DUBOIS, Pa. – Using an 18-2 third-quarter run, DuBois Central Catholic raced past visiting Clarion, 56-40, in a game that should have seeding implications in District 9 Class 1A boys’ basketball.
Also see District 9 girls recaps
Rewatch the game
After trailing 21-12 at halftime, Clarion (12-7) had gotten within four, 22-18, on a Bryce Brinkley driving layup with 6:34 left in the third quarter.
But DCC answered with a fastbreak layup from Luke Swisher just eight seconds later starting a 12-0 spurt that turned into the 18-2 run putting the Cardinals (14-5) up 20, 40-20, on an Andrew Green putback off a Dylan Hanna missed free throw with 2:19 left in the quarter.
Green played a huge role during the run scoring 10 of his game-tying high 19 points in the third quarter. He scored 17 of his points in the second half and was named the Allegheny Grille of Foxburg Player of the game.
Green talked about his performance and the victory.
Early on the game was about runs with DCC scoring the game’s first six points while holding Clarion scoreless until a Derek Smail basket with 2:16 left in the opening quarter.
Still down 8-2 late in the quarter, Clarion got life when Dawson Smail hit a 3-pointer just before the first-quarter horn after Swisher had missed a shot on the other end and the Bobcats pushed the ball quickly down the court
That triple started a quick 7-0 spurt for Clarion that gave the Bobcats their only lead of the game 9-7, following a fastbreak layup by Devon Lauer 20 seconds into the second quarter.
But that was one of only two baskets for Lauer, who finished with four points after coming into the game averaging 17.3 ppg.
DCC did a great job defensively on both Lauer and Clarion’s second-leading scorer Gabe Simko (12.6) holding Simko to just two points.
After the Lauer bucket and a quick timeout by DCC, the Cardinals answered back with a 10-0 run that started with a Green layup and ended with a Luke Swisher hoop off a Hanna pass with 1:57 left in the half that put DCC up 18-10.
It was 18-12, and Clarion looked like it was holding for the final shot when Dawson Smail went a little too quickly and missed a layup with four seconds left in the half.
Swisher grabbed the rebound and quickly handed the ball to Marek Hoyt, who took one dribble and one step before launching a shot from approximately 64 feet out that found the bottom of the basket to give DCC the 21-12 halftime lead.
Swisher added 19 points for DCC including eight in the second quarter and seven in the fourth quarter while Hanna and Hoyt each had six.
Dawson Smail and Daunte Girvan both scored 10 points for Clarion. It was a career-high for Givran, who scored all his points in the second half after entering the game with 12 points on the season and 27 in his three-year career.
ST. MARYS 58, BROCKWAY 49
BROCKWAY, Pa. – Quin Gravazzi hit six 3-pointers on his way to a team-high 24 points, as visiting St. Marys rallied past Brockway, 58-49.
Gavazzi hit a pair of his triples in the fourth quarter when he scored eight points to help the Dutch overcome a 38-37 deficit heading to the final eight minutes.
Tanner Fox added six of his 16 points in the fourth quarter as well for St. Marys with Anthony Nesinzki scoring five of his six in the frame helping the Dutch outscore Brockway 21-11 in the quarter.
Alex Carlson had his second straight 27-point game tying his career-high set Feb. 1 against Sheffield.
Aiden Grieneisen added 11 points for the Rovers, who led 26-21 at halftime.
CRANBERRY 65, VENANGO CATHOLIC 41
SENECA, Pa. – Devin Zerbe, Colin Zerbe, and Ryan Hanna combined to score 35 points in Cranberry’s 65-41 home win over Venango Catholic.
Devin Zerbe led the Berries with 13 points with Colin Zerbe and Hanna each adding 11 tallies.
Also for Cranberry, Noel Bunyak scored eight points and Ashton Weaver had seven.
James Henry scored a game-high 18 points for Venango Catholic with Konner Beichner adding 12 points.
KARNS CITY 63, MARION CENTER 32
MARION CENTER, Pa. – Karns City scored 34 points in the second en route to a 63-32 win over Marion Center.
Shane Peters scored 18 points to lead Karns City, while Taite Beighley scored 11 of his 14 points in the first half. Beighley also had five assists.
Braden Grossman added eight points and Hobie Bartoe seven for the Gremlins. Bartoe also had five assists and five steals, while Jacob Callihan had nine rebounds, and Micah Rupp had five steals and four blocks.
Noah McCoy had 13 points for Marion Center.
A-C VALLEY 68, FOREST AREA 9
FOXBURG, Pa. – Jay Clover scored a game-high 20 points to help A-C Valley to a 68-9 home KSAC Small School win over Forest Area.
Alex Preston added 14 points for the Falcons with Seth Best scoring nine and Brody Dittman eight.
Mitch Bawden netted five points for Forest Area.
