TAITE MODE: Beighley Has Double-Double of 32 Points and 10 Assists for Karns City in Road Win Over Redbank Valley

NEW BETHLEHEM, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Taite Mode. 

When the Karns City boys basketball team enters it, the Gremlins are nearly impossible to stop. When opponents see it happening, they know they are in trouble. 

Senior point guard Taite Beighley entered “Taite Mode” on Thursday night at Redbank Valley, scoring 11 points in the first quarter, 19 by the half and 32 in the game to lead Karns City to an 86-77 win over the Bulldogs in a game that had a frenetic pace from opening tip to final horn. 

(Pictured above, Taite Beighley)

“When Beighley took one dribble past half court, took a shot and banked it in,” said Redbank Valley coach Emmanuel Marshall, grinning, “I knew it was gonna be a long night.”

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It seemed Beighley couldn’t miss — even on off-balance shots while driving the paint, even while losing control of the ball briefly on a runner, even while launching bombs from near half court.

He also had unbridled energy and his teammates fed off it. He was quick, aggressive and laser focused.


Beighley also had 10 assists and six rebounds to go with his big scoring night in the win. 

“You know, we felt like we’ve been having a bad couple of games at the start, and we needed that energy,” Beighley said. “I got lucky on one (3-pointer), and I think I just knew was gonna be my night. Coach kept telling me keep taking it.”

Karns City coach Zach Kepple has learned that when Beighley enters that kind of zone, to just let him go. 

“When Taite is in Taite Mode, every shot is a good shot for him,” Kepple said. “He has the green light. He shot very well.”

So did the rest of the Gremlins. 

Karns City hit 10 3-pointers in the first half and 11 in the game. 

Luke Cramer connected on three 3-pointers in the first quarter as the Gremlins led 26-22 after one.

Karns City pulled away a bit in the second quarter, taking a 45-36 advantage into the locker room. That lead swelled to as many as 18 in the fourth quarter before Redbank started chipping away. 

The Bulldogs got as close as eight late but ran out of time.

“They played a great game, but I mean, we played a pretty good game, too,” Marshall said. “It was just that we couldn’t string together two, three stops at a time. We couldn’t get stops.”

That meant Redbank had to match Karns City point for point and play at that up-tempo pace. 

The Bulldogs usually thrive in that type of game. It’s a style they enjoy, but the Gremlins beat them to the punch.

That was a conscious effort by Kepple and his team. They wanted to press the issue after some recent sluggish outings. 

“We’ve played some tough games here recently with DuBois and (Punxsutawney) and the others,” Kepple said. “They’re playing fast. If you don’t play fast against those guys, you’re not going to compete. We competed in both games but didn’t get the job done. But I think those two games helped us to come in prepared for a fast- paced Redbank team.”

The Gremlins certainly mashed the gas pedal in this one. 

It was also a bit of payback after Karns City lost at home against Redbank early in the season after squandering a late lead with the dagger a buzzer beater by Kieran Fricko for the Redbank win. 

“That was in the back of our minds all season,” Kepple said. “The kids were hyped for this game.”

Beighley said he and his teammates had something to prove.

“We felt like we should have won that first game,” Beighley said. “We preach every day that we think we’re the best team in the KSAC.”

Cramer finished with 16 points, Jacob Callahan added 15 points and Shane Peters added 14 points and eight rebounds for Karns City. 

Callihan also did some things that don’t always show up in a box score to help the Gremlins win.

“He’s always the silent guy,” Kepple said. “He always ends up with more points than what you think. He’s always a guy that gets those little things done.

“Everything clicked for us tonight,” Kepple added. “Everything we did was working well.”

Marshall was happy with the way his team fought to the final buzzer, cutting that 18-point deficit to eight with less than a minute remaining.

Owen Clouse led the Bulldogs with 21 points. Breckin Minich came off the bench to socre 18, and Mason Clouse pitched in 12.

Minich scored 13 in the second half to help the Bulldogs inch closer.

“Breckin was a starter for the first seven or so games of the season,” Marshall said. “When Braylon (Wagner) got into (basketball shape), we wanted to go bigger with him. Sometimes we go small.”

Both Kepple and Marshall have a feeling they will meet again soon.

Both are in the four-team KSAC playoffs. Karns City is locked into the third seed. Redbank Valley and Clarion will play Feb. 10 to decide who holds the top seed.

The fourth seed is still up for grabs.

“It’s very likely we might see them again in the playoffs,” Kepple said.

“These types of games are great games to experience,” Marshall said. “I’m sure the fans loved it, too.”

Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.