Jonathan Smith had 20 points and 17 rebounds to lead Clarion past C-L.
CLARION 70, CLARION-LIMESTONE 63
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STRATTANVILLE, Pa. – Behind 20 points and 17 rebounds from Jonathan Smith, Clarion upset Clarion-Limestone, 70-63, and in the process sent the District 9 Class A boys’ playoff seedings into chaos.
A C-L win would have given the Lions (20-2 overall, 15-1 KSAC North) the No. 2 seed in the District 9 bracket while sending Clarion to the eighth seed. But with the Bobcats (16-6, 13-3) coming out on top, the District 9 Committee is going to need to go to tiebreakers all over the place.
C-L is now in a three-way tie for seeds two through four with Coudersport and Ridgway. A quick glance at the tiebreakers would appear to give Ridgway the No. 2 seed with a need for a coin toss to decide the third and fourth seeds.
Clarion, meanwhile, is now tied with Oswayo Valley and Union for the fifth through seventh seeds. Again, a quick glance at the tiebreakers would appear to give Union the fifth spot, Clarion the sixth and Oswayo the seventh. But determinations in both cases will be made over the weekend by District 9.
On Wednesday, Clarion used an 11-0 second-quarter run to erase a five-point deficit and take a 33-28 halftime lead. The Bobcats then never trailed in the second half, although C-L got as close as three, 62-59, with just under a minute to play.
Ceventh Lynch-Skunda added 15 points and five rebounds for Clarion with Bo Miller chipping in 10 points, four rebounds and three steals. Ty Burford added eight points and nine rebounds.
Dan Callen just missed a triple-double for C-L finishing with 18 points, nine rebounds and nine blocked shots.
Noah Rankin led all scorers with 22 points while adding six rebounds and four assists.
C-L took 26 more shots than Clarion (74 to 48) and turned the Bobcats over 24 times. But C-L settled for outside shots going 5 of 25 from 3-point range, while Clarion drove to the basket and got the foul line 32 times, making 23. C-L was just 4 of 7 from the line.
BROOKVILLE 70, DUBOIS 59
BROOKVILLE, Pa. – Jimmy Moore exploded for 31 points and eight rebounds to lead Brookville to a 70-59 win over visiting DuBois in the D9 League finale for both teams.
Kurt Schindler added 16 points, five rebounds and five steals for the Raiders (8-14, 2-8 D9 League), who have won three in a row and four of five heading into the District 9 Class AA playoffs.
Nick LaBrasca had 16 points and nine rebounds for DuBois (10-12, 2-8), who finished the regular season dropping seven of eight.
ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC 55, BRADFORD 32
ST. MARYS, Pa. – Kyle Huff tickled the twine for a game-high 23 points, as Elk County Catholic finished the regular season unbeaten for the first time since winning the PIAA Class A state title in 2006 with a 55-32 win over visiting Bradford in D9 League play.
Nate DaCanal added nine points for the Crusaders (22-0, 10-0 D9 League) with Dan Stauffer chipping in seven tallies.
John Eakin paced Bradford (10-11, 5-4) with 10 points
ST. MARYS 64, PUNXSUTAWNEY 54
ST. MARYS, Pa. – Brady Bauer scored 17 points to lead St. Marys past visiting Punxsutawney, 64-54, in D9 League action.
Matt Marconi added 14 points for the Dutch (14-8, 6-4 D9 League).
Devin Kelly paced Punxsutawney (13-8, 4-5) with 15 points. Ethan Riley added 14 and Brandon Matthews 12.
CRANBERRY 64, VENANGO CATHOLIC 53
OIL CITY, Pa. – Evan Lutz led a trio of Cranberry players in double figures with 18 points, as the Berries closed out the regular season with a 64-53 win at Venango Catholic.
Brendan Zerbe added 11 points for Cranberry (14-8, 12-4 KSAC North) with Nick Varsek chipping in 10.
Brady Kingston closed out a terrific career for Venango Catholic with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Tim Wagner added 11 points for the Vikings (6-16, 5-11).
UNION 67, MONITEAU 63
RIMERSBURG, Pa. – Cole Morris scored 21 points, dished out eight assists and grabbed seven rebounds, as Union rallied past upset-minded Moniteau for a 67-63 KSAC South victory.
The KSAC South champion Golden Knights (16-6 overall, 12-4 KSAC South) trailed the visiting Warriors (6-16, 6-10), 31-24 at halftime but took a 45-42 lead after three quarters.
Lucas Bowser added 15 points and 10 rebounds for Union with Gavin Hawk chipping in 15 points and Hank Murphy eight points and 11 rebounds.
Aaron Marterella and Derek Boben led Moniteau with 14 points each. Lake Pry added 13, JJ Waid 12 and Jake Jewart 10.
KEYSTONE 57, A-C VALLEY 22
FOXBURG, Pa. – Austin Ion scored 17 points to help Keystone secure a .500 regular season and with it a District 9 Class AA playoff berth with a 57-22 road win at A-C Valley in KSAC South action.
Mason Rearick added nine points for the Panthers (11-11, 9-7 KSAC South), who had nine different players score.
Austin Heeter led A-C Valley (5-16, 2-14) with 11 points.
REDBANK VALLEY 61, KARNS CITY 56
NEW BETHLEHEM, Pa. – On Senior Night, senior Sam Heeter exploded for 27 points to lead Redbank Valley to a 61-56 win over visiting Karns City.
Fellow senior Dalton Dougherty had a triple-double with 14 points, 14 rebounds and 10 blocked shots, and Kalen Reed added 11 points for the Bulldogs (8-14, 7-9 KSAC South).
Reese Barger led Karns City (10-11, 8-8) with 15 points. Jimmy Thompson added seven points and 10 rebounds with Chandler Turner contributing six points and 10 boards.
Despite the loss putting them a game under .500, Karns City head coach Chris Bellis said a decision was made by school administrators to allow the team to go to the District 9 Class AA playoffs.
NORTH CLARION 66, FOREST AREA 39
MARIENVILLE, Pa. – Nathan Banner scored a career-high 23 points, as North Clarion went on the road and closed out its season with a 66-39 win over Forest Area at East Forest.
Zayn Hargenrader and Griffin Schmader both added 10 points for the Wolves (9-13, 7-9 KSAC North).
Seth Berlin paced Forest Area with 17 points and eight rebounds. Andrew Schwab added eight points with Cody Slater grabbing 11 rebounds for the Fires (2-19, 0-16), who close out their season by traveling to Tidioute Charter Thursday.
DUBOIS CENTRAL CATHOLIC 60, HARMONY 59
WESTOVER, Pa. – Christian LaParne hit a crucial free throw with four seconds to play to put DuBois Central Catholic up four, and the Cardinals escaped Harmony with a 60-59 win.
Joey Varischetti led DCC with 27 points, while LaParne added 20.
KANE 57, EISENHOWER 43
KANE, Pa. – Behind 23 points and 14 rebounds from Andrew Bucheit, Kane closed out its regular season with a 57-43 win over visiting Eisenhower.
Shane Rolick added 13 points for the Wolves (12-10), while Chris Udovich chipped in 11.
