DUBOIS, Pa. – The long-anticipated Ridgway vs. Coudersport District 9 Class 2A boys’ championship game will take place after the Elkers and Falcons both won semifinal contests Tuesday.
(Photo: Ridgway’s Neil MacDonald, who had 15 points and five rebounds in the Elkers win over Clarion).
Ridgway knocked off Clarion, 44-24, while Coudersport rallied to beat Brockway, 72-67.
RIDGWAY 44, CLARION 24
DUBOIS, Pa. – Unbeaten and top-seeded Ridgway raced out to a 17-4 lead after one quarter and never looked back on its way to a 44-24 win over Clarion at DuBois High School.
The Elkers (25-0) came out hot from the floor hitting 7 of 10 shots in the first quarter including three 3-pointers – two from Daunte Allegretto and one from Josh Thorwart – while ending the quarter on an 11-0 run.
Clarion, meanwhile, struggled to find the hoop in the opening eight minutes converting on just 1 of 7 shots from the field.
But the fifth-seeded Bobcats (17-7) hung around in the second quarter outscoring Ridgway, which decided to slow it down in the quarter taking just six shots and making one – the last one after five misses to start the quarter – 8-5 in the eight-minute frame to close within 10, 22-12, at halftime. Clarion was 4 of 5 from the field in the second quarter.
Clarion then got within nine, 24-15, on an old-school 3-pointer by Cam Craig, who had a team-best 14 points to go with five rebounds, 1:41 into the second half.
But that was as close as the Bobcats managed, as Ridgway answered with an 11-0 run that featured five points from Josh Thorwart and four from Neil MacDonald to push the lead to 35-15 late in the quarter and 35-17 at the end of the quarter.
MacDonald had a strong night for the Elkers with 15 points and five rebounds.
He talked about the win.
Thorwart and Allegretto each added eight points for Ridgway, which shot 51.7 percent (15 of 29 on the night).
No other Clarion player had more than four points, as the Bobcats were 10 of 34 on the night shooting (29.4 percent), including 5 of 22 in the second half.
Clarion’s season isn’t over. The Bobcats will take on Brockway in the consolation game at a date, time and location to be determined.
COUDERSPORT 72, BROCKWAY 67
ST. MARYS, Pa. – In a span of just under 10 seconds with just under a minute to play, Coudersport went from being down one to up three on its way to a 72-67 win over Brockway at St. Marys High School.
In a back-and-forth fourth quarter, Brockway took a 67-66 lead with just over a minute to play on an Alec Freemer 3-pointer.
But Coudersport (21-3) answered back in a flurry with Derek Keglovits putting the second-seeded Falcons up for good with a basket with just under a minute to play. Jared Green then stole the ball and was fouled. Green hit one free throw to make it 69-67 before missing the second one. But Owen Chamers grabbed the rebound and was fouled and hit both free throws to make it 71-67.
Brockway (12-13) started fast and went up 11-3 early, but Coudersport took control of the rest of the first half finishing the first quarter on a 14-3 run to take a 17-14 lead at the end of one, and the Falcons still led at halftime 31-27.
But Brockway, which stayed close thanks to 12 made 3-pointers in the contest, closed within a point, 48-47, at the end of three quarters thanks to 10 points from Carter Adams.
The game then went back-and-forth in the final eight minutes until the late flurry by Coudersport.
Owen Chambers led Coudersport with 30 points with Jared Green adding 14, Hayden Keck 12, Keglovits nine and Ricke seven.
Adams led Brockway with 18 points with Vokes adding 14, Jon Wood 12, Zane Puhala 11 and Alec Freemer nine on three 3-pointers.
Brockway’s season isn’t over, as the Rovers play Clarion in the winner-moves-one-loser-goes-home consolation game.
BOX SCORES
RIDGWAY 44, CLARION 24
Score by Quarters
Clarion 4 8 5 7 – 24
Ridgway 17 5 13 9 – 44
CLARION – 24
Spencer Miller 1 0-0 2, Drew Whren 0 0-0 0, Archer Mills 0 0-0 0, Jake Burns 1 0-0 2, Jacob Selker 0 0-0 0, Josh Craig 0 0-0 0, Skylar Rhoades 0 0-0 0, Calvin German 0 0-0 0, Gavin Brinkley 0 0-0 0, Austin Hummell 1 0-0 2, Cam Craig 5 3-3 14, Zak Bauer 0 0-0 0, Nick Frederick 2 0-0 4. Totals 10 3-3 24.
RIDGWAY – 44
Matt Dush 0 2-2 2, Chris Wickett 0 0-0 0, Aaron Hinton 0 0-0 0, Jake Reynolds 1 0-0 2, Josh Thorwart 3 0-1 8, Neil MacDonald 5 5-6 15, Daunter Allegretto 3 0-0 8, Andy Breier 1 2-2 4, Johnny Mitchell 2 1-2 5. Totals 15 10-13 44.
Three-pointers: Clarion 1 (Cam Craig). Ridgway 4 (Thorwart 2, Allegretto 2).
Rebounding: Clarion 8 offensive, 8 defensive, 16 total (Hummell 5). Ridgway 8 offensive, 16 defensive, 24 total (MacDonald 5, Mitchell 5).
COUDERSPORT 72, BROCKWAY 67
Score by Quarters
Brockway 14 13 20 20 – 67
Coudersport 17 14 17 24 – 72
BROCKWAY – 67
Zane Puhala 3 5-5 11, Josh Salada 0 0-0 0, Noah Vokes 7 0-0 14, Anthony Esposito 1 0-0 3, Carter Adams 6 2-4 18, Alec Freemer 3 0-0 9, Jon Wood 4 0-0 12, JD Wood 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 7-9 67.
COUDERSPORT – 72
Owen Chambers 9 10-11 30, Hayden Kec 5 0-0 12, Derek Keglovits 4 1-1 9, Kolby VanWhy 0 0-0 0, Jared Green 5 3-5 14, Dillion Keglovits 0 0-0 0, Hunter Ricke 3 1-2 7, Travis Gleason 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 15-19 72.
Three-pointers: Brockway 12 (Jon Wood 4, Adams 4, Freemer 3, Esposito). Coudersport 5 (Chambers 2, Keck 2, Green).
