Friday’s District 9 boys’ basketball recaps brought to you by D9Sports.com
ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC 51, DUBOIS CENTRAL CATHOLIC 39
ST. MARYS, Pa. – A hot start helped propel top-seeded and unbeaten Elk County Catholic into the District 9 Class A semifinals with a 51-39 win over eighth-seeded DuBois Central Catholic Friday night at St. Marys High School.
The Crusaders (25-0) grabbed a 10-point lead, 17-7, after one quarter and led by 14, 32-18, at halftime.
Nate DaCanal scored five of his game-high 17 points in the first quarter, and ECC also got early 3-pointers from Benji Hoffman and Brad Dippold.
Gabe Kraus added 10 points for the Crusaders with Kyle Huff adding nine and Hoffman seven.
Thomas Grecco paced DCC (16-9), which suffered three of its nine losses at the hands of ECC, with 13 points while scoring all seven of the Cardinals first-quarter points. Christian LaParne added 12 and freshman Justin Miknis 11.
ECC will take on Union in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday night at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym.
UNION 66, CLARION-LIMESTONE 59
CLARION, Pa. – Union stunned defending champion Clarion-Limestone ending the Lions season with a 66-59 win in the District 9 Class A quarterfinals Friday night at Clarion High School.
The victory for the fifth-seeded Golden Knights (17-7) was their first over fourth-seeded C-L (21-3) in four tries this year and came just one week after Union lost to the Lions, 64-39, in the KSAC Title Game.
On Friday night, after leading for large portions of the game, Union found itself down one, 56-55, with two minutes to play when Gavin Hawk hit a 3-pointer, his only made shot of the game, to start an 8-0 run that turned the game in the Golden Knights favor.
Cole Morris was the catalyst behind the upset, which puts Union in the District 9 semifinals and the PIAA playoffs for the first time since finishing second in D9 in 2011, recording a triple-double of 25 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Lucas Bowser (18 points, 13 rebounds) and Hank Murphy (10 points, 13 rebounds) added double-doubles for Union, who will play Elk County Catholic in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym.
Freshman Ian Callen had 20 points for C-L including 10 in the third quarter alone. Noah Rankin finished with a double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Dan Callen also had 12 boards. But Dan Callen was held to a season-low five points, the first time he failed to score in double digits all season, and spent most of the night in foul trouble.