C-K downs rival in ‘Sideline’ game
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By Matt Michelone
sports@altoonamirror.com
LOYSBURG -- Wednesday night's Inter-County Conference boys' basketball clash between Claysburg-Kimmel and Northern Bedford had the feel of a playoff game from the moment the ball was tipped off.
The Bulldogs led for much of the night, although at time the Panthers trimmed those double-digit leads down to as low as six after an early run.
In the end, Claysburg-Kimmel was too much as they cruised to a 70-58 triumph at the Northern Bedford gym in an "I Can Cup" matchup in connection with the Sideline Cancer organization.
"It's a rivalry game; both communities were supporting each other," Claysburg-Kimmel coach Mike Harris. "What a great atmosphere. Wednesday night high school basketball, the place was jam- packed. My kids rose to the occasion. We came off a beating by North Star who's pretty good. They faced a storm, guys hit some shots and we kept grinding it out."
Elias Ritchey helped spark the early Claysburg (7-5) offense with a pair of field goals including a floater which drew the bonus free-throw late in the first. He finished the evening with nine points and 11 assists.
Northern Bedford (1-10) answered, though, as Alex Kochara put away a buzzer beater to end the opening stanza and to give the home team a 15-14 lead.
"Claysburg-Kimmel is a high-powered offense; we knew that coming into the ballgame," Northern Bedford coach A.J. Weyant said. "You got to be alert, and you got to be aware. Tonight it was (Elias) Ritchey and (Brayden) Haney we were focused on and (Landon) Douglas. Douglas came in here and hit some big shots that put us on our toes."
Moving ahead to the second Claysburg went on an 11-0 run and spread the production around as Brayden Haney and Landon Douglas knocked down a pair of three-pointers.
"He's been struggling a little bit shooting the ball, and we've just kept telling him let it fly, let it fly," Harris said. "Tonight, he did, he did a great job steadying the ship for us."
Anthony Napolitano added a trio of field goals during the frame giving the Bulldogs a 39-26 lead at the break. Haney led Claysburg with 14 points.
Douglas shined again from long range in the third quarter as he buried a pair of threes on his way to scoring 13 points.
Northern Bedford would cut the deficit down to eight in the third as Aiden Wadel added a long ball to make it a 43-35 Panther deficit. Wadel led all scorers with 17 while Wesley Horsh continued 15.
Claysburg would finish this game off at the free-throw line as they went a combined 5-for-7 in the last frame and Douglas added another three-ball to ice the game.
"We're young, we're still learning," Weyant said. "They're experienced, they've been in ballgames, they have a lot of letterwinners. We're still finding our way. I thought we handled that pressure in those moments. I felt like we got back into the ballgame, but they always maintained that gap from the second quarter."
Both schools teamed up to help fundraise for two Northern Bedford students in seventh grader TJ Helsel and eighth grader Quinton Morrow who are fighting cancer. Thanks to the combined efforts, both families will split $12,000.
CLAYSBURG-KIMMEL (70): Haney 3 7-13 14, Ritchey 2 5-7 9, Napolitano 4 0-0 8, Treon 5 1-2 12, Simpson 1 0-0 2, Walter 3 4-4 10, Kinsely 1 0-0 2, Dougals 4 1-2 13. Totals: 23 18-28 70.
NORTHERN BEDFORD (58): Norwood 3 2-7 9, Horsh 5 5-9 15, Wadel 5 2-4 17, Kochara 2 0-0 6, Eckenroad 2 3-5 7, Troy 2 0-0 4, Lloyd 0 1-3 1, Foor, Cottle 0 0-0 0, Musselman 0 0-0 0, Crooks 0 0-0 0, Conley 0 0-0 0, Imler 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 13-28 58.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Claysburg-Kimmel 14 25 19 12 - 70
Northern Bedford 15 11 20 12 - 58
3-point field goals: Claysburg-Kimmel 6 (Haney, Treon, Douglas 4), Northern Bedford 8 (Norwood, Wadel 5, Kochara 2)
Records: Claysburg-Kimmel (7-5, 7-3 ICC), Northern Bedford (1-10, 1-9 ICC).
Officials: Kevin Laird, Dave Heim, Brandon Hoover
JV: Claysburg-Kimmel 56-34. High scorers: Erik Porter, CK, 16; Caden Troy, NB 16.