Bison Cagers Overwhelm West Branch to Remain Unbeaten

MORRISDALE — It took one dunk to set the tone Thursday night for the Clearfield Bison on the hardwood. Mere moments after the tip, one pass to Tanner Kaskan and one jam later, the Bison were in control. On the road against the West Branch Warriors, it was a fast-paced, high energy, and scoring sensation across the board, that led to a decisive 81-42 victory.

“There’s no forcing something to happen with this team. They are playing so unselfishly on both sides of the ball, and just continue to build each other up,” Bison head coach Nate Glunt said afterwards. “West Branch came in ready to play, but we played with them over the summer and you can tell they were coming in ready.”

That dunk by Kaskan launched Clearfield into a run that could not be touched. Bucket after bucket, turnovers being forced, defensive rebounds and offensive putbacks…they all happened. The Bison would roll out to a 21-0 lead before West Branch finally got on the board thanks to a three by Dylan McGonigal. One quarter in and the Bison were holding a 30-11 lead.

It was more of the same in the second quarter, with Clearfield forcing nine turnovers, and seeing seven players earn points.

Braison Patrick earned all his scoring in the quarter, one of three players to ultimately make double digits, as he put up 11 points. Clearfield added another 32 points to take a 62-16 lead into halftime, and forcing a running clock for the remainder of the night.

Evett Maines led all the scoring for the game, putting up 23 points in only three quarters as he got a much-deserved break at the end of the game. Kaskan was one rebound short of a double-double, finishing with 17 points and nine boards. Patrick also led the way in assists, accounting for five. Both he and Maines also tallied four steals on the night.

The second half had the starters in for much of the third quarter, but ultimately would yield to the underclassmen and reserves, letting them finish the contest to secure the victory in the local rivalry.

West Branch would get things going late, as their deep shots were finally falling, as McGonigal would finish with 21 points, a majority of them coming in the final quarter.

Once the game ended, Glunt acknowledged they have a lot of tough games coming up, a lot of them on the road. He then acknowledged that their biggest test is coming up in a few days, against Central.

“They are currently 8-2, and have been playing really good ball this year,” Glunt said. “Last time we were down there, they got a 40-8 lead in one quarter. I think in all my years, I’ve only ever won twice down there.

“We are going to get right back to work. Those that made the schedule gave us five road games in a row right in the heart of the season. But we’re ready for it, and it gives us a lot of home games late in the year.”

Clearfield (10-0) will travel to take on the Dragons on Monday night.

SCORE BY QUARTER

Clearfield 30 32 14 5 – 81
West Branch 11 5 5 21 – 42

Clearfield – 81

Parker Collins 3 0-0 6, Evett Maines 9 2-2 23, Braison Patrick 4 0-0 11, Elijah Glunt 2 1-2 6, Tanner Kaskan 8 1-3 17, Noah Rumfola 2 0-0 4, Easton Maines 1 2-2 4, Cooper Broad 1 0-0 3, JT Strishock 2 0-0 4, Ethan Coudriet 0 0-0 0, Demitri Vitullo 0 0-0 0, Dominic Natoli 0 0-0 0, Nolan Livergood 0 0-0 0, Avery Schneck 1 0-0 3, Zach Porter 0 0-0 0, Caleb Gibson 0 0-0 0, Nico Natoli 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 33 6-9 81.

West Branch – 42

Dylan McGonigal 8 2-2 21, Coby Kephart, Max Gibson 0 0-0 0, Evan Emigh 0 0-0 0, Caleb Hudson 4 1-1 9, Owen Gibson 1 0-0 3, Mason Reichard 2 0-0 4, Cale McDowell 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 17 3-3 42.

GAME STATISTICS
Clearfield/West Branch

• Shooting: 16-37/33-75
• Rebounds: 25/33
• Fouls: 10/10
• Turnovers: 25/12
• Three-Point Shots: McGonigal-3, Kephart, O. Gibson/Ev. Maines-3, Glunt, Patrick-3, Broad, Schneck

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	69-43	9-0
1/8 at West Branch	81-42	10-0
1/12 at Central
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.)