Needing to stay alive for the fifth and final spot out of District 9 Class A in the PIAA playoffs, the Clarion boys basketball team received big games from Christian Simko and Devon Lauer.
(Above, Devon Lauer)
Simko scored 20 points and Lauer added 15 as the Bobcats pulled out a 61-52 win over Cameron County to advance to the consolation final.
Simko, Clarion’s leading scorer and one of the few holdovers from a team that won the District 9 Class A crown a season ago, was a big part of the Bobcats’ survival.
(Christian Simko)
So was the defense, especially in the second half on Cameron County star Hayden Brown.
Brown scored 21 points in the first half, but was held to just two in the final two quarters.
Camdyn Allison scored 16 for the Raiders.
Ryan Alston pitched in eight for Clarion in the win that sends the Bobcats on to a date with Johnsonburg to decide who moves on as the fifth-place team out of the district in Class A to the PIAA playoffs.
That game will be played at a site, time and day to be determined.
JOHNSONBURG 48, UNION 47 – A fourth-quarter rally led by senior point guard Caden Rainey fell just short for the Golden Knights.
Trailing by seven in the final frame, Rainey led a charge with eight of his 16 points coming in the fourth.
Johnsonburg, though, held on for the win and a date with Clarion in the consolation final.
Jake Lobaugh led the Rams with 15 points. Isaiah Jackson pitched in 13.
Zander Laughlin scored 10 points for Union.
