HYDE — In front of the biggest crowd they’ve seen in the Bison Gymnasium all season, the Clearfield Bison spent some time prior to tip-off honoring five seniors that were with the squad back when the theme at games was a small group of attendees and all were in masks. Three cheerleaders, plus a pair of players, took to the court one last time on the home hardwood as Clearfield prepared to do battle for the second time this year against the Curwensville Golden Tide.
Both seniors would have a night that led to success, not just on their own stat lines, but also helping with others to ensure they saw success as well. That unselfishness is what led to a strong offensive night, and a dominating defense, as the Bison finished the regular season with a 65-32 victory.
“We simply continued to improve. Anthony Lopez, one of our seniors, really stepped up. He made shots, set up teammates, and played some excellent defense. He played just like a senior leader should,” Bison head coach Nate Glunt said afterwards.
Lopez, statistically, had the best night of all the Bison. It all began in the opening quarter as despite only accounting for five points, he was quickly showing his value in other aspects, pulling down rebounds, feeding his teammates the ball for better shots, and having to guard some tough players for the Tide. His play helped give Braison Patrick an enormous first quarter, as he accounted for 10 of the Bison’s 17 points in the opening quarter. Clearfield held a three-possession advantage after one quarter, but it was the second quarter when things picked up.
Curwensville was trying to get back in the game, but the shooting percentage for eight minutes was a struggle all its own.
The Tide were limited to only 2-for-11 from the floor in the second quarter, as the defense of Clearfield was overwhelming, causing contested shots and pulling down rebounds. By the end of the half, Clearfield held a 20-10 lead on the boards, plus a 36-15 lead on the scoreboard. That frustration of not being able to have the success and points ended up boiling over. As the teams were exiting the court following the halftime buzzer, a visibly frustrated and angry Davis Fleming said something that one official heard. Almost immediately the official threw up a technical, and the discussion came whether the foul shots were to be shot right then. In the end, the teams would head to the locker room, and Clearfield would elect to shoot the foul shots after the second-half warmups, while also receiving the possession that comes with it.
The struggles for Curwensville, according to head coach Josh Tkacik, is not because of the effort his team was putting out, as they consistently played hard for 32 minutes. Instead, he accredited it to the difference in opposition that both teams have seen the entire season.
“Nate’s kids have been grinding against upper-tier teams all season, and part of that is because we’re a 2A school, and we’re playing in the ICC. I believe that with all my heart. The ICC plays a totally different style than what you see in the Laurel Highlands,” he said. “It’s just a totally different style of play. Hats off to those kids; they grind and grind, and all shoot exceptionally well.
“I told the guys in the locker room that it felt like deja vu. It felt like last year when Clearfield was raining three’s in, and they did it all over again.”
Tkacik was accurate in the shooting for Clearfield behind the three-point line, as they went 13-for-35 from deep range. No one hit more than Braison Patrick, as five of his shots were from that part of the court. It was part of his game-high 27 point effort. At the same time, Lopez would have four treys, part of a night where he accounted for 14 points, but also a game-high seven rebounds and game-leading eight assists.
The third quarter is when Clearfield put the game away for good, as they would put the running clock into effect on a pair of foul shots from Parker Collins. Clearfield went on a 26-7 run in the third that allowed the latter part of the game go rather quickly.
Compared to the first game between the two squads, Tkacik felt this one was a lot different once his team was far behind, stating, “We seemed a bit shell-shocked once things got out of hand. We weren’t able to recoup and refocus to get back into our game plan. We wanted to move the ball quickly, not over-dribble, and we had matchups.
“We had Davis in some one-on-one matchups we felt we could exploit, but we just couldn’t capitalize.”
In the fourth quarter, both Lopez and Braylen Way would have a curtain call as multiple underclassmen would get into the game for valuable minutes. The starting rotation would play for most of the quarter, giving way to the junior varsity squad with approximately three minutes remaining as the game was well in hand.
For Glunt, the win was just as important as getting the younger players some playing time. With the regular season over, even with a 5-17 record, the Bison were still looking at having a playoff run within District IX. With playoffs slated to begin in just over a week, playing time became critical with a long layoff.
“This is big for us, especially getting to have all our kids play on varsity, and for us to have success despite the struggles and learning we’ve experienced this season, it’s enormous,” Glunt said. “Curwensville is a very good team, well coached, and they are going to do some damage in the playoffs, and no doubt they are going to be dangerous when they get there. Being able to come out with a win, that is enormous for us.
“We’ve got a long layoff; it’s looking like we are playing next Friday. So, between then and now, we’ve got some scrimmages coming up here, and looking forward to playing against some other teams. We are excited for this.”
Clearfield is looking at starting their playoff run tentatively next Friday, February 23. Time, opponent, and location will be announced at a later time.
Meanwhile, Curwensville (10-11) is hoping to finish the year at the .500-mark as their final game in the regular season is Thursday night, on the road, against Bucktail. The Bucks and Tide first faced off on December 22, a game where Curwensville took a 68-52 victory in Patton Hall.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Curwensville 10 5 7 10 – 32
Clearfield 17 19 26 3 – 65
Curwensville – 32
Tristan Best 1 0-0 3, Evan McCartney 0 0-0 0, Grant Swanson 2 3-4 8, Davis Fleming 3 2-6 8, Chandler English 1 0-0 2, Braden Holland 0 0-0 0, Dante Lezzer 0 0-0 0, Hunter Tkacik 0 0-0 0, Parker Wood 4 3-6 11, Ethan Siegal 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 11 8-16 32.
Clearfield – 65
Parker Collins 2 2-3 6, Evett Maines 4 0-0 11, Braison Patrick 10 2-2 27, Anthony Lopez 5 0-0 14, Braylen Way 2 0-0 4, Cooper Broad 0 0-0 0, Kai Lynch 0 0-0 0, Jake Rumfola 0 0-0 0, Noah Rumfola 0 0-0 0, O’Brian Owens 0 0-0 0, Carter Kasken 0 0-0 0, Landyn Lanager 1 0-0 3, Luke Dixon 0 0-0 0, Tanner Kasken 0 0-0 0, Mailyn Shipley 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 24 4-4 65.
GAME STATISTICS
Curwensville/Clearfield
- Shooting: 11-43/24-59
- Rebounds: 19/33
- Fouls: 4/19
- Turnovers: 10/8
- Three-Point Shots: Best, Swanson/Maines-3, Patrick-5, Lopez-4, Lanager
- Technical Foul: Fleming
