Junior High Boys Basketball Teams Sweep Cranberry And North Clarion (01/31/16)

The Junior High Boys Basketball Teams swept Cranberry and North Clarion last week. Coach Alderton and Coach Craig share the following recaps.

(A-Team article by Coach Dan Alderton)

A-TEAM: CLARION 51 – CRANBERRY 16

The “A-Team” for the Clarion Junior High Boys Team defeated the Berries of Cranberry by a score of 51-16, on Tuesday (January 26th).

The Bobcats saw scoring from 8 different players. Leading the scoring onslaught was Nick Frederick with 15 points and 4 steals.
The Bobcats jumped out to a 17-4 score after the first quarter, and never looked back. The Bobcats showed their skills on defense as well, racking up over 15 steals as a team.

Skylar Rhoades had four steals and Donald Dunkle helped out with the three. Clarion had scoring from 8 different players. Josh Craig and Nate Datko each scored 7 points. Gavin Brinkley and Rhoades contributed 6, and Tijon Faulk-Taylor added 4.

Score by quarters:

First: Clarion 17 – Cranberry 4

Second: Clarion 28 – Cranberry 18

Third: Clarion 38 – Cranberry 14

Final: Clarion 51 – Cranberry 16

A-TEAM: CLARION 43 – NORTH CLARION 35

Junior High Boys Get 3rd Win of the Season

The Junior High Boys team beat North Clarion by a score of 43-35, on Thursday afternoon (January 28th). Skylar Rhoades was one rebound and two steals away from a triple-double finishing with 10 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 steals. Josh Craig added 9 points, hitting a big 3-pointer in the 3rd quarter.

Clarion led 15-7 at halftime, and held off a ferocious comeback attempt in the 4th quarter by the Wolves.

The Bobcats once again saw 8 different scorers put points on the scoreboard. After Rhoades and Craig, Jake Burns recorded 6, Nate Datko scored 5, and Gavin Brinkley and Clay McElravy both contributed 4 points.

Score by quarters:

First: Clarion 4 – North Clarion 4

Second: Clarion 15 – North Clarion 7

Third: Clarion 30 – North Clarion 19

Final: Clarion 43 – North Clarion 35

(B-Team article by Coach Jason Craig)

B-TEAM: CLARION 29 – CRANBERRY 8
The Clarion Jr. High Boys B-Team improved to 2 – 0 as they hosted Cranberry on Tuesday (January 26th) and came away with a convincing 29 – 8 win.

The game started off a little slow as Cranberry sat in a zone defense that Clarion just couldn’t break. We were able to win the first quarter 6 – 0 on two baskets from Tyler Schmader and one by Cal German. Schmader kept the scoring going in the second quarter by scoring all 5 of the Bobcats points and we went into halftime with an 11 – 4 lead.

In the second half, we decided to use our speed and play a full court man-to-man defense to create opportunities for fast breaks. Benny Murtha, Ethan Burford, Beau Verdill, German and Schmader were able to pressure the Berries into making several turnovers and we were able to score 11 points in the quarter. Lucas Baker, Donnie Cunningham, German, Burford and Schmader each had baskets and Verdill added a free throw. Clarion headed to the final quarter leading 22 – 6.

Mitch Geiger got into the scoring column with a basket and a free throw, Skylar Pastor and Burford finished the scoring with a basket each and the Bobcats won the game 29 – 8.

The pressure defense in the second half really allowed us to control the pace of the game and play at a tempo that many of these boys are comfortable playing at. So far, the boys have played very unselfishly and have the potential to win a lot of games this season.

Score by quarters:

First: Clarion 6 – Cranberry 0

Second: Clarion 11 – Cranberry 4

Third: Clarion 22 – Cranberry 6

Final: Clarion 29 – Cranberry 8

B-TEAM: CLARION 47 – NORTH CLARION 7
The Jr. High Boys B-Team hosted the North Clarion Wolves on Thursday (January 28th) and ran away with a 47 – 7 victory to improve to 3 – 0 on the season.

The Bobcats used a pressure defense in the first quarter to jump out to a 14 – 3 lead. Donnie Cunningham lead the way with 4 points in the quarter. Tyler Schmader followed with 3 while Mitch Geiger, Hunter Craddock and Cal German each had a basket.

The second quarter was pretty much like the first. Clarion pressured the Wolves and won the quarter 15 – 1 and took a 29 – 4 lead into halftime. Schmader, Cunningham and German kept the scoring going with 4 a piece. Matt Terwilliger added two points while Geiger made a free throw.

The second half saw the pace slow and also the scoring. The Bobcats outscored the Wolves 14 – 3 in the half to set the score at 47 -7.

Ten different players scored for the Bobcats. Schmader lead the way with a game high 9 points and Cunningham followed with 8. German netted 6 points, Geiger and Craddock contributed 5. Lucas Baker and Beau Verdill each had 4 points. Ben Murtha, Ethan Burford and Terwilliger all chipped in with 2 points.

For North Clarion, Walters drained a 3-pointer, Lencer added a basket while Schmader and Kaltenbach each made a free throw.

Score by quarters:

First: Clarion 14 – North Clarion 3

Second: Clarion 29 – North Clarion 4

Third: Clarion 34 – North Clarion 7

Final: Clarion 47 – 7

The Bobcats travel to Marienville on Monday (February 1st) to play Forest, then are home on Wednesday against Clarion-Limestone, and home on Friday (February 6th) versus Moniteau. The home games next week have been moved from 3:45 to 3:30.

(Thanks to Coach Alderton and Coach Craig for the recaps, to Nate McClaine for the score by quarters and to Christie Datko for the photos. GOOD JOB CATS!!!!)