HYDE, Pa. – Karson Rumsky and Cole Miller combined for 37 points and eight 3-pointers to help top-seeded Clearfield punch its ticket to its eighth consecutive District 9 title game with a 70-41 victory over fourth-seeded Bradford in the District 9 Class 4A semifinals Tuesday.
“Hitting the open shots is a big thing,” Miller said. “In a game like this, you got to make the most out of every opportunity. Thanks to our teammates for getting us the ball.”
Rumsky led the duo with 19 points and three 3-pointers while Miller tallied 18 points with a game-high five 3-pointers.
Along with strong shooting from Rumsky and Miller, the Bison finished the game with 12 made three’s at the end of the game.
“Our kids did a job at finding (Miller),” Clearfield head coach Nate Glunt said. “They played really unselfish basketball. When you play unselfish like that you have a chance to make shots.”
A slow first quarter saw the Bison take a 9-4 lead at the end of one
A large part of the low scoring was defense. The Bison forced 10 turnovers in the 1st quarter which limited the Owls scoring chances.
“Our kids came ready to play,” Glunt said. “We’ve had some good practices and we put into place what we were practicing.”
The second half saw Clearfield extend their lead to 25-10 at halftime behind a pair of 3-pointers from Rumsky and threes from Miller and Luke Winters.
The third quarter was more of the same for the Bison as they hit four 3-pointers and extended their lead to 47-24.
Miller scored 10 of his points with three 3-pointers and a free-throw that capped off a 4-point play while also getting contributions from Matt Pallo (5 points) and Ryan Gearhart (4 points) in the third quarter.
“Our team thrives on teamwork,” Miller said of the team effort. “That was a big part of our win tonight.”
Watch Miller’s full postgame interview
Bradford bested their 10-point first-half effort with 14 points in the third thanks to 3-pointers from Dalton Dixon and Jake Franz. However, the Bison would answer each time with a bucket of their own, not allowing the Owls to chip away at the lead.
“Give Bradford credit,” Glunt said. “They came out ready to play and came out strong at the start of the game.”
The Owls managed five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter with two from Gavin Piscitell and one each from Franz, Cameron Austin and Brendon Warner with Warner’s coming as time expired.
Austin paced the Owls with a team-high 13 points while Franz, Piscitell and Dixon each finished with six.
For the Bison, Nasheed Thompson added eight points (all in the fourth quarter) with Winters and Gearhart contributing six apiece.
Clearfield will face second-seeded St. Marys, who defeated third-seeded Punxsutawney, 44-42 in double overtime, in the Class 4A title game Saturday at Clearfield.
“It’s big, but it’s just another game,” Miller said of being back in the title game. “I’m really happy to be here. We got to take advantage of every game we have.”
CLEARFIELD 70, BRADFORD 41
Score by Quarters
Bradford 4 6 14 17 – 41
Clearfield 9 16 22 23 – 70
BRADFORD – 41
AJ Gleason 2 0-0 4, Cameron Austin 6 0-0 13, Ian Pilon 0 0-0 0, Jorid Wilmoth 0 2-2 2, Dalton Dixon 2 0-0 5, Brandon Warner 1 0-0 3, Jacob Sarnoski 0 0-0 0, Nate Gleason 0 0-0 0, Ryan Ward 0 0-0 0, Jake Franz 2 0-0 6, Gavin Piscitell 2 0-0 6, Nolan Roulo 1 0-0 2, Alex Liners 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 2-2 41.
CLEARFIELD – 70
Karson Rumsky 5 0-0 19, Luke Winters 1 2-4 6, Matt Pallo 1 0-0 5. Nick Ryan 0 0-0 0, Cole Miller 1 1-1 18, Ryan Gearhart 3 0-0 6, Jake Lezzer 0 0-0 0, Curvey Purkett 1 0-1 2, Isakk Way 0 0-0 0, Nasheed Thompson 2 1-2 8, Luke Pallo 0 0-0 0, Justin Fletcher 1 0-0 2, Braylen Way 0 0-0 3. Totals 16 4-8 70.
Three-Poiners: Clearfield 12 (Miller 5, Rumsky 3, Winters, Pallo, Thompson, Way). Bradford 7 (Franz 2, Piscitell 2, Austin, Dixon, Warner).
