HOLLIDAYSBURG — The loss Tuesday night against P-O halted a string of tough, but strong, victories for the Clearfield Bison cagers. It was a reality check that they were vulnerable, as the loss dropped them out of first place in the Mountain League. Still, the focus was to put the loss aside, and move forward. The squad had to do that on Friday night as they headed to Hollidaysburg for a showdown against the Golden Tigers.
The Bison left that gym disheartened, as Hollidaysburg got out front early, and a stagnant second quarter ultimately yielded a 69-51 loss, the second time this season Clearfield dropped back-to-back contests.
Clearfield was living behind the arc in the opening quarter, with four of the five baskets by the Bison coming from deep range. But, the missed shots allowed Hollidaysburg opportunities on the opposite end as they had five different players account for scoring. The 19-14 lead for Hollidaysburg eventually stuck for good as Clearfield was held to just two buckets and a pair of free throws in the second quarter. By contrast, the Golden Tigers were getting production all across the board, putting up 17 points to take a 36-21 lead into the locker room.
Things stayed the same in the second half as Clearfield tried to claw back in the third, but the home squad was too much on this night.
Hollidaysburg had a trio make it into double figures, with Brady Steiner leading all scoring with 20 points, with Cole Walters adding 12, and Leyton Weimert accounting for 10.
Clearfield did not have many opportunities to get easy points at the foul line, as only Cole Miller made it to the charity stripe all night long, going 5-for-5 while leading the team with 19 points. Braison Patrick added 14 while Andon Greslick bucketed another 11.
Despite having the best overall record in the Mountain League at 9-4, Clearfield sits third in the standings, one game back from Hollidaysburg and a half game behind Tyrone. The Bison will try to avoid their third straight loss on Tuesday night when they host Bald Eagle Area, whom they already lost to on the Eagles’ home court one week before Christmas.
Junior varsity will tip at 6 p.m. with varsity to follow afterwards.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Clearfield 14 7 17 13 – 51
Hollidaysburg 19 17 15 18 – 69
Clearfield – 51
Cole Miller 6 5-5 19, Andon Greslick 4 0-0 11, Morgen Billotte 1 0-0 3, Luke Pallo 1 0-0 2, Braison Patrick 6 0-0 14, Braylen Way 0 0-0 0, Anthony Lopez 0 0-0 0, Kam Kushner 0 0-0 0, Ev Maines 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 18 5-5 51.
Hollidaysburg – 69
Kyle Graham 0 2-4 2, Leyton Weimert 5 0-0 10, Carson Rhodes 3 1-1 7, Jon Holsopple 3 0-0 6, Brady Steiner 6 1-1 20, Karsen Metsger 1 2-2 5, Cole Walters 4 2-2 12, Mason Goodman 2 0-0 4, Jay Albararo 1 0-0 3, Paul Wedel 0 0-0 0, Caden Delattre 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 26 8-10 69.