Clearfield Storms Back in Second Half to Down Purchase Line

COMMODORE — Although Christmas has come and gone, the Clearfield Bison cagers were still willing to hand out a gift to the fans that made the trip out for the annual Purchase Line Holiday Tournament on Friday night.  Their yearly drive to Commodore meant a meet up with the hosting Purchase Line Red Dragons in the opening round of the tournament.

After one quarter, the Bison had control, but as halftime commenced, the visiting squad found themselves behind and needing a jolt.  They got that as they put on a second-half clinic to take the 63-54 triumph, and move into the tournament championship on Saturday.

Early on, it was the two lead stars for the Bison taking charge, as Cade Walker and Karson Rumsky tallied 13 of the 16 points in the opening quarter, taking a two-point advantage into the second stanza.

But, that second quarter belonged to the host squad, as Jacob Barnet went on a roll with seven of his team-high 18 points for the Red Dragons, while both Hunter Antisdel and Adam Woods added in five a piece.  After 16 minutes, Purchase Line turned the deficit into a slight advantage, heading into the locker room with a two-point lead.

It was the third quarter that the Bison turned up the heat and began putting the game in their control.

Offensively, the points were coming left and right, but it was the defense that made the difference.  Rumsky and Walker each were going after the boards, as each led the team with eight a piece, but it was their defense in the paint that brought in the points on the change of possession that helped Clearfield win the quarter, 15-8, and keep in control heading into the final stanza.

Walker finished the night with 17 points, but it was Rumsky that led all scorers on this night, finishing with 23 points, including a perfect 4-for-4 from the foul line.  Andrew Lopez fed both of his teammates as he led the team with six assists.

Clearfield continued to hold serve in the final quarter, holding the Red Dragons to 10 points while they added another 14 to cruise to the nine-point victory.

Now, Clearfield (4-2) heads into the tournament finals on Saturday as they will face Ligonier Valley, who made it to the finals after defeating Harmony.  Tip-off for the finals comes at approximately 7:30 p.m.

SCORE BY QUARTER

Clearfield   16   18   15   14  –  63
Purchase Line   14   22   8   10  –  54

Clearfield – 63

Walker 8 1-4 17, Rumsky 8 4-4 23, Lopez 1 1-1 3, Pallo 3 1-2 8, Winters 2 4-5 8, Peacock 0 0-0 0, Miller 0 0-0 0, Hudson 0 0-0 0, Ryan 2 0-0 4, Parkett 0 0-0 0, Gearhart 0 0-0 0, Billotte 0 0-0 0, Thompson 0 0-0 0, Way 0 0-0 0, Greslick 0 0-0 0, Fletcher 0 0-0 0, O’Dell 0 0-0 0.  TOTALS 24 13-16 63.

Purchase Line – 54

Sanchez 3 3-5 10, Huey 2 0-0 4, Antisdel 2 3-4 9, Woods 2 4-5 8, Barnett 8 0-3 18, Himes 0 0-0 0, Brooks 2 1-2 5, Beer 0 0-0 0, G. Lamar 0 0-0 0, Kaufman 0 0-0 0, Scott 0 0-0 0, J. Lamar 0 0-0, Gearhart 0 0-0 0, Westover 0 0-0 0, Faught 0 0-0 0, Kephart 0 0-0 0.  TOTALS 21 11-19 54.

Bison Scoreboard: