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By Kevin Petrochko
For the Mirror
CLAYSBURG -- The Claysburg-Kimmel Bulldogs came into Friday night's Inter-County Conference matchup against the Tussey Mountain Titans searching for revenge from the two teams' first meeting last month.
Unfortunately, the Bulldogs couldn't finish the job as they fell to their rivals, 56-48.
After getting upset by Mount Union earlier in the week, the Bulldogs (9-7) couldn't get any offense going in the first half.
"We were ice cold for a little bit there," Bulldogs coach Mike Harris said. "We didn't hit a lot of shots, and they did."
In the loss, Bulldog senior Aidan Simpson racked up 13 points on the night, going five-of-six from the charity stripe. Junior Landon Douglas finished with nine points, including three-of-four from the foul line.
Tussey Mountain won the first meeting of the year in a game that came down to missed free throws. After Friday's loss, the Bulldogs continue to push forward through their season.
"We've just got to keep battling," Harris said. "We got beat; it happens; we just got to refocus, keep battling, and keep getting after it."
In the third quarter, Tussey Mountain seniors Luke Barnett, Christian Santa Maria, and junior Ben Kormanski combined for 11 points. Barnett led all Titan scorers with 14 points while hitting three-of-six from the line.
"We worked the ball around," Barnett said. "Moving as a team and really breaking down their defense."
With eight games remaining, Tussey Mountain (9-5) is ready for the season's home stretch.
"They're excited now," Titans coach Jeremy Molosky said. "They're ready to keep on plugging away."
As the regular season winds down, the Titans can clinch the ICC East if they keep winning.
"This is a big win for us," Barnett said. "If we keep it up, we can clinch it."
Claysburg-Kimmel hosts McConnellsburg on Wednesday night.
TUSSEY MOUNTAIN (56): Barnett 4 3-6 14, Santa Maria 3 4-9 11, Garner 0 0-0 0 Kormanski 4 0-2 9, Stoudnour 2 0-2 4, Johnston 0 0-0 0, Hall 2 0-0 5, Chicote 1 5-6 7, Traxler 2 2-4 6
CLAYSBURG-KIMMEL (48): Haney 1 3-5 6, Ritchey 6 0-0 12, Napolitano 0 0-0 0 Treon 1 1-2 4, Simpson 4 5-6 13, Walter 1 2-2 4, Bass 0 0-0 0, Knisely 0 0-0 0, Douglas 2 3-49
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Tussey Mountain 8 16 16 16 - 56
Claysburg-Kimmel 15 7 10 16 - 48
3-point field goals: Tussey Mountain 6 (Barnett 3, Santa Maria, Kormanski, Hall); Claysburg-Kimmel 4 (Haney, Treon, Douglas 2)
Records: Tussey Mountain (9-5), Claysburg-Kimmel (9-7).
Officials: Jim Boston, Pat Young, Mark Mitchell
JV: Tussey Mountain, 43-34 High Scorers: Chilcote, Gambol, TM, 10 each; Knisely, CK, 10