MARTINSBURG — Superb defense was the key for the Clearfield Area High School boys basketball team in a 44-25 Mountain League victory over homestanding Central Thursday night.
The Bison limited the Scarlet Dragons to six or fewer points in three quarters of the makeup game, surrendering only 11 field goals.
Will Myers scored 16 points and Cody Spaid added 10, all in the second half, as the once-beaten Bison stretched their second winning streak of the season to four to remain tied with Tyrone atop the league at 7-1.
Clearfield, which had slipped past Central 54-50 on Dec. 9, turned a 16-10 halftime advantage into a 14-point cushion with 17 points in the third period en route to their 14th win, which is the most since the 2008-09 team posted a 22-3 record.
“To hold that team to 25 points was a great team effort,” coach Nate Glunt said.
He cited the play of play of Myers and Dave McKenzie against the Scarlet Dragons’ backcourt duo of Alex Lafferty and Brenden Vollkommer, respectively.
“Our game plan was to stop them,” he explained. “They are excellent guards. They’re quick and they can shoot.
“We had excellent pressure on the ball, and our help defense was excellent, too.”
Cullen Gahagan led Central (6-6, 1-6 ML) with 13 points.
The Bison are right back in action Friday with a home game against Huntingdon.
Caleb Strouse netted 18 points for the Clearfield junior varsity, but Central’s underclassmen prevailed 49-44.
Mountain League — Clearfield 7-1, Tyrone 7-1, Penns Valley 6-2, Huntingdon 5-3, Bald Eagle Area 4-4, Bellefonte 1-6, Central 1-6, Philipsburg-Osceola 0-8.
CLEARFIELD — 44
Erik Sellers 1 5-6 7, Will Myers 5 4-5 16, Cody Spaid 5 0-0 10, Tommy Hazel 4 0-1 8, Dave McKenzie 1 0-0 2, Evan Brown 0 1-2 1, Caleb Strouse 0 0-0 0, Carter Wood 0 0-0 0, Mason Royer 0 0-0 0, Reese Wilson 0 0-0 0, Micah Heichel 0 0-0 0, Mason Royer . TOTALS: 16 10-14 44.
CENTRAL — 25
Alex Lafferty 1 1-2 4, Brenden Vollkommer 0 0-0 0, Eric Ayers 0 0-0 0, Cullen Gahagan 6 1-2 13, Colton Kensinger 2 0-0 4, Justin Helsel 0 0-0 0, Jacob Muthler 1 0-0 2, Joshua McKnight 1 0-0 2, Kyle Dodson 0 0-0 0, Benton, Dylan Appleman 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 11 2-4 25.
Three-Point Field Goals – Clearfield 2 (Myers 2); Central 1 (Lafferty).
Score by Quarters
Clearfield 12 4 17 11 – 44
Central 6 4 9 6 – 25
Bison Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 12/09 | CENTRAL | 54 – 50 | 1 – 0 |
| 12/12 | @ Huntingdon | 73 – 64 | 2 – 0 |
| 12/15 | @ Curwensville | 71 – 40 | 3 – 0 |
| 12/17 | @ Bellefonte | 53 – 31 | 4 – 0 |
| 12/19 | TYRONE | 79 – 61 | 5 – 0 |
| 12/22 | PUNXSUTAWNEY | 57 – 47 | 6 – 0 |
| 12/29&30 | Purchase Line Tourney | ||
| 12/29 | vs. Purchase Line | 67 – 42 | 7 – 0 |
| 12/30 | vs. Bald Eagle Area | 77 – 72 | 8 – 0 |
| 01/06 | @ Bald Eagle Area | 79 – 56 | 9 – 0 |
| 01/07 | @ Brookville | 53 – 45 | 10 – 0 |
| 01/09 | PENNS VALLEY | ppd. | 10 – 0 |
| 01/12 | PENNS VALLEY | 49 – 61 | 10 – 1 |
| 01/14 | @ Philipsburg-Osceola | 64 – 27 | 11 – 1 |
| 01/16 | @ St. Marys | 66 – 62 | 12 – 1 |
| 01/19 | @ DuBois | 53 – 49 | 13 – 1 |
| 01/21 | @ Central | ppd. | 13 – 1 |
| 01/22 | @ Central | 44 – 25 | 14 – 1 |
| 01/23 | HUNTINGDON | ||
| 01/28 | BELLEFONTE | ||
| 01/30 | @ Tyrone | ||
| 02/03 | BALD EAGLE AREA | ||
| 02/06 | @ Penns Valley | ||
| 02/09 | CURWENSVILLE | ||
| 02/11 | PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA |
