CLEARFIELD 68, BROOKVILLE 46

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Jan. 30, 2009

By Chris Rossetti

BROOKVILLE – Clearfield might not have a true “big man” but the Bisons more than make up for it with quick guards who can shoot and play defense.

That formula was on display Friday night in a 68-46 Bison win at Brookville that improved Clearfield, which is ranked No. 2 in the RRR Roadhouse D9Sports.com District 9 rankings to 14-1 overall and 8-1 in the D9 League. The Bisons remain a game up on Elk County Catholic in their quest for their first league title since 1999. Brookville drops to 3-12 overall and 0-9 in league play.

Clearfield’s guards helped the Bisons score 25 points off turnovers including 21 in the first half while creating 29 Brookville turnovers including 24 steals.

“I think we have as good of guards as anyone in the district,” Clearfield head coach Forrest Campman said. “I would probably say I’d take guards over big guys every time unless its Shaquille O’Neil.”

Each of Clearfield’s starting guards provided something different in the Bisons win Friday night.

Matt Shiner was the scorer netting a game-high 24 points, including 19 in the first half, while hitting 11 of 12 free throws and three 3-pointers. Shiner also had three steals.

 “I thought Shiner got off quick,” Campman said. “It seems like every game when he does get off quick we have a pretty good play at that point.”

Jarrin Campman, the son of the coach, and Parker Herrington were the do-everything guards. Campman scored 15 points, including three 3-pointers, while adding three steals and two rebounds, while Herrington had a team-best seven steals to go with seven points and three rebounds.

Meanwhile, Jeremy Priester was the defensive wizard and the spark provider coming up with six steals and scoring six points, including the first four of the second half after Clearfield came out sluggish in the half despite a 45-22 halftime lead.

“There’s not a big guy in that group,” Campman said. “But it still comes down to guard play. You see that in the NCAA tournament every year. I like our guards.”

Clearfield’s defense was the reason the Bisons were able to overcome a slow start.

Brookville led 8-6 nearly four minutes into the game before Clearfield turned up the defensive pressure with a half-court trap and ended the first quarter on an 18-5 run that including 11 points off turnovers.

 “We didn’t turn the ball over that many times against the press,” Brookville head coach Mike Ion said. “It was more of our halfcourt set (where the turnovers happened). We are not use to seeing pressure like that.”

Clearfield expanded the lead to 23 at halftime thanks in large part to free-throw shooting. The Bisons were 8 of 10 from the line in the second quarter and 16 of 19 in the first half while hitting 23 of 32 for the game. Brookville was called for 24 fouls in the contest and had three players foul out.

 “We wanted to play physical with them,” Ion said. “We didn’t want to give them a free look. It was one of those things we were going to take our chances on. We didn’t want to get beat up and down the court. So we thought we were going to play physical. We can’t run with a team like that.”  

Chad Zurat had a big game on the boards for Clearfield with 13 rebounds, while Chad Brocious paced Brookville with 15 points and five rebounds. Ian McCormack added seven points and five boards and Jared Heschke had seven points for the Raiders.

“We just need to keep working and getting better and being competitive in games unlike tonight,” Ion said. “I feel we can still compete for a District 9 title, especially in the AA bracket. I am almost certain of that. It’s just trying to keep our heads up and working on things.”

NOTES - Clearfield led by as many as 32 in the fourth quarter before Brookville ended the game on a 13-3 run against the Bisons JV.

CLEARFIELD 68, BROOKVILLE 46

Score by Quarters

Clearfield 24 21 10 13 – 68

Brookville 13 9 6 18 – 46

Clearfield – 68

Zachary Fannin 0 0-0 0, John Mellgard 0 0-0 0, Ben Johnson 0 0-0 0, Parker Herrington 2 2-3 7, Luke Peterson 0 0-0 0, Chad Zurat 1 4-4 6, Andrew Redden 0 0-0 0, Jarrin Campman 5 2-3 15, Matt Shiner 5 11-12 24, Nick Redden 0 0-0 0, W. Jason Bowman 0 1-2 1, R. Cruise Kerr 1 2-6 4, Tyler Wilson 2 1-2 5, Curtis Bell 0 0-0 0, Jeremy Priester 3 0-0 6. Totals 19 23-32 68.

Brookville – 46

Kyle Baughman 0 2-2 2, Dan Ion 1 0-0 2, Ian McCormack 1 5-6 7, Taylor Heinrich 2 0-0 5, Ryan Zimmerman 2 0-0 4, Chase Lyle 1 2-2 4, Chad Brocious 7 1-2 15, Jared Heschke 3 1-4 7. Totals 17 11-16 46.

Three-pointers – Clearfield 7 (Campman 3, Shiner 3, Herrington 1). Brookville 1 (Heinrich).