Jan. 7 District 9 boys’ basketball recaps
Also see: DCC Snaps 17-game losing streak to ECC
UNION 52, NORTH CLARION 50
RIMERSBURG, Pa. – North Clarion almost pulled a rabbit out of a hat, but in the end Union withstood a near-costly turnover in the final seconds to beat the visiting Wolves, 52-50, in KSAC Small School action.
Up two with under 10 seconds left, Skyler Roxbury missed a free throw but Dawson Camper got the offensive rebound and was followed with 6.5 seconds to play.
Camper, however, missed both free throws and a scramble ensued for the rebound with Union calling timeout with players sprawled on the floor with 2.1 seconds to play.
Out of the time out, the Golden Knights tried to get the ball to Rainey near midcourt. The Union senior tipped the ball towards the North Clarion basket trying to kill the clock. But Collin Schmader was able to track the ball down before it went out of bounds and got an awkward shot attempt off that hit the underneath of the backboard as time expired.
The game was close throughout with Union holding a 15-14 lead at the end of the first quarter and the teams tied at 31 at halftime and 42 at the end of the third.
Payton Johnston led Union with 16 points, including four in the fourth quarter, while Rainey, who also scored four fourth-quarter points, added 12 points and seven assists. Camper had a game-high 17 rebounds to go with six points.
Schmader had a game-high 22 points for North Clarion while hitting five 3-pointers. But Union kept him in check in the fourth quarter limiting him to just two points.
Aiden Hartle added 15 points for the Wolves.
DUBOIS 52, HUNTINGDON 49
HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Chooch Husted scored six of his game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter, as DuBois broke a 38-all tie going to the frame and picked up a 52-49 road win over Huntingdon.
Joey Foradora also scored 18 points for the Beavers doing most of his damage in the first half when he hit four 3-pointers on his way to 16 points, while Ryan Kovalyak also reached double figures with 10 points.
Alec Cooper led Huntingdon with 17 points but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter, while Josh Bryson added 14 points, but only three in the fourth.
Jack Foster kept the Bearcats in the game scoring five of his 14 points in the final eight minutes. He hit four 3-pointers on the night.
KARNS CITY 44, MONITEAU 37
WEST SUNBURY, Pa. – Karns City used runs of 13-0 and 16-5 to pick up a 44-37 road win over rival Moniteau in KSAC Large School action.
Rewatch the game
The Gremlins, on the strength of two Cole Sherwin 3-pointers, built a 13-0 lead early only to watch Moniteau claw its way back into the game closing the gap to 25-24 with just over two minutes left in the third quarter.
But that is when Micah Rupp took over the game scoring nine of his team-high 17 points in the fourth quarter many part of the 16-5 run that helped Karns City regain a double-digit lead, 41-29.
Rupp talked about his game
Sherwin added 15 points, including seven in the fourth quarter, in the win.
Ryan Jewart paced Moniteau with 14 points, including hitting four 3-pointers. He scored eight fourth-quarter points after getting into foul trouble with three first-half infractions.
David Dessicino added 11 points off the bench for the Warriors.
KANE 41, SHEFFIELD 38
SHEFFIELD, Pa. – Kane hit 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch to beat homestanding Sheffield, 41-38, in AML North action.
The Wolves led 36-33 going to the fourth quarter and used the free throws to hold off the Wolverines.
Sheffield had a chance to tie the game with 4.3 seconds left, but Tony Richards’ off-balance 3-pointer from the left corner got wedged between the backboard and the rim resulting in a held ball with the possession arrow in Kane’s favor.
The Wolves were then able to get the ball down court and dribble out the win.
Andy Jekielek led Kane with 12 points with Josh Greville adding 11. Justin Mishic had a team-best 11 rebounds.
Lucas McNeal had a game-high 17 points.
BRADFORD 39, ST. MARYS 27
BRADFORD, Pa. – Cam Austin scored 21 of his team’s 39 points, as Bradford beat visiting St. Marys, 39-27, in D9 League action.
Austin netted 14 of his tallies after halftime.
Jake Franz chipped in seven for the Owls.
Quinn Gavazzi led St. Marys with nine points.
RIDGWAY 53, CAMERON COUNTY 32
RIDGWAY, Pa. – Dan Park and Domenic Allegretto combined for 30 points to help Ridgway gain a 53-32 home win over Cameron County.
Park led the Elkers with 16 points with Allegretto adding 14.
Camdyn Allison paced Cameron County with eight points.
VENANGO CATHOLIC 56, FOREST AREA 22
OIL CITY, Pa. – Colin Liederbach scored 18 points to give first-year Venango Catholic head coach Harry Liederbach his first win, 56-22, over visiting Forest Area in KSAC Small school action.
Jake Liederbach added 12 points and Logan Rakow 10 for the Vikings.
Keyon Custer led Forest Area with 10 points with Amber Guzzi, a girl playing on the boys’ team since the Fires don’t have a girls team, and Daniel Custer each adding five points. Both Guzzi and Daniel Custer hit 3-pointers, while Keyon Custer had a pair of triples.
CLARION 84, A-C VALLEY 35
CLARION, Pa. – Christian Simko scored 13 first-quarter points on his way to a game-high 28 to lead Clarion to an easy 84-35 win over visiting A-C Valley.
Behind Simko, who also added six rebounds and five steals, the Bobcats built a 31-19 lead at the end of the first quarter which expanded to 53-28 at the half with Simko adding eight more second-quarter points.
Dawson Smail chipped in 14 points for Clarion with Gabe Simko scoring 13 and Devon Lauer adding 12 points, eight assists, and four steals.
Alex Preston led A-C Valley with 14 points with Landon Chalmers adding eight.
JUNIATA VALLEY 56, CURWENSVILLE 43
ALEXANDRIA, Pa. – Ellis McFadden led a trio of Juniata Valley players in double digits with 16 points, as the Hornets knocked off visiting Curwensville, 56-43, in ICC North action.
Chris Deihl added 13 points for Juniata Valley with Connor Robinson scoring 12.
Ty Terry led all scorers with 24 points for Curwensville. Parker Wood chipped in eight points.
