Bearcats Herd in Bison Cagers, 67-48

HUNTINGDON — The early season road trip for the Clearfield Bison continued on Friday night, as head coach Nate Glunt had his cagers ready to avoid the voodoo of Friday the 13th as they traveled to face off with the Bearcats of Huntingdon.

There was no voodoo on this night, but instead pure domination for 32 minutes.  However, it was the home squad that dominated from beginning to end, as the Bearcats wrangled up the herd of Bison, handing Clearfield its first loss on the season, 67-48.

Clearfield found itself behind from the opening despite a strong effort from its senior captain, Cade Walker.  He would have a strong night, leading all scorers in the game, with 23 points while also adding in seven rebounds.  However, he was the only Bison to hit double digits in scoring.  Karson Rusmky was second-closest with nine points, while also adding in another five boards plus four steals.

The Bison fell behind in the first quarter, but kept it close after the first eight minutes, trailing 15-11.  But the Bearcats opened it up in the second quarter that saw Jackson Ritchey score 10 of his team-high 22 points.  Huntingdon put down 21 points in the quarter, holding Clearfield to just 13, and went into the half with a comfortable 12-point gap.

Huntingdon held Clearfield to just seven points in the third quarter, and would not yield for the remainder of the night.

Alex Cooper and Nick Gearhart each got in double-digits for scoring on the night, adding in 13 and 14 points, respectively.  Neither team was stellar when they had opportunities for free points, as Huntingdon went only 11-for-18 at the line, while Clearfield’s struggles at the charity stripe continued, going only 11-for-22.

Clearfield (2-1) takes a quick break from Mountain League play as their fourth road game to start the year comes on Monday when they travel to face Punxsutawney.  Tip-off is at 6 p.m. for junior varsity, with the varsity contest to follow.

SCORE BY QUARTER

Clearfield   11   13   7   17  –  48
Huntingdon   15   21   11   20  –  67

Clearfield – 48

Walker 10 3-5 23, Rumsky 2 4-6 9, Lopez 2 1-2 5, Pallo 2 2-5 6, Winters 0 0-0 0, Peacock 1 1-2 3, Miller 1 0-0 2, Hudson 0 0-0 0, Ryan 0 0-0 0, Puckett 0 0-0 0, Gearhart 0 0-2 0, Billotte 0 0-0 0, Thompson 0 0-0 0, Way 0 0-0 0, O’Dell 0 0-0 0.  TOTALS 18 11-22 48.

Huntingdon – 67

Cooper 5 3-6 13, Miller 2 1-1 5, J. Ritchey 9 3-5 22, Gearhart 6 2-4 14, Harman 3 0-0 7, R. Ritchey 0 2-2 2, Poorman 1 0-0 2, Jackson 1 0-0 2, Rigby 0 0-0 0, Cook 0 0-0 0, Wiser 0 0-0 0, Burchfield 0 0-0 0, Bryson 0 0-0 0, Woomer 0 0-0 0.  TOTALS 30 11-18 67.

Bison Scoreboard: