Brockway, C-L Move into D9 2A Boys’ Semifinals

CLARION, Pa. – A very physical Brockway squad outscored Keystone 18-4 in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 46-28 win over the higher-seeded Panthers in the District 9 Class 2A quarterfinals Wednesday night at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym.

Cover photo of Jarrett Esposito of Brockway

In a game that featured poor shooting by both squads most of the night, Brockway got hot when it counted the most hitting on 5 of 6 fourth-quarter shots after entering the frame up four, 28-24.

Prior to the fourth quarter, the sixth-seeded Rovers (15-9) were just 10 of 33 (30.3 percent) from the floor and even with the hot fourth quarter finished at 38.5 percent (15 of 39) on the night.

But that was good enough because third-seeded Keystone (19-5) was worse. The Panthers were just 10 of 36 (27.7 percent) shooting and turned the ball over 16 times.

See additional District 9 playoff scores and recaps from Feb. 22

“We missed some pretty critical layups,” Keystone head coach Greg Heath said. “They were point-blank shots that didn’t go for us. It was just a bad night to not be clicking on the offensive end, and we certainly were not.”

Despite the offensive woes, Keystone was right in the game through three quarters because of its defense.

The Panthers trailed by just one, 15-14, at halftime despite going 1 of 5 from the floor in the second quarter and scoring just three second-quarter points.

But Brockway was no better connecting on 1 of 8 in the quarter and also netting three tallies, none in the final 5:15 of the first half.

The Rovers started to pick things up in the later half of the third quarter after Keystone grabbed a 20-19 lead on an Austin Ion basket, Ion’s only points of the game.

Jake Wineberg started a 9-4 run with a baseline drive with 4:49 left in the third and then gave the Rovers the lead for good, 26-24, on a 3-pointer with 2:39 left in the quarter.

Wineberg continued his hot streak in the fourth quarter scoring five of Brockway’s first seven points of the frame to help the Rovers go on an 11-2 run in the first 5:50 of the quarter to put the contest away.

Wineberg, who scored all 11 of his points after halftime, talked about the victory.

Jarrett Esposito also played a large role in the victory netting a solid double-double with 14 points and 17 rebounds including 10 offensive boards. Esposito was a man on a mission in the first quarter with eight points and eight rebounds with six offensive rebounds and seven second-chance points in the quarter. His desperation three from the far left corner in front of the Keystone students at the horn gave Brockway a 12-11 lead at the end of the quarter.

“He is a presence,” Heath said. “He is a big, strapping lad. He is tough down there.

“They are physical. There is no doubt about that. They’re big, and I don’t just mean tall. They are physically strong, and they are athletic. They use that to their advantage. They are tough. That’s a tough team.”

Carter Adams chipped in 10 points for Brockway, while Tanner Wilson paced Keystone with 14, including eight in the first quarter. Nate Wingard had 10 points for the Panthers.

Brockway faces second-seeded Ridgway in the semifinals at a date, time and location to be determined.

“It was a great season, I thought,” Heath said. “I am real happy. I just told them that. I couldn’t have asked for any more from a group of kids. They worked hard. Even tonight. It didn’t go our way, but they never quit working. They worked hard as any team I have ever coached. I am just honored to have been able to coach them.”

BROCKWAY 46, KEYSTONE 28

Score by Quarters

Brockway 12 3 13 18 – 46
Keystone 11 3 10 4 – 28

BROCKWAY – 46

Jarrett Esposito 6 1-2 14, Zane Puhala 0 1-2 1, Hunter Miller 1 0-0 2, Quade Lundberg 0 3-4 3, Carter Adams 3 3-5 10, Jake Wineberg 4 1-2 11, Quenton Jackson 1 3-4 5, Hunter Antonuccio 0 0-0 0, Noah Vokes 0 0-0 0, Tim Brosky 0 0-0 0, Jesse Johnson 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 12-19 46.

KEYSTONE – 28

Corey Rapp 0 0-1 0, Dalton Jones 0 0-0 0, Austin Ion 1 0-0 2, Nate Wingard 4 2-3 10, Ian Henry 1 0-0 2, Tanner Wilson 4 4-6 14, Brooks LaVan 0 0-0 0, Luke Hurrelbrink 0 0-0 0, Isaak Jones 0 0-0 0, Kobe Cochran 0 0-1 0, Conner Exley 0 0-0 0, Max Thompson 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 6-11 28.

Three-pointers: Brockway 4 (Wineberg 2, Esposito, Adams). Keystone 2 (Wilson 2).

Rebounding Leaders: Brockway 33 total rebounds (Esposito 1). Keystone 22 totals rebounds (Rapp 7).

CLARION-LIMESTONE 64, CLARION 45

CLARION, Pa. – It didn’t take Clarion-Limestone long to put behind it the disappoint of last week when the Lions lost to rival Clarion in the regular-season finale and then to Keystone in the KSAC Championship game.

A 10-2 run to close out the first quarter helped the Lions get revenge on their neighborhood rival Bobcats with a 64-45 win over Clarion in the District 9 Class 2A quarterfinals Wednesday night at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym.

Two Dan Callen offensive putbacks helped fuel the opening-quarter run that put the Lions ahead for good, 16-9, by the end of the quarter, a lead that grew to 28-19 by halftime.

Clarion never had an answer to C-L’s inside game or for Callen, who finished with 23 points and 14 rebounds including seven offensive boards which helped the senior score 10 second-chance points.

Callen, who also scored the Lions (18-6) first eight points of the second half to grow the lead to 36-23 midway through the third quarter, talked about the victory.

Sam Leadbetter also had a strong first quarter for C-L scoring six first-quarter points while finishing with 12 points and seven rebounds, while Ian Callen was solid in the second half scoring eight of his 13 points after halftime while also collecting nine rebounds.

After Clarion (16-7) took a 7-6 lead near the midway point of the first quarter, Leadbetter gave the Lions the lead for good with 4:22 to play before back-to-back offensive putbacks by Dan Callen made it 12-7.

The lead then reached double digits for the first time just over three minutes into the second quarter on an old-school 3-point play by Ian Callen, the only kind of 3-point plays the Lions connected on during the game. After head coach Joe Ferguson said in his pregame interview that he wanted his team to rely less on the long-range shot, C-L obliged their coach and didn’t hit a single three in the game and only attempted one, a late fourth-quarter triple attempt by Christian Smith, who finished with eight points.

Clarion, meanwhile, never could find a rhythm on offense shooting 19 of 63 (30.2 percent) for the game including 2 of 12 from 3-point range. The Bobcats also turned the ball over 16 times. Clarion was also 5 of 13 from the free-throw line.

Cam Craig paced Clarion with 12 points with Ty Burford adding eight points and eight rebounds. Spencer Miller and Reed Anthony each chipped in nine points.

C-L, the fourth seed, takes on top-seeded Coudersport in the semifinals at a time, site and date to be determined.

CLARION-LIMESTONE 64, CLARION 45

Score by Quarters

Clarion 9 10 12 14 – 45
C-L 16 12 14 22 – 64

CLARION – 45

Ryan Anthony 0 1-2 1, Spencer Miller 4 1-2 9, Ty Burford 3 2-5 8, Reed Anthony 4 0-0 9, Cam Craigh 5 1-2 12, Austin Hummell 2 0-0 4, Ceventh Lynch-Skunda 1 0-2 2, Zak Bauer 0 0-0 0, Gavin Brinkley 0 0-0 0, Victory Stahlman 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 5-13 45.

CLARION-LIMESTONE – 64

Julian Laugand 1 0-0 2, Sam Leadbetter 5 2-2 12, Dan Calle 11 1-3 23, Christian Smith 3 2-5 8, Ian Callen 5 3-3 13, Mac Park 0 0-0 0, Chris Callen-Deal 3 0-1 6, Deion Deas 0 0-0 0, Noah Port 0 0-0 0. Totals 28 8-14 64.

Three-pointers: Clarion 2 (Reed Anthony, Craig).

Rebounding Leaders: Clarion 34 total rebounds (Hummell 9, Burford 8). Clarion-Limestone 42 total rebounds (Dan Callen 14, Ian Callen 9, Leadbetter 7).