CLARION, Pa. – Clarion built a 12-point third-quarter lead before holding off visiting Karns City, 47-43, in a key mid-season KSAC matchup.
The Bobcats (10-3 overall, 5-0 KSAC) led 32-20 midway through the third quarter, but Karns City (8-4, 4-2) went on a 16-5 run that went into the fourth quarter to get within one, 37-36, with just over five minutes to play.
The game was still being decided by a point, 41-40, with around two minutes left, but Clarion went 4 of 4 from the line – two from Devon Lauer and two from Gabe Simko – down the stretch to push the lead to seven before a KC 3-pointer just before the horn set the final score.
Lauer led Clarion with a game-high 19 points with Dawson Smail chipping in 10 tallies.
Hobie Bartoe had 11 points while hitting three 3-pointers for Karns City with Jacob Callihan adding nine points and Taite Beighley seven.
The Bobcats built an 11-point halftime lead, 29-18 on the strength of a 19-point second quarter that saw Lauer score 12 of his 19 points.
With the win, Clarion moved into a first-place tie in the KSAC with Redbank Valley, whose game at Venango Catholic was postponed. The Bobcats are now two games up in the loss column on Karns City which dropped into fourth place in the conference after Union’s win over Moniteau pushed the Golden Knights into second. The top four make the KSAC playoffs in mid-February.
OIL CITY 42, PUNXSUTAWNEY 35
PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. – Hitting four of six free throws in the final 50 seconds, visiting Oil City was able to hold off Punxsutawney, 42-35.
The Oilers (9-3) led by 12, 38-26, early in the fourth quarter after using an 11-4 run that included a third-quarter-ending 7-2 spurt.
But Punxsutawney (7-5) answered with a 9-0 run that ended with back-to-back Zach Presloid steals and assists.
The first steal, on an Oil City inbounds play under the Chucks’ hoop, led to a Beau Thomas layup with 1:59 to go that made it 38-33.
The second came with Punxsutawney trapping in the forecourt with Presloid then feeding Noah Kengersky for a fastbreak layup that made it 38-35 with 1:24 left.
But Sayyid Donald hit 2 of 4 free throws (1 of 2 at 49.7 and 1 of 2 at 27.1) to expand the lead to five, 40-35, and then Will McMahon hit a pair of charity shots with 14.1 seconds left to set the final score.
Oil City trailed 11-8 at the end of the first quarter when then outscored Punxsutawney 19-9 in the second quarter with seven different players scoring in the quarter to take a 27-20 halftime lead.
Donal led a balanced Oiler attack with 11 points while Colin Liederbach hit a pair of 3-pointers and finished with eight points. Ethen Knox chipped in seven.
Kengersky had a game-high 16 points for Punxsutawney while hitting four 3-pointers. He was the only Chuck with more than five points.
FARRELL 65, MERCER 62
FARRELL, Pa. – JuJu Phillips scored 17 points as Farrell was able to hold off Mercer in a non-region showdown, 65-62.
The Steelers (7-3) led 18-11 after the first quarter, 29-26 at halftime and 44-40 going into the fourth.
Juelz Johnson posted a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds for Farrell, while Danny Odem connected for 14 points.
Cole Cunningham led Mercer (8-3) with a game-high 22 points, while Dae Mattocks had 15.
EISENHOWER 59, MAPLEWOOD 47
GUYS MILLS, Pa. – Austin Hanson scored 21 points as Eisenhower stayed atop the Region 3 standings with a 59-47 win over Maplewood.
Eisenhower (10-2 overall, 3-0 Region 3) raced out to a 24-8 lead after the first quarter on its way to the win, with Hanson scoring 13 of his 21 points in the first eight minutes.
Casey Seymour added 10 points for Eisenhower, while Maysen Wonderling had nine and Gavin Lindemuth eight.
Chase Koelle had 17 points for Maplewood (0-13, 0-4), while Jacob Woge had 13.
UNION 48, MONITEAU 31
RIMERSBURG, Pa. – Union outscored visiting Moniteau 26-12 in the middle two quarters on its way to a big mid-season KSAC win, 48-31.
The Golden Knights (9-6 overall, 5-1 KSAC) led 13-10 at the end of the first quarter before expanding the lead to 30-21 at halftime thanks to seven points in the second quarter from Trey Fleming.
Union then expanded that lead to 17, 39-22, by the end of the third quarter by holding Moniteau (5-7, 3-3) to one third-quarter point.
Hayden Smith had another strong offensive performance for the Golden Knights with a game-high 19 points while Fleming added 11. Dawson Camper had a season-best 16 rebounds to go with nine points, and Owen Bish scored seven points.
Andrew Zepeda led Moniteau with seven points but was the only Warrior with more than five tallies.
The win coupled with Karns City’s loss to Clarion moved Union into third place in the KSAC just a game back in the loss column behind unbeaten Clarion and Redbank Valley. The Golden Knights are also now two games in the loss column ahead of a number of teams in fifth place in the KSAC with the top four making the conference’s postseason tournament.
COCHRANTON 45, UNION CITY 39
UNION CITY, Pa. – Trailing 36-28 going into the fourth quarter, Cochranton outscored Union City 17-3 over the final eight minutes to rally for a 45-39 win.
Dawson Carroll keyed the rally for the Cardinals (4-6 overall, 2-1 Region 3) with 18 points, eight of which came in the fourth quarter.
Walker Carroll also had 15 points in the win for Cochranton.
Trevin Capela and Austin Sherwood had 10 points each for Union City (1-11, 0-3).
KEYSTONE 59, NORTH CLARION 50
FRILLS CORNERS, Pa. – Keystone broke the ice in its KSAC season picking up its first conference win of the year, 59-50, at North Clarion.
A 15-5 third-quarter advantage helped the Panthers (3-10 overall, 1-5 KSAC) take a six-point halftime lead, 27-21, and turn it into a 16-point advantage, 42-26.
Freshman Eli Nellis continued his strong play for Keystone with his second straight 20-point performance. Nellis is averaging 16.7 ppg over his last six outings and is up to 12.6 ppg on the season.
Fellow freshman Dom Corecetti had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Drew Keth buried three 3-pointers on his way to an 18-point night for Keystone, which recorded its most points of the year after entering the game averaging 42.8 ppg as a team.
Hudson Irwin had a career-high 25 points for North Clarion (4-9, 2-4) with his older brother, Drake, scoring nine points, and Colbin Waterson adding eight.
CLARION-LIMESTONE 56, A-C VALLEY 44
FOXBURG, Pa. – Clarion-Limestone used a 19-8 third-quarter advantage to lead the visiting Lions to a 56-44 KSAC win over A-C Valley.
C-L (6-7 overall, 2-3 KSAC) led by one, 23-22, at halftime but rode the hot hand of Jase Ferguson in the third quarter to open up a 42-30 lead by the end of the quarter.
Ferguson scored seven of his game-high 21 points in the third quarter. Ferguson added seven steals and four assists.
Ty Rankin added eight points and 10 rebounds, and Jack Craig chipped in eight points.
Zahsheen Levins had 17 points for A-C Valley (7-5, 3-3) with Jay Clover adding nine points and Brody Dittman contributed eight tallies.
KENNEDY CATHOLIC 64, REYNOLDS 60, overtime
HERMITAGE, Pa. – Rayvion Wilbon-Venable poured in a game-high 29 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in a 64-60 overtime win over Reynolds.
Taijeire Chambers had a key bucket to give KC a 62-60 lead in overtime off a steal.
Kam Gwin also had a double-double for KC with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Maddox Snyder had nine points and 12 boards for Reynolds.
Xavier Zachrich led Reynolds with 19 points and Andrew McCloskey had 19.
GIRARD 49, FAIRVIEW 36
FAIRVIEW, Pa. – Girard went on a 20-8 run in the first quarter and never looked back in a 49-36 Region 4 win over Fairview.
The Jackets (11-1 overall, 4-0 Region 4) stayed atop the Region 4 standings thanks to a balanced effort.
Kenny Godoy had 13 points, while Ryan Carr had 12 and Germia Dell’omo 10 for Girard.
Patrick Stafford had 11 points and Tyler DiVecchio 10 for Fairview (3-9, 2-2).
CRANBERRY 66, FOREST AREA 34
MARIENVILLE, Pa. – Four different players scored in double digits to lead visiting Cranberry to a 66-34 win over Forest Area at East Forest.
Ethan Merryman led the Berries (8-4 overall, 2-3 KSAC) with Cole Findlay and Blake Marchinke each scoring 12 points and Connor Morrow 10 points.
Colton Kuntz paced Forest Area (3-11, 1-5) with 11 points with Mitch Bawden chipping in eight points and Warren Dashner adding seven points.
LAKEVIEW 63, TITUSVILLE 44
STONEBORO, Pa. – Keaten Urey led three Lakeview players in double figures with 17 points in a 63-44 non-region win over Titusville.
The Sailors (9-4), who have won four in a row, outscored the Rockets (5-6) 17-5 in the third quarter to pull away.
Lucas Fagley netted 16 points for Lakeview and Cody Fagley added 11.
Isiah Colon had 21 points to lead Titusville (5-6).
HARBOR CREEK 65, MEADVILLE 59
HARBORCREEK, Pa. – With the game tied at 44-all after three quarters, Harbor Creek outscored Meadville 21-15 in the fourth quarter to earn a 65-59 Region 7 win.
Tucker Chwatek scored 10 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, part of a double-double effort that also saw him collect 11 rebounds.
JT DelSandro scored 21 points to lead Harbor Creek (7-6 overall, 1-2 Region 7), six of which came in the fourth quarter to help the Huskies snap a 4-game skid.
Jack Burchard and Lucas Luteran had 21 points each for Meadville (6-6, 2-1).
CATHEDRAL PREP 60, GENERAL MCLANE 50
EDINBORO, Pa. – Cathedral Prep rallied from a 34-26 halftime deficit to earn a 60-50 win over General McLane.
The Ramblers (5-8 overall, 2-1 Region 7) outscored GM 15-9 in the third quarter and 19-7 in the fourth quarter.
Ten different Prep players scored in the win. Spencer Kanne led the way with 15 points, while Amaree Pickens, making his season debut, tallied 13 points.
Jacob Zietz had 19 points for GM (7-5, 0-4) with 19 points, while Greysen Rhodes had 13 and Logan Anderson 10.
MCDOWELL 67, FORT LEBOEUF 24
WATERFORD, Pa. – Tyler Grove, Kamden Kramer and Landon Marsh scored 14 points each as McDowell powered past Fort LeBoeuf, 67-24 in Region 7 action.
The Trojans (8-1 overall, 4-0 Region 7) led 36-10 at halftime on their way to the win,
Stephon Porter added nine points for McDowell.
Dom Russo led Fort LeBoeuf (6-7, 1-3) with nine points.
ROCKY GROVE 65, WEST MIDDLESEX 42
SUGARCREEK BOROUGH, Pa. – Noah Baughman led three Rocky Grove players in double figures with 17 points in a 65-42 non-region win over West Middlesex.
The Orioles (7-5) lead 30-24 at halftime and outscored the Big Reds (2-11) 35-16 in the second half.
Landon Carter had 16 points for Rocky Grove, while Aiden Focht and Connor Ritchey had 10 points each.
Caleb Koncar led West Middlesex with 17 points, while Roman Golub had 11 and Caden Bender 10.
SENECA 65, NORTHWESTERN 46
WATTSBURG, Pa. – Seneca went on a 19-5 run in the first quarter and never looked back on its way to a 65-46 win over Northwestern.
Lucas Rupp had a monster game for the Bobcats (3-9 overall, 2-2 Region 4) in the win with 32 points, which included six 3’s.
Braden Kibbe was also in double figures scoring for Seneca with 15 points.
Kaleb Glasl led Northwestern (0-12, 0-4) with 16 points and Jacob Regelmann netted 10.
NORTH EAST 56, IROQUOIS 33
ERIE, Pa. – North East outscored Iroquois 31-16 in the second half to earn a 56-33 Region 4 victory.
Willie Shunk connected for a game-high 24 points for North East (8-4 overall, 3-1 Region 4), while Noah Crozier had 12 points and Carter Crozier 10.
Orlando Brown and Devin Brink had 10 points each for Iroquois (7-5, 3-1).
MERCYHURST PREP 77, ERIE FIRST CHRISTIAN 61
ERIE, Pa. – JJ Ganska led three Mercyhurst Prep players in double figures with 22 points in a 77-61 Region 4 win over Erie First Christian.
Mercyhurst Prep led 34-27 at halftime and went on a 24-16 run in the third quarter to pull away.
Maddox Brzuz had 19 points for the Lakers, while Craig Buckner had 14 and Tanner Ashton 12.
Avery Collins and Simon Gonzalez combined for 43 of EFC’s (2-9, 0-4) 61 points, with Collins netting 22 and Gonzalez 21.
CAMBRIDGE SPRINGS 57, GREENVILLE 46
CAMBRIDGE SPRINGS, Pa. – Parker Schmidt scored 24 points to lead Cambridge Springs to a 57-46 non-region win over Greenville.
Greenville led 43-38 after three quarters, with Cambridge Springs going on a 19-3 run in the fourth quarter to earn the win. ter three quarters of play, but were outscored 19-3 over the final eight minutes.
Ryan Thayer added 13 points for Cambridge Springs and Owen Riley scored 12. CS was 14-of-18 from the free-throw line while the Trojans were 2-of-4.
Soren Hedderick paced Greenville with a dozen points while Noah Philson and Mason Vannoy contributed eight points each.
