MOON ROCKETS PAST BRADFORD INTO STATE TITLE GAME

CLARION – Duane Compo led three Moon players in double digits with 14 points, as the Tigers defeated Bradford 54-36 in the PIAA Class AAA boys’ basketball semifinals Wednesday night at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym.

Bradford played feisty defense the entire night, but missed many open look shooting a frigid 30 percent (16 of 53) from the floor.

"We defended them very well, but we just didn’t put the ball in the hoop," Bradford head coach Dave Fuhrman said. "We missed a lot of open lay-ups, but I felt as if we got many good looks the entire night."

The big difference in the game was the middle two quarters when Moon outscored Bradford 28-17 to take a 38-24 lead at the end of three quarters.

Moon led 10-7 at the end of the first quarter but built the lead to 24-14 at halftime. The Tigers then took control of the game in the third quarter out pacing the Owls 14-10 to take the 14-point lead.

Dominic Manno added 12 points for Moon, while Penn State football recruit A.Q. Shipley chipped in with 10 points.

Jon Hannon paced Bradford with seven points, while Stuart Morris and Shawn Spindler each added six. The Owls’ leading scorer, Shawn Manning, was held to just four points in the game.

"This loss does not take away from what these kids accomplished," Fuhrman said. "These seniors have won four district titles and three league titles in their high school career. There are not many kids who can say they’ve done that. These kids all have heart and they showed it tonight."

GAME NOTES: Moon was charged with a bench technical after its cheering section threw Hershey kisses on the floor with 25.0 seconds left to play … At the conclusion of the game, the Tiger fans also refused to shake Bradford’s hands … Bradford ended their season with a 21-8 record … The game was originally scheduled for Tuesday night but was pushed back to Wednesday because of Tuesday’s snow storm … This was the farthest Bradford had ever advanced in the state playoffs.

Bradford 7 7 10 12 – 36

Moon 10 14 14 16 – 54

Dominic Manno 5 1-3 12 Matt Yourd 0 0-0 0 Zach Engel 1 0-0 2 MJ Knight 1 0-0 2 Derek Gallagher 1 5-6 8 Duane Compo 4 5-5 14 Ryan Helfrich 2 2-6 6 Jason Clark 0 0-0 0 A.Q. Shipley 4 2-5 10. Totals 18 15-25 54.

Stuart Morris 2 1-1 6 Sean Hvizdzak 1 0-2 2 Shane Hvizdzak 1 0-0 2 Kyle Swanson 2 0-0 4 Evan Luciano 0 0-0 0 Shawn Spindler 3 0-0 6 Jon Hannon 3 0-3 7 Shawn Manning 2 0-0 4 Jake Wells 1 0-0 3 Jeff Kleinberger 0 0-0 0 Mark Sapko 0 0-1 0 Norm Strotman 0 0-2 0 Mike Montecalvo 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 1-9 36.

Three Pointers: Moon 3 (Manno 1, Gallagher 1, Compo 1) Bradford 3 (Morris 1, Hannon 1, Wells 1).