HYDE — When one has a hot hand, it’s always a good thing to keep that fire going. One night prior, the Clearfield Bison were causing an inferno on the hardwood, taking down a Hollidaysburg team that many thought were going to get the upper hand. The win was not celebrated long, as for the third consecutive game, the Bison Gymnasium was lit up for a Mountain League showdown. This time, the Huntingdon Bearcats came to play spoiler, and with little rest on the legs, there was some wonder if Clearfield could keep the fuse lit.
Not only was it lit, it stayed hot for 32 minutes, resulting in Clearfield taking a 65-50 win, improving their record to 12-6 on the season.
“I think the Bellefonte game really changed things for us. We were down, not shooting well, and I think that really gave us motivation against Hollidaysburg,” Bison head coach Nate Glunt said afterwards. “Once we beat them, we were really were feeling it.
“Playing back-to-back nights, especially after playing Hollidaysburg, it took a lot out of them. To come back the next night, with fresh legs, is a great accomplishment.”
Clearfield’s Morgen Billotte got the night going early, putting up the first seven points of the game, while also helping feed teammate Cole Miller to the paint, something that was a challenge with some of the size that the Bearcats have on the roster. For Glunt, Huntingdon was a team that plays much better than their record showed.
“Huntingdon had a 13-point lead on Tyrone this past Tuesday, and ended up losing by one. They have been playing really well,” he said. “At the same time, we’re playing much better offensively, turning the ball over less, better rebounding, more touches in the paint; we’re playing really well as a team.”
Clearfield took a 14-11 lead into the second quarter, and that is when the Miller that opposing defenses knew about came forward. He ignited the scoreboard, accounting for 14 of the 16 points the Bison put up in the stanza. Miller only had three shots go in from deep range, so his penetration to the basket became the main way he was able to put up points. The star senior finished with a game-high 27 points, plus five rebounds and the same amount of assists.
“Those entry passes to Cole were not easy; those guys were draped on him, and he did a great job of being patient to score inside,” Glunt said of his star center.
Although maybe a bit out of sync at times in the first half, Clearfield held a 30-19 lead after two quarters.
It was the third quarter when the game was put away, but not without some excitement to start the second half. Between the Bearcats and Bison, the two put up 10 points between them in the first 50 seconds, enough that Glunt called a timeout to settle his team down. After the teams returned to the floor, the Bison would outscore the opposition 18-10 to give a lead that Huntingdon could not come back from.
Clearfield saw three players hit double figures on the night, as along with Miller, Billotte (11) and Braison Patrick (16) having strong nights on the stat sheet. Billotte had the most rebounds on the night, with six.
Forced to foul, Huntingdon sent Patrick to the line eight times in the final quarter. After all the success the night prior, he would drain seven of those shots. Clearfield finished 13-for-20 from the line for the game, including going 8-for-11 in the final quarter.
Huntingdon continued to battle hard, as Jack Foster put up nine of his 14 points in the fourth quarter. He was outscored only by Jack Henney, who finished with a team-high 16 points.
The only loss on the night came in the preliminary junior varsity contest, as despite battling back late, Clearfield fell 29-26.
Only two games are on the slate next week for Clearfield, but it starts with one last road trip on the year to a tough environment. The Bison will travel to Penns Valley on Tuesday, hoping to sweep the season series after taking game one on January 12, 55-26, in Clearfield. Glunt already knows that every game against the Rams is a grind, and did not shy away from admitting it.
“This was a total team effort tonight. But, we have a tough one coming. Penns Valley is a tough place to play,” he said.
Tip-off for varsity action is at approximately 7:30 p.m.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Huntingdon 11 8 15 16 – 50
Clearfield 14 16 23 12 – 65
Huntingdon – 50
Jack Foster 5 2-3 14, Eli Ehresmon 2 1-2 6, Jack Henney 5 2-4 16, Ryan Sullivan 1 0-0 2, Elliot Guisler 0 0-3 0, Ty Boyer 0 0-0 0, Owen Alexander 2 0-0 6, Lucas Montero 0 0-0 0, Gabe Brindle 3 2-2 8, Nolan Susko 0 0-0 0, Hayden Dell 0 0-0 0, Jakobie Norris 0 0-0 0, Drew Wilson 0 0-0 0, Conner Moore 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 18 7-14 50.
Clearfield – 65
Ev Maines 0 0-0 0, Luke Pallo 1 0-0 2, Kam Kushner 1 0-0 2, Kai Lynch 0 0-0 0, Braison Patrick 4 7-9 16, Andon Greslick 2 0-0 4, Anthony Lopez 1 0-0 3, Morgen Billotte 5 1-3 11, Braylen Way 0 0-0 0, Skylar Clark 0 0-0 0, Cole Miller 9 5-8 27, Peyton Reasinger 1 0-0 3. TOTALS 23 13-20 65.
GAME STATISTICS
Huntingdon/Clearfield
- Shooting: 18-45/23-46
- Rebounds: 21/26
- Fouls: 20/20
- Turnovers: 13/9
- Three-Point Shots: Foster-2, Ehresmon, Henney-2, Alexander-2/Patrick, Miller-3, Lopez
- Foul Out: Pallo
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 40 – 43 9 – 3
01/20 @ Hollidaysburg 51 – 69 9 – 4
01/24 BALD EAGLE AREA 49 – 39 10 – 4
01/27 @ Tyrone 39 – 76 10 – 5
01/31 BELLEFONTE 49 – 62 10 – 6
02/02 HOLLIDAYSBURG 66 – 50 11 – 6
02/03 HUNTINGDON 65 – 50 12 – 6
02/07 @ Penns Valley
02/09 DUBOIS CENTRAL CATHOLIC
02/14 CURWENSVILLE
02/15 DUBOIS