Lions fall to streaking Clarion, 54-47

By Steve Smail

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

CLARION - The top two teams in the Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference's North Division met on Monday evening with both Clarion and Clarion-Limestone coming into the game riding winning streaks.
The Bobcats came in winners of nine straight while the Lions entered with six straight wins and winners of 11 of their last 12 games, so something would have to give. In the end, it was a hotter Clarion which came out on top of a 54-47 victory.
The win kept the Bobcats alive in the chase for the KSAC-North title and berth in the conference championship game next weekend. C-L (7-1) owned a one-game edge in the loss column over the Bobcats (7-2) after splitting the season series with their next-door rivals.
Going into Wednesday, C-L had four divisional games remaining while Clarion had three. The Lions, who were hosting West Forest Wednesday, close with trips to East Forest Friday, Cranberry next Tuesday and a home game with North Clarion next Thursday.
The first time around against those four teams, the Lions won all four by an average margin of over 31 points per game.
In Monday's game, Clarion used a strong first and third quarter along with a strong second-half defensive effort in picking up their 10th straight victory.
Bryce Straffin, who didn't play in the first meeting between the two teams on Jan. 4 - a 65-50 C-L victory - came up big in this meeting with eight blocks and 10 rebounds. Roland Shannonhouse scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while T.J. Armstrong, who also didn't play in the first meeting, scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Cam Kirkland added 13 points and seven assists.
"Having Bryce gives us an underneath presence," said Clarion head coach and former C-L coach Todd Smith. "He blocked 10 shots tonight, so he had that ability to change guys shots when they come inside. We've now won 10 in a row so we're playing real well as a team right now after having some adversity early on in the season."
Adam Mellott led C-L (14-4 overall) with 14 points and nine rebounds, R.J. Laugand added 13 points, Billy Kelley added 11 points, and Tyler Stitt chipped in with eight.
"We missed some easy layups tonight and not just from our inside guys," said C-L head coach Joe Ferguson. "A couple of those were breakaway-type shots and when you are missing those, you are going to have a hard time winning ball games."
Clarion came out of the gate hot in building a quick 13-2 lead as Armstrong scored four points while Antonio Troese, Shannonhouse and Kirkland hit consecutive 3-pointers. C-L finished the quarter with a 9-5 advantage to close to within 18-11 after one.
The Lions continued to climb back in the game with a 6-2 run to start the second which pulled them to within three at 20-17 with 5:31 to play in the half. After a Kirkland basket, Kelley drove the lane for a basket and Laugand hit a 3-pointer for a 22-all tie. Kirkland then scored an old-fashioned three before a pair of inside baskets by Mellott gave C-L a 26-25 halftime lead.
"I felt comfortable going into halftime with that one point lead," said Ferguson. "Clarion just came out in the third and once again shot lights out. Bryce inside did a real good job as he deterred a lot of our inside game, which is something we rely on."
After a 30-27 lead by C-L early on in the third, the Lions committed six straight turnovers which led to a 13-0 run by Clarion for a 40-30 Bobcats lead.
C-L scored the final four points of the quarter to close to within 40-34 after three.
"We've been a second half team and we really came out and played really well on defense in the second half," said Smith. "C-L is a good basketball team as they've played really well all year. They have some good athletes and some good guys inside, so they're going to be a team to contend with for the KSAC and in the district playoffs."
C-L would pull no closer than three points in the fourth quarter, the last time at 46-43. Clarion made 10 of 17 free throws in the fourth quarter while making just two shots from the field. Clarion made six of their final eight shots from the line to help pull away for the seven point victory.
In last week's games:
FRIDAY, Feb. 3
C-L 73, Karns City 51
At home, the Lions used big first and third quarters to pull away from the visiting Gremlins.
Adam Mellott used his size advantage in leading three players in double figures for C-L with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Billy Kelley added 18 points and four steals, and Tyler Stitt added 14 points. R.J. Laugand scored nine points and added 12 assists while Ross Munsee pulled down nine rebounds.
Tyler Kepple led Karns City with 16 points including four of the Gremlins' 10 3-pointers. Tucker Preston added 14 points with three 3-pointers.
"We knew that was their game and early on our zone wasn't reacting to their shooters," said C-L head coach Joe Ferguson. "We switched to a man and told the guys at halftime that they had to get a hand in the face of their shooters and know where they are. We did a much better job defensively in the second half."
Karns City hit seven of their 3-pointers in the first half.
After a Tucker 3-pointers and a pair of long range shots from Kepple gave Karns City an 11-8 lead in the first, C-L (14-3 overall) closed the quarter on a 16-0 run for a 24-11 lead after one.
Mellott scored 10 points for C-L in the opening quarter.
Four 3-pointers and a 5-for-7 effort from the free throw line helped the Gremlins cut the Lions lead to 34-28 by halftime.
C-L broke away with a 16-3 run to start the third, extending its lead to 50-31. An 8-4 edge over the final 3:26 gave the Lions a 58-35 lead after three.
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1
C-L 68, Moniteau 56
Last Wednesday at West Sunbury, the Lions used a 16-4 run over the final five minutes to pull away for a 12-point win.
The game was tied at 52-all before the final run.
Billy Kelley led the Lions with 24 points. R.J. Laugand added 14 points, nine assists, and five steals while Adam Mellott also reached double figures with 11 points. Tyler Stitt pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.
C-L led 17-11 after one and 30-27 at halftime.
Each team scored 19 points in the third allowing C-L to maintain a three-point lead of 49-46. The Lions closed the game with a 19-10 fourth quarter advantage.
Kyle Armagost led Moniteau with 15 points and 11 rebounds while Andrew Armagost added 11 points and 11 rebounds.