North Clarion Boys Advance to D9 1A Semifinals for the Third Straight Season

Chris Rossetti

Chris Rossetti

Published February 22, 2019 5:55 am
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BROOKVILLE, Pa. (D9Sports) — Having not played for 13 days, it took second-seeded North Clarion about a quarter to shake off some rust, but when the Wolves did they rolled to a 66-49 win over seventh-seeded DuBois Central Catholic in the District 9 Class 1A quarterfinals at Brookville High School.

(Photo of Kyle Mills. Photo by Jared Bakaysa of JB Graphics. See more of Bakaysa’s work here)

Relisten to the game:

“The big thing is we hadn’t played a game in 13 days,” North Clarion head coach Andy Bish said. “We shook off some rust in the first quarter and extended the lead. That was big going into the half. It was important for our confidence and energy.”

DCC, which lost to North Clarion by just two points, 66-64, Feb. 4, started quickly gaining an early 7-0 lead before the Wolves (20-2) switched to a 2-3 zone defense and finished the quarter on a 17-9 run to take a 17-16 lead after one quarter and then extended the advantage to nine, 37-28, by halftime.

“The major difference tonight from the first time we played them was our defense,” Bish said. “They were up 7-0 and we were struggling a little and switched to a 2-3 and the boys were flying around. That is probably the best defensive effort we have had all season.”

Offensively, North Clarion had four players reach double figures led by 18 points from Kyle Mills, who also added 10 rebounds and three blocked shots.

“Everyone focuses on Kyle in the middle,” Bish said. “We obviously have a lot of guys who can score. It’s all about shot selection for us. If it’s open, let it rip. But don’t force shots. We feel we can get a lot of good looks if we are patient on offense.”

Tyler McCord-Wolbert added 13 points and eight rebounds in the win with Korey Mill scoring 11 points and Logan Minich 10. Sam Minich chipped in six points, five assists and three assists.

Justin Miknis had a game-high 21 points in his final game for DCC (12-12), while Jonathan Kurtz added 10 points and Brandon Walker eight.

North Clarion will take on KSAC North rival Clarion-Limestone in the semifinals at a site, date and time to be announced. The teams have played twice this year with each winning on the other’s home court. North Clarion won 79-47 at C-L and C-L won 56-43 at North Clarion.

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