 @ Philipsburg-Osceola 64 – 47 4 – 1
12/21 TYRONE 42 – 50 4 – 2
12/27 @ Purchase Line Tourney
12/27 vs. Ligonier Valley 78 – 80 4 – 3
12/28 vs. Harmony 83 – 56 5 – 3
01/04 @ Brookville 48 – 53 5 – 4
01/07 PUNXSUTAWNEY 56 – 50 6 – 4
01/09 @ Penns Valley 47 – 59 6 – 5
01/11 CENTRAL 44 – 53 6 – 6
01/15 @ Bellefonte 78 – 56 6 – 7
01/18 @ Bald Eagle Area 57 – 55 7 – 7
01/21 @ DuBois 51 – 49 8 – 7
01/23 @ Huntingdon 48 – 87 8 – 8
01/25 PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA
01/29 @ Tyrone
02/01 PENNS VALLEY
02/06 @ Central
02/08 BELLEFONTE
02/13 @ Curwensville