Clearfield Rockets to Early Lead, Finishes December Unblemished

HYDE — Coming off of a solid and dominant performance one night earlier, the Clearfield Bison were eager to hit the court once again. Luckily for them, it meant no drive, as they took to the hardwood in the Bison Gymnasium for an afternoon matinee that originally was not on the schedule. However, weather meant a change was in store, and the Chestnut Ridge Lions came to town just over a week after the original slated date was snowed out.

It seems the early tip-off time was something the Bison thrived on, as it was just after 3 p.m. when the two squads tipped off, and just over an hour later the afternoon was over. A fast start, much like Monday, paid dividends, with Clearfield finishing the month of December still unbeaten, as they routed Chestnut Ridge, 87-40.

Clearfield made it clear they were ready to rock, and quickly got things going in the opening eight minutes. Led by Evett Maines and Braison Patrick, both of whom were carrying over strong performances from the evening prior, lit up the crowd in a big way. Maines drained a trio of threes, while Patrick launched into a scoring frenzy, bucketing 11 points of his own. The two combined for two-thirds of the team’s scoring in the first quarter, while the defense was swarming like bees and keeping Chestnut Ridge at bay. After one quarter, the 31-10 lead for Clearfield was plenty comfortable.

It did not stop them from continuing the same style of play in the second quarter, as they outscored the Lions, 26-11. Maines and Patrick would get their points again, with Maines finishing with a game-high 20 points. Patrick accounted for 18 on the afternoon, and Tanner Kaskan also hit double figures with 12 points of his own.

The 57-21 lead heading into the locker room made it an easy second half with the running clock, the second consecutive game, it was put in effect.

It didn’t keep Clearfield from continuing to play hard. Defensively, the Bison would limit the Lions to just two points in the third quarter, which was more than enough to let the starting rotation get another early curtain call, while letting the reserves and second-team get in more minutes in varsity action.

Chestnut Ridge had a pair in double-digit scoring, with Brody Halcovich leading the way with 15 points, and Caden Hinson accounting for 11.

The Bison also had a strong performance at the free throw line after seeing some struggles in recent games at capitalizing on free point opportunities. The squad finished 9-for-10 at the line.

Clearfield savored the victory, because after going 8-0 for the month of December, five of those wins at home, the squad is going to be on the road for the next two weeks, as the next five games will all require loading up the buses.

The run of away games will begin Monday, January 5, with a trip to Wingate to face Bald Eagle Area. Varsity tip is set for 7:15 p.m.

SCORE BY QUARTER

Chestnut Ridge 10 11 2 17 – 40
Clearfield 31 26 14 16 – 87

Chestnut Ridge – 40

Cade Emerick 0 0-2 0, Brody Halcovich 7 0-0 15, Wyatt Dishong 0 0-0 0, Caden Hinson 5 1-2 11, Brody Dull 2 0-1 4, Garrett Hubbard 0 0-0 0, Colston Miller 1 1-3 3, Jaxson Halovich 3 1-5 7. TOTALS 18 3-8 40.

Clearfield – 87

Parker Collins 3 1-1 8, Evett Maines 7 2-2 20, Braison Patrick 8 0-0 18, Elijah Glunt 3 1-1 8, Tanner Kaskan 5 2-2 12, Noah Rumfola 0 3-4 3, Easton Maines 0 0-0 0, Cooper Broad 0 0-0 0, JT Strishock 1 0-0 2, Ethan Coudriet 2 0-0 5, Demetri Vitullo 0 0-0 0, Nolan Livergood 0 0-0 0, Caleb Gibson 0 0-0 0, Avery Schneck 0 0-0 0, Zach Porter 2 0-0 4, Nico Natoli 2 0-0 5. TOTALS 33 9-10 87.

Clearfield Bison Basketball Scoreboard

DATE AND OPPONENT	SCORE	RECORD
12/2 HOLLIDAYSBURG	PPD.	0-0
12/4 HOLLIDAYSBURG	71-59	1-0
12/8 at Huntingdon	69-45	2-0
12/11 PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA	76-30	3-0
12/15 at Penns Valley	61-45	4-0
12/17 at Somerset (6:15 p.m.)	71-39	5-0
12/19 CHESTNUT RIDGE	PPD.	5-0
12/22 BELLWOOD-ANTIS	64-60	6-0
12/29 at Curwensville (6 p.m.)	56-31	7-0
12/30 CHESTNUT RIDGE	87-40	8-0
1/5 at Bald Eagle Area
1/8 at West Branch
1/12 at Central High
1/14 at Bellefonte
1/16 at Forest Hills
1/21 BISHOP GUILFOYLE
1/23 TYRONE
1/26 at Brookville (7:15 p.m.)
1/28 at Hollidaysburg
1/30 CENTRAL CAMBRIA
2/4 HUNTINGDON
2/5 at Philipsburg-Osceola
2/9 PENNS VALLEY
2/10 PUNXSUTAWNEY (7:15 p.m.)