Clearfield Out-Rebounds West Branch To Gain Much-Needed Victory

MORRISDALE — After a rough end to last week, the Clearfield Bison basketball squad had to regroup and prepare for what was going to be a tough non-league contest on Monday night.  It meant a trip to Morrisdale to take on a very talented, and difficult, West Branch Warrior squad, who only had a pair of losses on the season.

What fans got in the gym of the West Branch High School was a game that was highlighted by play on the boards, but in this case it was the Bison that were crashing rebounds on both ends of the court.  Clearfield almost tripled West Branch in rebounds, and capitalized with points as they stunned the hosting Warriors, 63-37.

“That was the difference in the game,” Clearfield head coach Nate Glunt said afterwards.  “They (West Branch) are so talented, they have good guards that can penetrate and they also can shoot threes, and make a lot of them.  But we were able to contest those shots and not give them a second chance.  That was big, and offensively, if we can crash the boards like we did, it’s demoralizing to teams.”

Clearfield got into a quick groove when they bounced out to a 5-0 lead, but the Warriors came right back to gain a quick advantage.  However, Clearfield quickly got the lead on some inside shots, taking a 17-10 advantage after one quarter of play.

Even in the opening quarter, the Bison were causing chaos on the Warriors, who are known to be strong outside shooters, but also big on rebounding the ball.  Clearfield finished the night with 36 rebounds, 14 of which were on the offensive side of the ball, while West Branch could only pull in 14 total.

Warriors head coach Danny Clark noted afterwards, “I thought we defended well in the first half, but when you get down, it gets tough mentally for our guys.  And when you’re not scoring at a clip like we’re used to, that puts you down on defense.

“Clearfield’s defense, they are quick.  Our one-pass offense, we’re usually getting that shot, and even if we make three passes, we still get that shot.  But we weren’t getting that tonight.

The Bison saw their opposition pull to within five points in the second quarter, but a couple late baskets by Cade Walker and Cole Miller ultimately put Clearfield up 29-21 heading into the halftime break.

But, the third quarter belonged to Clearfield, specifically to Miller.

Clearfield could do no wrong in the third stanza, as Miller drained a trifecta of three-pointers, and Karson Rumsky got roaring on the offensive rebounds to help feed his teammates.  Rumsky and Walker each finished with a double-double on the night.  Both added in 17 points a piece, with Rumsky pulling down 13 boards, and Walker with another 10.  Andrew Lopez added in eight points, while compiling five assists.

With the lead safely in their grasp after a 20-10 run in the third quarter, Clearfield slowed the pace down in the fourth quarter to run the clock.  Although Clearfield scored 14 in the final quarter, no sweeter basket in the game was more than the final one from their starters.

Rumsky was able to grab a steal in Warrior territory, and began running the floor with the Warriors all trying to keep pace.  With no one in sight, he went up for what looked to be a simple layup, but instead he went hard to the hoop, and slammed a dunk that got the entire Bison bench in a frenzy.

Up in the stands, Rumsky’s mother and grandmother were emotional, because the dunk meant more on a personal level than anything else.

“Other than Kirby (Parkett), Karson dunks it consistently,” Glunt said.  “His grandpa, who Rumsky always called Pap Pap Harzinski, really wanted to see him get a dunk.  His grandpa, sadly, passed away (over the summer), but I know he’s always watching.  Karson got the dunk for him.

“It’s also all the little things he’s doing, like boxing out, being outside.  He’s just did a fantastic job.”

Clearfield also had just as strong a game in the opening junior varsity contest, taking the win by a score of 62-27.

Although the loss was tough for West Branch, in a sense for Clark he felt his team needed a game like they had against Clearfield.

“We made it like a playoff atmosphere game, and the guys were pumped up for that,” Clark said.  “We’re upset for losing, but we needed this game.  We won 10 in a row, and this was perfect timing.  My dad has been saying ‘Coach, these guys need to be in check a little bit’, and I agree.  It gives me a chance to reassess what we have to do better.”

Glunt had a similar reaction to the victory for his squad, commenting, “Our non-conference games have been against the likes of DuBois, Ligonier Valley, both 15-2, then West Branch at 15-2.  Danny does a great job with West Branch, they are going to be playing for a conference championship.  They have an excellent team, and for us to actually compete and win, it speaks volumes.”

Clearfield (11-8) has a quick turnaround as they are back on their own hardwood in the Bison Gymnasium on Tuesday night to host the Central Dragons.  The Dragons got the best of Clearfield in the first meeting, 51-43 in overtime, back on January 10.  Tip off is at 6 p.m. for junior varsity, with varsity to follow.

SCORE BY QUARTER

Clearfield   17   12   20   14  –  63
West Branch   10   11   10   6  –  37

Clearfield – 63

Pallo 0 0-0 0, Walker 8 1-2 17, Rumsky 7 0-0 17, Lopez 3 2-4 8, Peacock 0 0-0 0, Winters 0 1-2 1, Miller 5 1-1 15, Ryan 0 0-0 0, Hudson 2 0-0 5, Gearhart 0 0-0 0, Billotte 0 0-0 0, Parkett 0 0-0 0, Thompson 0 0-0 0, Way 0 0-0 0, Greslick 0 0-0 0, O’Dell 0 0-0 0.  TOTALS 25 4-9 63.

West Branch – 37

Eboch 4 4-4 12, Gutierrez 1 2-2 4, Bellomy 0 2-3 2, D. Kolesar 4 0-0 12, Kristofits 2 1-2 5, Kopchik 0 0-0 0, Rothrock 0 0-0 0, Croyle 0 0-0 0 , Guglielmi 0 0-0 0, Dale 1 0-0 2, Tiracorda 0 0-0 0, Reynolds 0 0-0 0, Graham 0 0-0 0, K. Kolesar 0 0-0 0, Williams 0 0-0 0.  TOTALS 12 9-12 37.

GAME STATISTICS
Clearfield/West Branch

Shooting:  25-51/12-38

Rebounds:  36/14

Fouls:  11/14

Turnovers:  13/11

Three-Point Shots:  Rumsky-3, Miller-4, Hudson/D. Kolesar-4