HYDE — If there is one thing that is for certain this season for the Clearfield Bison, when it comes to hitting the hardwood, they seem to enjoy it when it’s following a game rather than following a practice. After having to sit idle for most of the week due to school closings, the squad would hit the hardwood for three consecutive games. The third of those came as a Saturday matinee in the Bison Gymnasium as they welcomed in the Clarion-Limestone Lions for a non-league contest.
Those that managed to be in the gym were in for a treat as for 32 minutes, the two squads dueled in a high-scoring affair. Each would have players eclipse the 20-point mark, but on this afternoon thanks to some stellar defense and some strong performance on the boards, it was the Bison taking a 70-60 victory, their second straight and also their third victory in Saturday games this season.
Things got started quickly in the opening quarter as Clearfield pushed the Lions to their limits, and would emerge from the opening stanza with a 21-16 advantage. But the second quarter would be the one where the Bison turned up the pressure, as they would hold the visitors to only 10 points. The Bison again hammered out 21 in the quarter to take a 42-26 advantage into halftime, a lead they would not yield for the remainder of the game.
Despite the fact that the Bison had a big offensive game of their own, they found it hard to contain Hayden Callen, who would be the top-scorer on the afternoon for both Clarion-Limestone and the game, as he netted 30 points, the highest output of the season in the Bison Gym for any player. Jordan Heston added in another 10 for the Lions, as he was the only other player from the visitors to hit double figures.
Clearfield had its top two scorers, Karson Rumsky and Cole Miller, account for 47 of the 70 points, with Rumsky canning 25 and Miller another 22. Each would end up just shy of a double-double on the afternoon as they both accounted for nine rebounds. Rumsky would add in four assists.
Luke Winters would have a strong afternoon on the defensive side of the ball as he would grab three steals against the the Lions.
The second half belonged to the Lions, as they outscored Clearfield 34-28 in the final two quarters, but were unable to overcome the early deficit to make a game of it.
Clearfield (9-5) is back on the court this Tuesday, but will be on the road for a Mountain League showdown against Penns Valley. These two met up in the second game of Clearfield’s season back in mid-January, a game that Clearfield won 57-37 to start a six-game winning streak. Tip off for the varsity contest will be at 7:30 p.m.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Clarion-Limestone 16 10 16 18 – 60
Clearfield 21 21 17 11 – 70
CLARION-LIMESTONE – 60
Jordan Heston 4 2-4 10, Hayden Siegal 1 1-3 4, Ryan Hummel 1 0-0 2, Braden Rankin 0 2-3 2, Hayden Callen 13 2-3 30, Nate Megnin 0 0-0 0, Alex Painter 0 0-0 0, Riley Klingensmith 3 0-0 6, Tommy Smith 3 0-0 6. TOTALS 25 7-13 60.
CLEARFIELD – 70
Karson Rumsky 10 3-4 25, Luke Winters 1 0-0 2, Matt Pallo 2 0-0 5, Cole Miller 8 3-5 22, Ryan Gearhart 2 3-4 7, Jake Lezzer 0 0-0 0, Curvey Purkett 2 1-2 5, Morgan Billotte 0 0-0 0, Isakk Way 0 0-0 0, Andon Greslick 0 0-0 0, Nasheed Thompson 1 0-0 3. TOTALS 26 10-15 70.