NEW BETHLEHEM, Pa. (D9Sports) — After blowing a 14-point first-half lead, Clarion found itself trailing at Redbank Valley by seven going to the fourth quarter.
(Photo: Nick Frederick was the Hager Paving Player of the Game for Clarion)
But the Bobcats stepped up their defense and rallied to beat the Bulldogs, 63-62, Monday night in New Bethlehem.
“We had to step up and play some good defense,” Nick Frederick, who was named the Hager Paving Player of the Game after recording 17 points and seven rebounds including six fourth-quarter points, said. “We just needed to step up our ‘D’ and not let them take it to the hole. We did a good job of that.”
Clarion also did a good job of limiting Redbank Valley’s 3-point game in the final eight minutes.
The Bulldogs hit 11 3-pointers in the game, actually hitting three more threes than twos for the contest, but were limited to just one made 3-pointer — by Chris Marshall — in the fourth quarter.
“We started trapping off screens,” Frederick said. “They got a lot of their open shots off of screens. When they started screening us in the fourth quarter, we would jump it and double team. They had trouble getting the ball out.”
Listen to all of Frederick’s thoughts on the win.
Down 47-40 going to the fourth, Clarion quickly changed the game around going on a quarter-opening 10-2 run to take a 50-49 lead.
It was truly a team effort with an old-fashion 3-pointer by TiJon Faulk-Taylor getting things rolling followed by baskets from Cal German, Jake Burns and Frederick.
Burns was a pretty drive through the lane that he ended with a finger roll, his second shot like that of the contest.
“Jake, in junior high, would always smash it off the backboard,” Frederick said. “So, we would always give him a hard time about layups. He got those down, a nice finger roll, that really gave us the momentum that we needed to finish the game.”
The Clarion run, though, was halted by Redbank Valley which retook the lead, 56-53, on a Marshall 3-pointer with 3:15 to play off a pass from fellow freshman Bryson Bain. Marshall scored a team-high 20 points for the Bulldogs, including 10 in the fourth quarter.
But German, who netted a game-high 24 points, answered with a hoop at the 2:37 mark, and then Burns hit one of two free throws with 2:05 to play to tie the game at 56.
Clarion took the lead for good on Frederick’s foul-line jumper with 1:27 to play.
That jumper started a 5-0 spurt for Clarion that pushed the lead to 61-56 with 42.7 seconds left when German hit the backend of a two-shot foul.
The Bobcats lead was still five, 62-57, when German hit one of two free throws with 16.3 seconds to play.
But Redbank Valley tried to rally in the final seconds.
First, Marshall converted an old-school 3-pointer with 10.5 left to make it 62-60.
German then made one of two charity shots with 9.5 to play to make it 63-60.
Marshall elected to drive the lane instead of going for a game-tying three with 4.2 left, and it almost paid off when he was fouled. But the ball wouldn’t roll in. Marshall hit both free throws, though, to make it 63-62.
Redbank Valley still had life when Josh Craig missed two charity shots with 3.5 seconds to play, but Declan Fricko’s 30-foot shot to win the game was just a bit too hard bouncing off the rim and off.
The Bulldogs had trailed 28-14 halfway through the second quarter before ending the first half on a 14-2 run to get within one, 30-29, at halftime. Two 3-pointers from Nick Smith and another from Kahle fueled the comeback.
Redbank Valley tied the game at 30 on a free throw by Marshall early in the second half before four straight Clarion points but the Bobcats ahead, 34-30.
But Redbank Valley answered with a 17-6 run to end the quarter with Bain, who scored nine points on three 3-pointers, hitting back-to-back threes and Smith and Gunner Mangiantini also hitting triples to give the Bulldogs the seven-point lead.
Rewatch the game
CLARION 63, REDBANK VALLEY 62
Score by Quarters
Clarion 17 13 10 23 — 63
Redbank 12 17 18 15 — 62
CLARION — 63
TiJon Faulk-Taylor 2 1-1 5, Drew Wrhen 0 0-0 0, Archer Mills 0 2-7 2, Jake Burns 3 1-2 7, Hunter Craddock 1 0-0 2, Josh Craig 0 0-2 0, Ethan Burford 0 0-0 0, Cal German 9 4-8 24, Gavin Brinkley 3 0-0 6, Nick Frederick 7 3-4 17. Totals 25 11-24 63.
REDBANK VALLEY — 62
Keaton Kahle 4 1-3 11, Nick Smith 3 2-2 10, Chris Marshall 5 8-11 20, Declan Fricko 2 2-2 6, Anthony Baileys 0 0-0 0, Bryson Bain 3 0-0 9, Gunner Mangiantini 2 0-0 6, Logan Wadding 0 0-0 0, Owen Magagnotti 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 13-18 62.
Three-pointers: Clarion 2 (German 2). Redbank Valley 11 (Bain 3, Kahle 2, Smith 2, Marshall 2, Mangiantini 2).
