CLARION, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Jack Callen again played the hero for the Clarion-Limestone boys basketball team, hitting a layup and two free throws over the final 26 seconds to help the Lions claim the Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference championship with a 51-46 victory over Karns City at Tippin Gym on Saturday night.
(Pictured above, Clarion-Limestone celebrates its KSAC championship/photos by Dave Cyphert of ProPoint Media Photography)
Taite Beighley made a pair of free throws with 51 seconds left to pull the Gremlins to within one point at 47-46. However, Callen scored with 26.3 second left and then grabbed a defensive rebounds and was fouled with eight seconds remaining.
Callen went to the line and calmly sank both free throws to put C-L up by the final score.
Clarion-Limestone Area High School sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Redbank Chevrolet and DuBrook.
Alex Painter, who was the ExploreClarion KSAC Hager Paving Player of the Game, scored 17 points for the Lions.
Jordan Hesdon scored 12 points and Callen chipped in 11 points, eight rebounds and four steals.
Painter also had five boards.
Beighley and Micah Rupp each scored 15 points to lead Karns City.
C-L scored the first six points of the contest before Rupp got the Gremlins on the board with a 3-pointer. A pair of Hesdon baskets, sandwiched around a bucket Shane Peters, put the Lions ahead 10-5.
(Clarion-Limestone’s Alex Painter was named the ExploreClarion KSAC Hager Paving Player of the Game)
The lead remained at five at 13-8 after the first quarter.
Clarion-Limestone moved ahead 16-9 early in the second quarter before Karns City closed the gap to one at 16-15 with a 6-0 run.
Painter hit two of his three 3-pointers, while Logan Lutz added a basket in a quarter-ending 8-4 stretch to give the Lions a 23-19 halftime lead.
Karns City grabbed its first lead of the game with 4:29 to play in the third quarter at 31-30. Rupp added a basket to push the advantage to 33-30.
But Hesdon made 5-of-6 free throws to close the quarter to draw C-L even at 35-35 after three.
The Lions erupted with a 7-0 run to start the fourth quarter to push out to a 42-35 lead.
Karns City answered with a 9-1 run of its own to take a 44-43 lead with 3:22 remaining.
That was the Gremlins’ last lead of the game.
Painter got the lead back for C-L with a basket to put the Lions up 45-44. Jack Craig also added a pair of free throws for a 47-44 advantage with 1:21 to play and C-L was able to hold on for the KSAC title.
“We should be getting Jase (Ferguson) back on Monday, which would help us kind of get back to our normal rotation,” said Clarion-Limestone coach Joe Ferguson. “Winning the KSAC is a big accomplishment for these kids and I’m so proud of them and hopefully we can continue to play well in the D9 playoffs.”
Clarion-Limestone Area High School sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Redbank Chevrolet and DuBrook.
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