DUBOIS — A new year, a new league, but familiar faces were welcomed in for the start of the 2023-2024 basketball season for the Clearfield Bison. Coming off another season with a District IX championship, the ninth in a row for the program, it was a fresh start for Nate Glunt and his squad. Things began with a road trip Friday night to DuBois to take on the Cardinals of DuBois Central Catholic.
Unfortunately for the visitors, the season began on a difficult note as the Bison could not get things rolling early in the contest. After being tripled-up in the opening stanza, the Bison could not fight back as they would fall to the Cardinals, 68-54.
Call it early season jitters, or just being out played, but Clearfield struggled in the first eight minutes. A trio of baskets from Ev Maines, Braison Patrick and Anthony Lopez were all the visitors could muster. On the opposing side, the Cardinals saw four different players get on the board to take a commanding 19-6 lead entering the second quarter.
Clearfield settled down and got in a rhythm for the second quarter, outscoring the opposition, 19-15. But, still being down three possessions heading into the break was a tough hole to get out of. Try as they might, the Bison cut into the lead, but still found themselves outscored in the third, trailing 51-37 entering the final quarter. They would try to foul to get some rebound opportunities from the foul line, but the Cardinals made them pay, shooting 23-of-28 at the line.
The Cardinals were led by Andrew Green in scoring, bucketing a game-high 28 points on the night. For Clearfield, Patrick topped the stat line with 22 points, while Maines added in another 10.
Hoping to get their first win of the season, Clearfield (0-1) will have their first home game of the season on Tuesday, Dec. 5, when they open play in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference against the Central Dragons. Tip-off in the Bison Gymnasium is at 6 p.m. for the junior varsity, with the varsity action to follow at approximately 7:30 p.m.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Clearfield 6 19 12 17 – 54
D.C. Catholic 19 15 17 17 – 68
Clearfield – 54
Parker Collins 2 1-2 7, Ev Maines 4 2-3 10, Braison Patrick 4 2-2 22, Anthony Lopez 2 1-2 5, Braylen Way 1 0-0 3, Cooper Broad 1 0-0 3, Kai Lynch 1 0-0 2, Jake Rumfola 0 0-0 0, Noah Rumfola 1 0-0 2. 22 6-9 54.
DuBois Central Catholic – 68
Johnny Vartischetti 2 4-6 8, Brayden Fox 0 4-4 4, Luke Fragle 1 4-4 7, Marek Hoyt 6 3-4 18, Trenton Miller 1 0-0 3, Tristan Sedor 0 0-0 0, Andrew Green 9 8-10 28. TOTALS 19 23-28 68
BISON SCOREBOARD:
Date Opponent Score Record
12/01 @ DuBois Central Catholic 54 – 68 0 – 1
12/05 CENTRAL 12/08 Greater Johnstown
12/11 @ Bellefonte
12/14 BISHOP GUILFOYLE
12/18 @ Tyrone
12/21 HOLLIDAYSBURG
12/28 @ Curwensville
01/03 @ Huntingdon
01/05 @ Westmont Hilltop
01/08 PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA
01/11 @ Bellwood-Antis
01/15 @ West Branch
01/17 PENNS VALLEY
01/24 @ Bald Eagle Area
01/26 BEDFORD
01/31 @ Central
02/02 @ Richland
02/07 BELLEFONTE
02/09 @ Bishop Guilfoyle
02/12 TYRONE
02/13 CURWENSVILLE
02/15 Laurel Highlands Tourney
02/17 Laurel Highlands Tourney
