PUNXSUTAWNEY — It was not an easy week of games for the Clearfield Bison basketball squad. The first game of the week ended up being a down-to-the-wire battle against Mountain League foe Philipsburg-Osceola. Just two days removed from that contest, they had to travel once again to another tough environment, a road contest against the always difficult Punxsutawney Chucks.
The difficulty wasn’t the opposition on this night, but instead the struggle was not coming out firing. Clearfield did not start the game as they did their prior two, as they found trouble getting shots to fall. That made the difference as the Bison suffered their first loss of the year, 47-42.
Clearfield could only muster four points in the first quarter. With starter Luke Pallo unavailable, the Bison had to adapt with Anthony Lopez propelled into the roll. As the game progressed, the Bison improved, but not early enough.
After one half of play, the Chucks held a 21-13 advantage, but the Bison were not going down without a fight.
In the third, they would crawl back into the game, outscoring the Chucks 15-11, and made a game of it in the fourth quarter.
Punxsutawney was able to keep the Bison’s star shooter Cole Miller in check from deep range for most of the night, as he would not get rolling until the third quarter, where he put up 12 of his game-high 18 points. Miller, who also had eight rebounds, was held to a single field goal in the fourth, but that gave opportunities in the final quarter for others to make the game close. Braison Patrick would add six of his 13 points in the quarter, with Morgen Billotte adding in another seven. However, missed shots at the foul line took away opportunities to put free points on the board.
The Chucks had a trip of players make it into double figures, as Ryen Heigley led Punxsutawney with 16 points, with both Zach Presloid and Noah Kleaver each adding another 11.
Clearfield (2-1) has nearly a full week to prepare for their next game, as they will finally be able to step onto the hardwood on their home court on Thursday as they take on Hollidaysburg in a Mountain League contest. Junior varsity will tip at 6 p.m. with the varsity contest to follow.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Clearfield 4 9 14 15 – 42
Punxsutawney 8 13 11 15 – 47
Clearfield – 42
Cole Miller 7 3-5 18, Andon Greslick 0 2-2 2, Morgen Billotte 2 1-2 7, Braison Patrick 5 1-3 13, Anthony Lopez 0 0-0 0, Kam Kushner 0 0-0 0, Kai Lynch 0 0-0 0, Everett Maines 1 0-0 3. TOTALS 14 7-12 42.
Punxsutawney – 47
Ryen Heigley 5 4-4 16, Jimmie Neese 2 0-0 5, Zach Pressloid 4 3-5 11, Cooper Hallman 0 0-2 0, Noah Kleaver 5 0-0 11, Mason Nesbitt 1 0-0 2, Noah Kerngersky 1 0-0 2, Beav Thomas 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 18 7-11 47.