Junior High Basketball A-Team Runs the Table In Second Half of the Season to Finish 15-2! (03/17/20)
(By Coach Keith Murtha)
Another Clarion/Union Classic as Clarion Wins the Series 50-48!
Third time’s the charm, having split the series, Union taking the first meeting, Clarion the second and now the deciding third and final meeting. The first quarter showed this promised to be another great game as the teams were knotted at 9. Halftime gave a single point lead to visiting Union, 16-15. The Bobcats took control in the third quarter and never looked back thanks to 14-9 run to end the period 38-34. The Knights made a run in the fourth quarter at 14-12, but the Bobcats held on thanks to good defense and strong second half for the victory! The team of Dawson Smail, in the first half and timely free throw shooting by Bailee Vedill in the second half, led the Bobcats!
Bobcats Silence the Wolves 35-24
Clarion started slow, scoring a mere 4 points in the first quarter, but behind the leadership of Bailee Verdill who led his team on both ends of the floor, scored 13 points. The Bobcats got the inside game going, with 6 points from Dauntae Girvan, 4 from Gabe Simko and ten from Dawson Smail.
Clarion Put the Fire Out in the Forest 59-7
Missing a couple key players for this game, we had the unique opportunity to move up all the eighth graders to play together, as will be the case in future years. The Bobcats played well together especially after the first quarter which had Clarion up 10-1. Halftime showed a Clarion lead of 26-3. The third quarter brought on a 18-2 run, followed a fourth quarter of 15-2 run for a final score 59-7. The team was able to play with teammates they usually don’t run lots of offensive and defensive schemes! Ninth grader Will Clark led the scoring with 18 points, Gabe Simko as a big inside force with 14, Logan MacKinley chipped in 10, Tanner Miller and Owen Kriebel distributed the ball each chipping five and four points respectively.
Bobcats Finish With a Thriller Over A-C Valley 52-50
Clarion has beat A-C Valley by 3 points in two great games. The first quarter got off to a fast start, teams tied at 14! Clarion then went on a 13-10 run to lead at the half 27-24. The third quarter showed A-C Valley make a 13-11 run, to leave the Bobcats with a narrow one point lead entering the fourth quarter 38-37. Great basketball was played by both teams in the fourth. Clarion made 14-13 run, led by some important free throw shooting by Gabe Simko and Bailee Verdill. The Bobcats held on for the win, 52-50. Gabe Simko had a fantastic game. Playing against perhaps the best big man in the league, he scored fourteen points. Dawson Smail was solid with eighteen points. It was a total TEAM effort, we had 8 players score points!
Summarizing the season, this is a talented group who came together throughout the course of the season to play well together. They will continue to develop as they move up through the program. They were able use multiple offensive and defensive sets, within the course of a game, which is great for their development. I am excited to watch them over the next couple years!
(Thanks to Coach Murtha for this summary. Great Season, Junior High Boys A-Team!!!!)