STRATTANVILLE, Pa. (EYT/D9) — After watching Redbank Valley trim a 14-point deficit near the end of the second quarter down to seven at the end of the third, Clarion-Limestone began the fourth with a 15-0 run, helping the Lions pick up their 13th straight victory with a 62-41 verdict over the Bulldogs on Friday evening.
(Pictured above, Riley Klingensmith was named the Hager Paving Incorporated Player of the Game/photo by Diane Lutz)
“We just wanted to calm the kids down a bit after the third quarter,” said C-L head coach Joe Ferguson. “Offensively, we wanted to spread them out a bit, and we got some drives to the hoop. Defensively, we went to a three-quarter court, and we got some steals and easy layups which helped us extend the lead.”
Jordan Hesdon and Hager Paving Incorporated Player of the Game Riley Klingensmith combined for 36 of the Lions’ total with 18 points apiece. Jack Callen added 10 points off the bench. Jase Ferguson handed out six assists while swiping three steals. Callen pulled down six rebounds while Ty Rankin added five boards.
For Redbank Valley, Kieran Fricko scored seven points while Aiden Ortz, Braylen Wagner, Mason Clouse, and Matt Kozma each added six points.
Clarion-Limestone Area High School sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Redbank Chevrolet and DuBrook.
“They are a good team, which is ranked in the top 10 in the state for double-A,” said Redbank Valley head coach Emmanuel Marshall. “We just kept trying to chip away and get the lead down to 10 or so, but we turned the ball over too much and they got four or five easy buckets in the fourth, and once that happened, the air pretty much went out of us. I’m proud of our guys, though, for hanging with them for three and a half quarters. We were a man down due to injury, so we had to make some adjustments and we did the best we could.”
C-L (15-1) built a 14-point lead at 29-15 with 47 seconds remaining in the half before Kozma knocked down a 3-pointer as the halftime buzzer sounded to close the lead to 11 at 29-18 at the break.
Redbank Valley (9-9) continued to chip away in the third after trailing by 12 at 41-29 with 1:44 to play in the quarter. The Bulldogs closed to within seven with a 7-2 run to close the quarter down 43-36.
Hesdon and Klingensmith combined to score all 15 points in the fourth quarter C-L run with Klingensmith scoring nine, including a 3-pointer at the end of the run. Hesdon added six points during the stretch. The Lions outscored the Bulldogs, 19-5, for the quarter to set the final score.
“This was a good test for us,” said Ferguson. “Our guys were able to do a nice job of recovering when they did make that run at us in the third quarter.”
Clarion-Limestone Area High School sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Redbank Chevrolet and DuBrook.
