NORTH CLARION 66, CLARION-LIMESTONE 54

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Feb. 20, 2009 - District 9 Class A Boys' Quarterfinals

By Chris Rossetti

FRILLS CORNERS – Steven Hargenrader isn’t the first guy you think about when it comes to the North Clarion boys’ basketball team. He probably isn’t even the fifth guy most people think about.

After all, Hargenrader had only played in 18 of North Clarion’s 22 games while scoring just 81 points on the season.

But after Friday night, everyone knows who the sophomore is. Inserted into the North Clarion lineup in the second half, Hargenrader almost singlehandedly kept the top-seeded Wolves (20-4) from blowing a 16-point lead while helping them get a 66-54 win over eighth-seeded Clarion-Limestone (15-7) in the District 9 Class A quarterfinals at North Clarion High School.

The 6-3 Hargenrader scored eight of North Clarion’s 12 third-quarter points including all five during a game-defining 5-0 run after C-L had closed to within 36-33 with 3:49 left in the quarter.

“Steve is definitely a talented young man,” North Clarion head coach Glenn Bobak said. “He’s got everything going for him. Today, he got his confidence going and he just did everything he was taught to do. Steve meant a lot stepping in.”

Hargenrader wasn’t the only hero for North Clarion.

Sophomore Jeremy Schmader, the team’s leading scorer at 22.7 ppg, came alive in the fourth quarter scoring 12 of his team-high 20 points in the quarter including going 7 of 8 from the free-throw line in the quarter hitting his final seven charity shots of the game. But more than his free-throw shooting, it was Schmader’s first five points of the quarter that really sealed the win for North Clarion.

The Wolves led 42-36 going to the fourth, but Schmader hit a 3-point off an assist from Chad Wolbert, who was open from 3-point land himself but made the extra pass, 1:01 into the quarter. Schmader then came up with a steal and a layup 11 seconds later to put North Clarion back up by double digits at 47-36.

“He has an uncanny ability to get open,” Bobak said. “In tonight’s game, I think they keyed on him a little bit more. He’s a sophomore; it’s a big game for a sophomore. He stepped right into his role and did what he needs to do. He’s an unselfish player. He didn’t care where he fit in tonight as long as we came out with a win.”

North Clarion sealed the game by hitting 13 straight free throws, which helped the Wolves go 20 of 27 from the line for the game.

C-L, on the other hand, shot well from neither the line nor the floor. The Lions were just 9 of 25 from the line, continuing a season-long trend that saw them shooting 52 percent from the line coming into the game. C-L was also only 20 of 77 from the floor (26 percent).

“It’s been the story of our season,” C-L head coach Joe Ferguson said. “I said to (assistant coach) Ryan (Smith), ‘we can’t keep missing layups and bunnies.’ The free throws really hurt us there, because we brought the game back after being down. We had to have missed seven or eight foul shots in a row that would have put us right back in the game and possibly in the lead. Then we could have played a totally different ball game.”

C-L’s poor shooting, coupled with hot shooting from North Clarion in the first quarter helped the Wolves build a 20-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. The quarter started with a 10-0 North Clarion run, including a pair of 3-pointers from Kyle Gilbert to start the contest, that was big for North Clarion considering the Wolves lost to C-L 78-61 at home eight days ago.

“It was absolutely important that we got out to the big lead,” Bobak said. “They are a strong team, and it’s something you have to push. The momentum on our home court was something that we needed. The momentum tonight carried us.”  

North Clarion got that lead up to 15 points, 24-19, nearly two minutes into the second quarter and increased the advantage to 16, 28-12, with 4:30 left in the half.

But C-L finally found its legs getting the ball inside to Jaye Dulavitch a lot to cut the North Clarion lead to five, 29-24, with a 10-1 run that ended on a Dulavitch layup with 1:04 left before halftime.

North Clarion got a free throw from Schmader to end the half with a 30-24 lead before C-L cut the deficit to 30-26 28 seconds into the second half on a Dulavitch layup.

The Lions then got within three, 36-33, on a C.J. Hesdon 3-pointer with 3:49 left in the third quarter before Hargenrader took over.

“We put ourselves in a position to bring ourselves back,” Ferguson said. “I felt if we could get a tie or get the lead, then we could play a little different ballgame with them. But we just could never get over that hump. Digging that hole, early, hurt. It’s tough when you’re not making layups and foul shots.”

Gilbert had a monster game on the boards for North Clarion grabbing 21 rebounds, all on the defensive end, while completing the double-double with 14 points. Wolbert added 13 points and Hargenrader had 10 points and seven rebounds with everything coming in the second half.

Dulavitch hit 12 of C-L’s 20 shots in the game and finished with a game-high 25 points to go with six rebounds. Hesdon, who was saddled with foul trouble all night, including three in the first half, ended up with 12 points including three 3-pointers. Matt Potvin, who also had three first-half fouls, finished the game with five points and a team-high 14 rebounds.

“The other thing that hurt us was C.J. and Matt both getting into foul trouble early,” Ferguson said. “It changes your whole game. Those are the two guys, and Jaye, I want on the floor as much time as I can.”

North Clarion will now take on Johnsonburg in the District 9 semifinals at a time to be announced Wednesday at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym.

NOTES – The playoff win is North Clarion’s first since a 72-67 quarterfinal win over DuBois Central Catholic in 2000. The Wolves had lost five straight playoff games since then including the semifinals and consolation game that season … With the win, North Clarion qualifies for the PIAA playoffs for the first time since it was District 9 runner-up in 1999. That was the last time the Wolves reached the District 9 title game … The win broke a 3-game losing streak for North Clarion, which lost twice to Keystone and once to C-L down the stretch after starting the season 19-1 … C-L was looking for its first trip to the semifinals since 2002 when it lost to Elk County Catholic … North Clarion shot 43.8 percent (21 of 48) for the game … North Clarion outrebounded C-L 53-42 but the Lions had 25 offensive rebounds to North Clarion’s 13.

NORTH CLARION 66, CLARION-LIMESTONE 54

Score by Quarters

Clarion-Limestone 9 15 12 18 – 54

North Clarion 20 14 12 24 – 66

Clarion-Limestone – 54

Brandon Bell 2 1-2 7, Matt Potvin 1 3-8 5, Marco Lopez 1 1-2 3, C.J. Hesdon 4 1-2 12, Dan Miller 0 0-0 0, Jake Leadbetter 0 1-2 1, Eric Hesdon 0 1-2 1, Jonathan Pezzuti 0 0-0 0, Zach Kemmer 0 0-2 0, Aaron Evans 0 0-0 0, Brandon Davis 0 0-0 0, Jaye Dulavitch 12 1-5 25. Totals 20 9-25 54.

North Clarion – 66

Kyle Gilbert 3 6-6 14, Jeremy Schmader 5 9-12 20, Zach Weaver 1 2-2 4, John Bobak 0 0-4 0, Chad Wolbert 6 0-0 13, Bryan Burkhardt 2 1-1 5, Chris Mannerino 0 0-0 0, Steven Hargenrader 4 2-4 10. Totals 21 20-27 66.

Three-pointers – C-L 5 (C.J. Hesdon 3, Brandon Bell 2). North Clarion 4 (Gilbert 2, Schmader, Wolbert).