ST. MARYS — For six consecutive years, the Clearfield Bison basketball squad has taken home the trophy in District IX competition. However, the five years prior, their hopes of going deep in the state playoffs were dashed in the opening round, ending their season quickly, and sometimes in stunning fashion. The Bison came into the 2020 PIAA Playoffs as the top seed from District IX, and found themselves looking across the court inside the St. Marys High School at a very tough Belle Vernon Leopard squad that came in as the No. 2 team from District VII.
Clearfield got off to a slow start, falling behind early in the first quarter. However, the Bison never backed down and made a game of it through the remaining three quarters. Try as they might, they made it as close as it could be, but the Leopards held on in a 65-60 thriller that left both sides of the gymnasium exhausted, a little sad, and at times very frustrated.
“The ones (baskets) that usually go in for us didn’t go in during that first quarter,” head coach Nate Glunt said afterwards. “But give our kids credit that they came back and made those shots. I’ve watched this team play a lot of games, and when the other team didn’t get those shots, we got them.”
Glunt’s note of the first quarter was certainly evident as Clearfield was stale in the opening frame, finishing the first quarter just 4-for-14 from the floor, and only 1-for-4 at the charity stripe. Meanwhile, the Leopards were able to penetrate and get out to a quick lead, finishing the first quarter with a healthy 25-10 advantage.
Clearfield began chewing away in the second frame, as they tried to hone in the Leopards on the perimeter. Their focus on the night was against Devin Whitlock, the backbone of Belle Vernon’s offense, and kept him in check extremely well throughout. Despite finishing with a team-high 16 points, he was held to just five in the first half.
“We wanted to contain him. Give Matt Pallo, and the rest of the team, credit since we had to contain him, and then box out,” Glunt said. “In the second half, we didn’t give him any second-chance opportunities.
“But he’s so quick if you over extend your pressure, and we did a few times when we were down, he’s going to win. But we did not quit.”
Clearfield kept it close in the second quarter, but went into the locker room following a Jake Haney buzzer-beating trey looking at a 39-28 deficit.
Yet, despite that deficit, something came out in the Bison once they took to the court for the final 16 minutes of play. A quick turnover in the third quarter began an improbable run for Clearfield, as what was an 11-point advantage suddenly became just five. The Leopards were getting good looks, but when the ball wasn’t going in, Clearfield pulled down the rebound and turned it into points. The Bison at one point went on a 13-4 run, and finished the third quarter 6-for-9 on the floor, and entered the final frame just down by seven.
The second half for both squads became a bit on the physical, emotional, and even irate side of sports as both squads were trading fouls, and at certain moments both sides were jawing with one another.
At one point, both squads were handed technical fouls that offset despite each getting an unobstructed opportunity at the free throw line. However, the physical play only increased the fourth quarter drama that was about to come.
Despite having Andrew Lopez unavailable due to five fouls, the team came together and rallied around Karson Rumsky and Cade Walker, who each were making shot after shot, as they combined for 15 points in the final frame. Rumsky led all scoring on the night with 20 points, and also led in rebounds with nine. Walker’s night finished with 18 points and seven boards, plus three assists and a steal.
As the game wore on in the final two minutes, Clearfield’s pressure increased and it led to turnovers, and more opportunities at free points. Clearfield worked their way to being down by five, when suddenly an open look by Cole Miller at the wing fueled the Bison crowd when his three-pointer met the net. A late free throw by Ryan Gearhart, which came on the duel technical fouls, put Clearfield to within one with just over 20 seconds remaining. On the opposite end, Thomas Hepple missed both of his foul shots, but with the Leopards getting the possession, it all came down to defense, and opportunity.
Both squads went after the ball, but a quick shot by Mitch Puhlot put the Bison down by three.
It wasn’t until the last possession for Clearfield where things were a bit flustered as the Leopards took a turnover from the Bison down to the opposing basket, and despite Whitlock’s layup missing, Hepple came in from behind with a near dunk that got the crowd riled up, but for different reasons. Belle Vernon’s faithful was ecstatic as the bucket almost meant a sure victory, but officials whistled the play after the ball went in the net. With the 63-60 score on the board, the discussion was whether the ball was already going in the net, and if Hepple had made an illegal basket.
After a conference, the bucket was counted, and the Leopards watched as Clearfield took the inbound down the court for a last saving grace shot, but Rumsky’s launch at the right wing bounced off the rim. The final buzzer ended the game, and the Bison season.
“It was a total team effort. RG (Gearhart) coming in and getting the steal, Karson and Cade playing so well, Cole doing what he does, just an all-around team effort,” Glunt said. “More than anything I give credit to the kids that didn’t get to play a lot, but are so important.
“We call them the red squad and they really prepared us for this game. If you watch this team (Belle Vernon) play, they create so many turnovers. We didn’t turnover in their press, we had one that was a trap; our red squad got us ready for this game.”
The Leopards finished with four players in double figures, as Hepple (13), Haney (12) and Puhlot (10) all added in key points. Hepple finished with a team-high nine rebounds.
Belle Vernon moves into the second round of the PIAA state playoffs in 4A, while Clearfield’s 2019-2020 season comes to a close with a final record of 15-9.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Belle Vernon  25  14  9  17 – 65
Clearfield  10  18  13  19 – 60
Belle Vernon – 65
Hartman 1 2-4 5, Ruokohen 0 0-0 0, Whitlock 7 2-4 16, Haney 4 0-0 12, Puhlot 4 1-2 9, Gordon 3 2-3 10, Hepple 7 1-5 13, Callaway 0 0-0 0, Ty. Kovatch 0 0-0 0, Shernisky 0 0-0 0, To. Kovatch 0 0-0 0, Sterner 0 0-0 0, Klancher 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 26 8-20 65.
Clearfield – 60
Pallo 4 0-0 8, Walker 7 4-6 18, Rumsky 7 2-2 20, Lopez 2 0-0 5, Peacock 0 0-0 0, Winters 0 0-0 0, Mille 2 2-2 8, Ryan 0 0-0 0, Hudson 0 0-0 0, Gearhart 0 1-2 1, Billotte 0 0-0 0, Parkett 0 0-0 0, Thompson 0 0-0 0, Way 0 0-0 0, Greslick 0 0-0 0, O’Dell 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 22 9-12 60.
GAME STATISTICS
Belle Vernon/Clearfield
Shooting:Â 26-63/22-45
Rebounds:Â 34/31
Fouls:Â 19/21
Turnovers:Â 13/11
Three-Point Shoots:Â Hartman, Haney-4, Gordon-2/Rumsky-4, Lopez, Miller-2
Foul Out:Â Lopez
Technical Foul:Â Whitlock/Ryan
Final Bison Scoreboard:
Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
12/06 | @ Curwensville | 82 – 31 | 1 – 0 |
12/10 | @ Bald Eagle Area | 56 – 38 | 2 – 0 |
12/13 | @ Huntingdon | 48 – 67 | 2 – 1 |
12/16 | @ Punxsutawney | ppd. | 2 – 1 |
12/18 | PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA | 55 – 32 | 3 – 1 |
12/20 | @ Tyrone | 60 – 90 | 3 – 2 |
12/27 | @ Purchase Line Christmas Tourney | ||
12/27 | vs. Purchase Line | 63 – 54 | 4 – 2 |
12/28 | vs. Ligonier Valley | 63 – 69 | 4 – 3 |
01/03 | OTTO-ELDRED | 65 – 40 | 5 – 3 |
01/07 | PENNS VALLEY | 50 – 38 | 6 – 3 |
01/10 | @ Central | 43 – 51 ot | 6 – 4 |
01/15 | BELLEFONTE | 58 – 51 | 7 – 4 |
01/17 | BALD EAGLE AREA | 59 – 42 | 8 – 4 |
01/20 | DUBOIS | 58 – 70 | 8 – 5 |
01/21 | HUNTINGDON | 56 – 72 | 8 – 6 |
01/24 | @ Philipsburg-Osceola | 49 – 45 ot | 9 – 6 |
01/29 | TYRONE | 49 – 67 | 9 – 7 |
01/31 | @ Penns Valley | 29 – 38 | 9 – 8 |
02/03 | @ West Branch | 63 – 37 | 10 – 8 |
02/04 | CENTRAL | 52 – 47 | 11 – 8 |
02/07 | @ Bellefonte | ppd. | 11 – 8 |
02/08 | @ Bellefonte | 59 – 57 | 12 – 8 |
02/10 | @ Punxsutawney | 66 – 35 | 13 – 8 |
02/13 | CURWENSVILLE | 80 – 17 | 14 – 8 |
02/27 | District 9 Playoffs | ||
02/27 | vs. Bradford @ Clarion | 51 – 40 | 15 – 8 |
03/06 | PIAA AAAA Playoffs | ||
03/06 | vs. Belle Vernon @ St. Marys | 60 – 65 | 15 – 9 |