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By John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
CLAYSBURG -- At halftime of their game with archrival Northern Bedford Friday night, the Claysburg-Kimmel Bulldogs found themselves in a struggle.
Claysburg held a slim 19-18 edge over the Panthers -- who have only one win this season -- at the break, as both teams battled to a stalemate.
The third quarter was a different story, however. Claysburg made some defensive adjustments that forced turnovers, and got its transition offense moving, carrying the period, 24-3, en route to posting a 58-37 victory in a game between the two Inter-County Conference East Division opponents at the Claysburg-Kimmel High School gymnasium.
"Northern Bedford, our archrivals, wanted to slow things down and make it a street fight in the first half,'' said Claysburg-Kimmel coach Mike Harris, whose team improved to 13-8 overall and 6-2 in conference play. "At halftime, I told our guys to pick it up, and we went on a 17-point run in the third quarter.
"We switched some things up, went to a 2-2-1 halfcourt trap on defense, and it worked effectively, getting us some easy steals and breakaway layups.''
Sophomore guard Brayden Haney scored 14 of his game-high 25 points in the third quarter, including three 3-pointers, for Claysburg.
"He was facing some adversity in the first half, and had to fight through it,'' Harris said of Haney. "In the third quarter, he took some good, solid shots.''
After a bucket by Northern Bedford sophomore Nathan Eckenroad pulled the Black Panthers to within 26-21, Claysburg reeled off the next 17 points to bust out to a 43-21 lead after three quarters.
Haney converted a floater and senior forward Aidan Simpson scored from inside to start the run. Haney fired in a 3-pointer from the top of the circle, was fouled on the shot, and converted the free throw to complete a four-point play and put Claysburg ahead, 34-21.
Consecutive 3-pointers by Haney and sophomore Christian Treon, followed by a free throw from senior Elias Ritchey and a layup by Haney, completed the surge.
Ritchey scored 12 points, had five steals and dished out seven assists for Claysburg.
"Elias Ritchey is a great leader -- it's nice to have a coach on the floor like him,'' Harris said. "He gets everybody in their proper spots so I don't have to do any micro-managing.''
Northern Bedford was led by 12 points from sophomore guard Nathan Eckenroad and 10 from junior forward Kaden Norwood.
"That Claysburg team is a pretty good group,'' Northern Bedford coach A.J. Weyant said. "They came out in the second half, made some adjustments defensively, turned on the intensity defensively, and knocked down some shots.
"They were more than we could handle in the third quarter,'' Weyant added.
Claysburg converted 20 of 47 floor shots for 42.5 percent -- including eight of 13 in the tell-tale third quarter. Northern Bedford made just 12 of 37 shots for 32.4 percent.
Haney, Simpson and sophomore Cory Walter grabbed a game-high six rebounds apiece as Claysburg fashioned a 27-23 edge on the boards.
According to Harris, this is the first winning season for the Claysburg-Kimmel varsity boys basketball program in four decades. The Bulldogs will compete in the upcoming District 6 Class 2A playoffs.
Claysburg-Kimmel travels to Juniata Valley in the Bulldogs' regular-season finale Monday night, while Northern Bedford wraps up its season with a senior night home game against Cambria Heights on Tuesday night.
"All the credit goes to the kids -- the kids have been fantastic, they've put the time in,'' Harris said. "From the varsity level on down to the elementary level, our program has been blessed with good coaches who are doing a great job.
"We're building something special here.''
NORTHERN BEDFORD (37): Horsh 1 4-6 6, Wadel 0 0-0 0, Kochara 2 3-4 9, Norwood 4 1-3 10, Eckenroad 5 1-1 12, Foor 0 0-0 0, Lloyd 0 0-0, Cottle 0 0-0 0, Crooks 0 0-0 0, Imler 0 0-0 0, Conley 0 0-0 0. Totals - 12 9-14 37.
CLAYSBURG-KIMMEL (58): Haney 9 3-4 25, Ritchey 2 8-10 12, Napolitano 0 0-0 0, Simpson 3 1-2 7, Walter 3 0-0 6, Douglas 1 0-0 3, Treon 2 0-0 5, Conrad 0 0-0 0, Potter 0 0-0 0, Bass 0 0-0 0, Dively 0 0-0 0, Strayer 0 0-0 0. Totals - 20 12-16 58.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Northern Bedford 7 11 3 16--37
Claysburg-Kimmel 6 13 24 15--58
3-point goals: Northern Bedford 4 (Kochara 2, Norwood, Eckenroad); Claysburg-Kimmel 6 (Haney 4, Treon, Douglas).
Records: Northern Bedford (1-20 overall, 0-8 in the Inter-County Conference); Claysburg-Kimmel (13-8, 6-2). Officials: Dan Solomon, Dan Amrhein, Jason Moschgat.
JV: Claysburg-Kimmel, 22-18. High scorers--Cavan Lloyd, NB, 6; Braden Bass, CK, 7