BELLEFONTE – The Raiders of Bellefonte (15-3) picked up a victory Tuesday night over visiting Clearfield (10-7) in the first of two games in the 2021-22 season by a final score of 64-56.
It was the fourth straight victory for Bellefonte as they took control of the game from the opening quarter. Three pointers by Blair Eckley-Jones, Ty Kroell, and Gannon Brungard helped the home team begin the first period in a big way as after one, the home team found themselves leading 17-9 over the Bison.
The second quarter was tighter as Cole Miller started to get hot from the floor for Clearfield, with 13 of his game-high 27 points coming in the period. Despite this, Bellefonte’s balanced scoring in the second saw them increase their lead by three to take a 36-25 lead into the break.
Clearfield’s second-half fared much better as the Bison were able to outscore the Raiders by three (31-28) in the final 16 minutes of the game. Unfortunately, it was not enough as Bellefonte’s solid first-half was not something Clearfield could overcome as they fell on the road in the opening matchup of the season between Mountain League foes, 64-56.
Clearfield’s Ryan Gearhart followed up Miller as he added double-figures with 14 points. Andon Greslick narrowly missed out on double-digits in points with eight, including two trey balls in the second half. Rounding out the scoring for the Bison was Isaak Way with five points and Nate Natoli who connected on a pair of free-throws.
Balanced scoring was a key in the win for the home team as eight different players for the Raiders found their way into the scoring column. Gannon Brungard led the Bellefonte offense as the senior forward scored 22 points for the game. Two more Raiders ended the contest with double-figures as Blair Eckley-Jones added 19 and Nicholas Way 14 tallies.
Ty Kroell added seven points for the game for Bellefonte, while teammate DJ McCaslin chipped in with five points. Rounding out the scoring for the Raiders in the win was Alex Ebeling and Davis Corman with two points each and Cole Crissman who split a pair of free-throws.
The Bison will look to get back in the win column on Friday, February 4 as they head to Huntingdon for another Mountain League clash. The Bison were able to pick up the win in the matchup earlier between the two programs back on January 10 by a final score of 78-51.
Friday will feature the junior-varsity contest prior to the varsity game, with junior-varsity tipping at 6:00 p.m. and the varsity contest to follow at 7:30 p.m.
CLEARFIELD– 56
Ryan Gearhart 2 4-4 14, Cole Miller 3 0-0 27, Isakk Way 1 0-0 5, Andon Greslick 1 0-0 8, Nick Collins 0 0-0 0, Luke Pallo 0 0-0 0, Nate Natoli 0 2-2 2, Caleb Wilt 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 7 6-6 56.
BELLEFONTE – 64
Luke Fisher 0 0-0 0, Nicholas Way 5 1-1 14, Ty Kroell 2 0-0 7, Alex Ebeling 1 0-0 2, Davis Corman 1 0-0 2, Cole Crissman 0 1-2 1, Gannon Brungard 8 0-0 22, DJ McCaslin 1 3-3 5, Blair Eckley-Jones 5 4-5 19. TOTALS 23 9-11 64.
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
CLEARFIELD 9 16 15 16 56.
BELLEFONTE 17 19 12 16 64.
THREE-POINTERS: CLEARFIELD – 12 Miller 7, Gearhart 2, Greslick 2, Way 1. BELLEFONTE – 5 Brungart 2, Eckley-Jones 1, Way 1, Fisher 1.