Glunt Gets Win No. 100 as Clearfield Upends Penns Valley

HYDE — In just a few short years, Clearfield basketball head coach Nate Glunt took a program that had talent, but wasn’t showing it in game results, and made it a proven contender each time they stepped on the hardwood.  On Tuesday night, inside the Bison Gymnasium, his Clearfield Bison were looking to give him a monumental mark in the history books:  win #100.

To do that, the Bison cagers would have to fend off a very tough, physical, and methodical Penns Valley Rams team.  Early on, it was hard going, as Clearfield had a lead, and lost it.  But, a dominant third quarter and smart play in the later stages gave Clearfield a hard-earned 50-38 triumph, and put Glunt at the century mark in wins for the Clearfield program.

Before even talking about the milestone win, Glunt focused on the game itself.

“In the first half, give (Penns Valley) credit.  With their zone, we always try to get the ball inside, first.  We would drive or pass, those gaps are usually open,” Glunt said.  “They closed those gaps.  That led to a lot of turnovers.

“In the second half, we didn’t turn the ball over as much, and we were able to get passes on the perimeter, then get the ball inside.”

The Bison put the first points on the board thanks to Cade Walker, but the Rams came back with the next six before Karson Rumsky found his spot at the baseline to drain his first three-pointer of the night.  But Penns Valley pulled away late in the quarter, taking a 9-5 advantage after the first eight minutes.  In the second quarter, Clearfield turned up the heat, and began making shots, mainly thanks to Rumsky.  He would bucket seven of the team’s 15 points in the quarter, but Penns Valley hung around and got a late bucket in the paint from Collin Emel to make the score 20-18 heading into halftime, with possession in favor of the visitors.

When the teams emerged from the locker room, things got physical, and a little chippy, but the Bison suddenly found their groove when they were able to penetrate.

That was the quarter when Walker began getting fed the ball as if he was Pac Man, as he would go on a tear by putting up 10 of his game-high 18 points in the frame, as Clearfield began taking advantage of the physical play of Penns Valley to win the quarter, 15-8, to take a 10-point advantage into the final quarter.

In all, Clearfield had three players in double digits for scoring, as along with Walker, Rumsky added 15 while Cole Miller put in another 12.  Walker was crashing the boards as he took in nine on the night, while Andrew Lopez added in five assists.

Penns Valley still was not going away in the final quarter, but with starters Zach Braught and John Aston having to play a bit conservative with four fouls on them entering the final stanza, it made for a difficult task.  Despite the size advantage, both would foul out on the night, meaning two of the bigger players in height and stature for the Rams were on the sidelines.

Things began getting chippy between the two as both squads were putting pressure on each other, but the Bison bent but didn’t break as they held on late when they had to go to the charity stripe.  The Rams ended up with 12 fouls in the second half, and Clearfield took advantage as they went 10-for-14 in the final quarter from the line, while the Rams only went to the line 11 times on the night, making just three.

Penns Valley was led in scoring by Logan Snyder, who finished with 17 points plus four rebounds.

Clearfield also won the opening junior varsity contest, 50-32.

Once the talk of the actual game had concluded, Glunt had a chance to reflect on how his teams allowed him to reach 100 wins as a coach in such a short period of time.  Glunt has only been coaching the Bison for what is now his sixth season, but he was not taking full credit.  Actually, he felt as though he was just a small part of the turnaround with the program, putting the focus on those around him.

“I have been very fortunate to have good kids who are talented, and that’s a good combination.  I also have so much help.  My assistant coaches coming in on the off-season; the junior high coaches and the time they put in; the elementary coaches also work so hard, and I’m so thankful for that,” he said.  “My wife, she does an unbelievable job and does so much behind the scenes as well.

“Then it’s the community supporting us, getting behind their kids, bringing them to workouts, coming to the school to see their games, supporting our fundraisers.  It is just a great community effort, and it’s so fun to be a part of it.”

Clearfield (6-3) has another Mountain League contest to close out the week on Friday as they head on the road to face off with Central-Martinsburg.  Junior varsity tips at 6 p.m. with varsity to follow.

SCORE BY QUARTER

Penns Valley   9   9   8   12  –  38
Clearfield   5   15   16   14  –  50

Penns Valley – 38

Tobias 3 0-0 6, Braught 3 0-2 7, Narber 0 0-0 0, Snyder 7 1-5 17, Aston 0 1-2 1, Emel 1 0-0 2, Culver 0 0-0 0, Crater 0 0-0 0, Niewinski 0 0-0 0, Brinker 2 1-2 5.  TOTALS 16 3-11 38.

Clearfield – 50

Pallo 1 1-4 3, Walker 6 6-6 18, Rumsky 4 5-9 15, Lopez 0 0-0 0, Peacock 0 2-2 2, Winters 0 0-0 0, Miller 3 3-4 12, Ryan 0 0-0 0, Hudson 0 0-0 0, Gearhart 0 0-0 0, Billotte 0 0-0 0, Parkett 0 0-0 0.  TOTALS 14 19-25 50.

GAME STATISTICS
Penns Valley/Clearfield

Shooting:  16-48/14-32

Rebounds:  15/29

Fouls:  22/15

Turnovers:  10/21

Three-Point Shots:  Snyder-2, Braught/Rumsky-2, Miller-3

Foul Out:  Braught, Aston

Bison Scoreboard: