CLARION – They say it’s hard to beat a team three times in a
season.
They don’t know what they are talking about after the Bradford
High boys’ basketball team pounded Clearfield on a third occasion
with a 56-28 decision in the District 9 AAA championship game at
the Waldo S. Tippin Gymnasium on Saturday.
After limiting the Bisons to junior high-like point totals in
60-25 and 61-38 victories in January, the Owls once again tightened
the vise grips on their long-time rivals in holding Clearfield to a
7-for-35 (20 percent) shooting performance.
“I know we beat them (Bisons) pretty good during the regular
season and I’m sure they came into this game with the attitude of
everything to gain and nothing to lose,” said Dave Fuhrman, BHS
head coach. “We got off to a lead right away and that was important
because they had to shoot a little quicker than they wanted to.
When you’re the better team you want to come out of the gate and
establish who the better team is. It might’ve taken us a little
longer to put them away, but I thought we did that.”
Bradford jumped out to an 11-3 lead on a three-pointer by Pug
Fuhrman, and two buckets each by Evan Kline and Ryan Mackey.
“I knew we had to get off to a good start because they (Bisons)
want to spread the floor and make you play defense,” coach Fuhrman
declared. “We were surprised they started out in a man-to-man. They
usually play that 1-1-3 zone and they caught us off guard. We did
get it inside to Ryan (Mackey) and Evan (Kline), and Pug hit a
couple of big threes.”
Fuhrman’s second trifecta was a buzzer beater after the Owls had
held the ball for the final 52 seconds of the first quarter.
“That was big,” coach Fuhrman said of his son’s three-pointer.
“When you score at the end of a quarter, your guys come over to the
bench all charged up and it demoralizes the other team.”
Bradford commenced the second stanza with a traditional
three-point play by Mackey and then Fuhrman swished a triple from
just this side of the passing lane on Interstate 80 for a 20-3
margin.
Clearfield (13-10) cut its deficit to 22-9, but two excellent
passes by Fuhrman and Mackey led to respective buckets by Jimmy
Grove and Kline for a 26-11 bulge at the intermission.
In the third period, Grove drilled a bomb from the left wing and
then ran a stop sign with another three-pointer to give the Owls a
comfortable 38-21 advantage after three.
“We’re working for the last shot of the third quarter and he
(Grove) buries one with about 20 seconds left,” coach Fuhrman
chuckled. “That’s one of those where you say ‘no, no, no, nice
shot.’ He’s hit some big threes all year and he can really shoot
it.”
The fourth quarter was merely a requirement as the Owls took the
opposition to the woodshed with an 18-4 run for a 56-25 disparity
with 1:22 remaining..
“We came out and really put the game away,” coach Fuhrman
recalled. “We spaced the floor well and made them chase us.
“The kids played very well and hustled on defense,” coach
Fuhrman added. “Our game plan was to pressure them (Bisons), extend
the floor and try to wear them down. You hold a team to 28 points
in a district championship — that’s pretty good defense. Our goal
today was to hold them to 35 or less.”
Fuhrman had 16 points, Mackey contributed 15 points, and Kline
grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out four assists for the Owls
(21-2), who won their 17th straight game and captured their eighth
AAA title in the last decade.
“We’ve won this (D-9 championship) eight out of the last 10
years,” coach Fuhrman boasted. “There are a lot of good teams
sitting at home that would like to be playing this time of the
year.”
Bradford will now face Trinity, which finished fifth in the
recent WPIAL tournament, in the first round of the PIAA playoffs at
Pitt-Bradford’s Sport & Fitness Center on Friday (7 p.m.).
“Trinity has a big kid inside and a guard averaging about 23
points,” coach Fuhrman noted. “I think it’s a good draw for us.
Don’t sell our guys short because they’re not going to be
intimidated by anybody.”
