HYDE — The mid-January run of games for Clearfield in Mountain League play continued on Wednesday night inside the Bison Gymnasium. Already victorious in their last four league contests, and five overall, the Penns Valley Rams made the trip from Spring Mills hoping to pull an upset in front of the black-and-red clad fans.
This night was all about offensive output, as the Bison rolled to an early lead, got offensive rebounds, and did not force difficult shots. All that led to a decisive 55-26 victory.
“Coach (Rob) Irwin is an excellent coach for Penns Valley. They always execute so well, offensively and defensively, so for us to get the shots we did in the first half, I was thrilled,” Bison head coach Nate Glunt said afterwards. “The way they play their zone defense, it’s so active, we were able to get open shots, and play unselfishly. We didn’t have those tough, contested shots, and making them. Instead, we were executing plays to get that open shot.”
Clearfield got going quickly in the opening quarter, despite not getting on the board for the first couple minutes. At the same time, the defense made it challenging for the Rams to get off good shots, as they finished the quarter 0-for-7 from the floor. If it wasn’t for the pair of free throws made by Colin Niewinski, Penns Valley would have been shut out. At the end of one, the Bison held an 11-2 lead.
In the second quarter, the Bison made a run to start the quarter that included four attempted shots, but despite them not falling in the net, each time the offense pulled down the rebound. It ultimately fueled a big run for Clearfield, as they put up 19 points, with nearly all of them coming from deep range. The Bison hit 11 shots from behind the arc, three of them coming in the second by Andon Greslick, who led all scoring on the night with 14 points. Cole Miller also hit double figures, putting up 13 points, while grabbing six rebounds and four assists.
Glunt spoke of the offensive rebounding, saying, “We looked at halftime, and we pulled down 11 on offense. That was a major difference, it just gives you more opportunities to score.”
It was much of the same when the teams came out of the locker room, with Clearfield pushing the lead out to 46-17 just before the third quarter ended. With 20 seconds remaining, Penns Valley made a run to get the final basket, but Luke Pallo, who finished with seven rebounds on the night, pulled down his final one and dished it out to Morgen Billotte. He found an open lane and just as the buzzer was sounding, put in a jump shot to eclipse the 30-point threshold. The 48-17 lead put the running clock into effect, and also allowed Glunt to rest his starters and give a lot of the underclassmen a chance to get some game experience, something he was praising because some will potentially start come next season.
“Those kids deserved to be on the court. Guys like Peyton Reasinger, he’s been patient and works so hard at practice. He plays excellent defense, and I wanted to give him an opportunity after competing so hard at practice,” he said. “Then guys like Kam (Kushner), Anthony (Lopez); we in a way have eight starters right now. Ev (Maines), he came in and played really well. Everyone just keeps getting better on the season.”
Clearfield did drop a highly-contested junior varsity contest in overtime, 51-41, as they were held scoreless in the extra three minutes.
The Bison finish the first half of their schedule 9-2, with a 5-1 record in the Mountain League. Despite having the better overall record, Clearfield sits second behind Bald Eagle Area, as the Eagles won the first game between the two, head-to-head. The stretch of league games continues as the Bison are back in action at home next Tuesday, January 17, as they host the P-O Mounties. The two met back on December 7, with the Bison taking the tightly contested 53-49 win at Philipsburg.
Tip-off for junior varsity is set for 6 p.m. with the varsity contest to follow.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Penns Valley 2 10 5 9 – 26
Clearfield 11 19 18 7 – 55
Penns Valley – 26
Gavin Robb 0 0-0 0, Jackson Romig 4 1-1 10, Colin Niewinski 0 3-4 3, Dakota Brodzina 2 0-0 4, Fletcher Ironside 1 0-2 2, Carson Webster 0 0-0 0, Ethan Narber 3 1-2 7, Kyle Long 0 0-0 0 Cameron Kubalak 0 0-0 0, Alex Parsons 0 0-0 0, Lucas Shawley 0 0-0 0, Richie Butler 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 10 5-9 26.
Clearfield – 55
Parker Collins 0 0-0 0, Ev Maines 3 0-0 7, Luke Pallo 2 0-0 4, Kam Kushner 0 0-0 0, Kai Lynch 0 0-0 0, Braison Patrick 2 0-0 6, Andon Greslick 5 0-0 14, Cole Bloom 0 0-0 0, Morgen Billotte 2 0-0 5, Braylen Way 0 0-0 0, Skylar Clark 0 0-0 0, Cole Miller 5 0-0 13, Peyton Reasinger 0 0-0 0, Anthony Lopez 2 1-1 6. TOTALS 21 1-1 55.
GAME STATISTICS
Penns Valley/Clearfield
- Shooting: 10-33/21-51
- Rebounds: 15/22
- Fouls: 7/9
- Turnovers: 15/18
- Three-Point Shots: Rowig/Maines, Patrick-2, Greslick-4, Billotte, Miller-3, Lopez
Bison Scoreboard:
Date Opponent Score Record
12/02 @ Curwensville 56 – 39 1 – 0
12/07 @ Philipsburg-Osceola 53 – 49 2 – 0
12/09 @ Punxsutawney 42 – 47 2 – 1
12/15 HOLLIDAYSBURG ppd. 2 – 1
12/19 @ Bald Eagle Area 34 – 50 2 – 2
12/21 WEST BRANCH 64 – 59 3 – 2
12/27&28 @ Cambria Heights Tourney
12/27 vs. Williamsburg 61 – 37 4 – 2
12/28 vs. Cambria Heights 51 – 41 5 – 2
01/03 TYRONE 61 – 59 6 – 2
01/05 @ Bellefonte 46 – 43 7 – 2
01/09 @ Huntingdon 45 – 40 8 – 2
01/12 PENNS VALLEY 55- 26 9 – 2
01/17 PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA
01/20 @ Hollidaysburg
01/24 BALD EAGLE AREA
01/27 @ Tyrone
01/31 BELLEFONTE
02/02 HOLLIDAYSBURG
02/03 HUNTINGDON
02/07 @ Penns Valley
02/09 DUBOIS CENTRAL CATHOLIC
02/14 CURWENSVILLE
02/15 DUBOIS
