CLARION, Pa. (D9Sports) – It didn’t take Clarion-Limestone long to put the disappointment of last week behind them – when the Lions lost to rival Clarion in the regular-season finale and then to Keystone in the KSAC Championship game.
(Photo: Dan Callen scored two of his 23 points on the night as C-L beats Clarion in the D9 2A quarterfinals. Callen also had 14 rebounds)
A 10-2 run to close out the first quarter helped the Lions get revenge on their neighborhood rival Bobcats with a 64-45 win over Clarion in the District 9 Class 2A quarterfinals Wednesday night at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym.
Two Dan Callen offensive putbacks helped fuel the opening-quarter run that put the Lions ahead for good, 16-9, by the end of the quarter, a lead that grew to 28-19 by halftime.
Clarion never had an answer to C-L’s inside game or for Callen, who finished with 23 points and 14 rebounds including seven offensive boards which helped the senior score 10 second-chance points.
Callen, who also scored the Lions (18-6) first eight points of the second half to grow the lead to 36-23 midway through the third quarter, talked about the victory.
Sam Leadbetter also had a strong first quarter for C-L scoring six first-quarter points while finishing with 12 points and seven rebounds, while Ian Callen was solid in the second half scoring eight of his 13 points after halftime while also collecting nine rebounds.
After Clarion (16-7) took a 7-6 lead near the midway point of the first quarter, Leadbetter gave the Lions the lead for good with 4:22 to play before back-to-back offensive putbacks by Dan Callen made it 12-7.
The lead then reached double digits for the first time just over three minutes into the second quarter on an old-school 3-point play by Ian Callen, the only kind of 3-point plays the Lions connected on during the game. After head coach Joe Ferguson said in his pregame interview that he wanted his team to rely less on the long-range shot, C-L obliged their coach and didn’t hit a single three in the game and only attempted one, a late fourth-quarter triple attempt by Christian Smith, who finished with eight points.
Clarion, meanwhile, never could find a rhythm on offense shooting 19 of 63 (30.2 percent) for the game including 2 of 12 from 3-point range. The Bobcats also turned the ball over 16 times. Clarion was also 5 of 13 from the free-throw line.
Cam Craig paced Clarion with 12 points with Ty Burford adding eight points and eight rebounds. Spencer Miller and Reed Anthony each chipped in nine points.
C-L, the fourth seed, takes on top-seeded Coudersport in the semifinals at a time, site and date to be determined.
CLARION-LIMESTONE 64, CLARION 45
Score by Quarters
Clarion 9 10 12 14 – 45
C-L 16 12 14 22 – 64
CLARION – 45
Ryan Anthony 0 1-2 1, Spencer Miller 4 1-2 9, Ty Burford 3 2-5 8, Reed Anthony 4 0-0 9, Cam Craigh 5 1-2 12, Austin Hummell 2 0-0 4, Ceventh Lynch-Skunda 1 0-2 2, Zak Bauer 0 0-0 0, Gavin Brinkley 0 0-0 0, Victory Stahlman 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 5-13 45.
CLARION-LIMESTONE – 64
Julian Laugand 1 0-0 2, Sam Leadbetter 5 2-2 12, Dan Calle 11 1-3 23, Christian Smith 3 2-5 8, Ian Callen 5 3-3 13, Mac Park 0 0-0 0, Chris Callen-Deal 3 0-1 6, Deion Deas 0 0-0 0, Noah Port 0 0-0 0. Totals 28 8-14 64.
Three-pointers: Clarion 2 (Reed Anthony, Craig).
Rebounding Leaders: Clarion 34 total rebounds (Hummell 9, Burford 8). Clarion-Limestone 42 total rebounds (Dan Callen 14, Ian Callen 9, Leadbetter 7).
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