BRADFORD — The Bradford boys basketball team got back in the win column Saturday, as Cam Austin turned in another 20-point game and Jake Franz returned to score eight points, leading the Owls over Clarion-Limestone, 54-43.
“I was happy for the players,” said Bradford coach John Bennardi, whose Owls snapped a five-game skid. “It’s well-deserved and they’ve been working hard. We did some nice things and hit some shots.”
Bradford began to seize control of the game in the third quarter, when it held C-L to just three points while taking a three-possession lead. Dalton Dixon scored nine points in the game for the Owls, and Jerid Wilmoth added seven.
“We talked about it at halftime — We stepped up with our man-to-man defense and did a nice job defending what (C-L) wanted to do,” Bennardi said. “They’re a good 3-point shooting team and we held them to 1-of-11 and about 30% from the field. It was tougher for them in the second half.”
The Owls will get somewhat of a break this week, as they’ll only take the court Wednesday, when they travel to St. Marys. A daunting District 9 League schedule of DuBois, Brookville, Punxsutawney and Elk County Catholic will follow.
“If we can stay healthy for more than one or two consecutive games, that will help,” Bennardi said. “If we make shots, we’re tough to beat. We just need to make the shots that we should make. There’s no quit in these guys all season, and I’m proud of them.”
Ferguson 1 4-4 6, Hummel 2 4-4 8, Klingensmith 4 1-1 9, Huwar 4 0-0 8, Painter 2 0-2 4.
Bradford (54)Austin 8 3-4 20, Dixon 2 4-6 9, Ruolo 1 0-0 2, Ward 1 0-0 3, Wilmoth 3 1-4 7, Fitton 2 0-0 5, Franz 3 1-6 8.
Three-point goals: C-L 1 (Smith), Bradford 4 (Austin, Dixon, Ward, Fitton); Total fouls: C-L 14, Bradford 19; fouled out:
GIRLS
NON-LEAGUE
Bradford 36, Oil City 29
OIL CITY — Bradford turned in what coach Tony Richards called its “best defensive effort of the season,” gutting out a Saturday win over Oil City.
Bradford held Oil City to nine points in a fourth quarter that saw its offense come alive, especially through Kalie Dixon and Ryley Cleveland.
“I told the girls before the game that we needed a total team effort on the defensive end, and other than a few breakdowns that Oil City capitalized on, we played great team defense,” Richards said. “That’s where the game was won.”
Dixon scored 15 points to lead the way offensively for Bradford, which made the trip with two players unavailable. Cleveland, meanwhile, scored all six of her points in the fourth quarter, including two on rebound put-backs and one on a 15-foot jumper.
“We were able to get Dixon some great looks on the perimeter and she came up huge,” Richards said. “(Alanna) Benson battled foul trouble the entire game, but she kept us in it early. Makenzie Taylor directed the offense most of game and kept her composure She came up with a big steal and layup late in the fourth that put us up nine.”
Benson finished with seven points while Close scored six, including a bucket late in the game. The Lady Owls will host Brockway tonight.
Benson 2 1-2 7, Taylor 1 0-0 2, Close 3 0-0 6, Dixon 4 5-6 15, Cleveland 3 0-0 6.
Oil City (29)Petro 2 0-0 5, Womer 1 0-0 2, Guiste 0 2-2 2, Stahl 1 0-0 2, Foley 0 0-1 1, Marczack 4 2-2 13, Wenner 1 0-0 2.
Bradford 4 (Benson 2, Dixon 2), Oil City 4 (Marczack 3, Petro); Total fouls: Bradford 10, Oil City 16; fouled out:
Northern Potter 51, Williamson 24
ULYSSES — Courtney and Rebecca Martin combined for 34 points, leading Northern Potter to a runaway victory over Williamson.
Courtney Martin recorded 18 points and five steals, while Rebecca Martin tallied 16 points, six rebounds and five steals of her own. Megan Hyde tacked on five points and nine rebounds for NoPo.
Stephens 1 0-0 2, Jones 4 3-7 12, Lewis 1 2-4 4, Jones 1 1-2 3, Buchanan 1 1-3 3.
Northern Potter (51)Chapman 2 2-2 7, Cady 1 0-0 2, C. Martin 7 4-7 18, Hyde 2 1-2 5, David 1 0-0 4, R. Martin 6 3-5 16.
Three-point goals: Williamson 1 (Jones), NoPo 3 (Chapman, David, R. Martin); Total fouls: Williamson 12, NoPo 15; fouled out:
Oswayo Valley 53, Archbishop Walsh 23
OLEAN, N.Y. — Makenzie Melser scored 11 points and Makenna Manning added 10, leading Oswayo Valley over Archbishop Walsh.
Jenna Freer and Brooke George each added nine points in what became a team-wide scoring effort for the Lady Green Wave.
Mesler 5 1-2 11, Freer 4 1-2 9, George 4 1-2 9, Austin-Keech 1 2-2 4, Manning 4 2-4 10, West 1 2-4 4, Fleischman 1 1-2 3, Enty 0 2-2 2, Williams 0 1-2 1.
Archbishop Walsh (23)Kirkwood 1 0-2 3, Howard 1 0-0 3, Policastro 4 0-0 10, Bailey 1 0-0 3, Hentschel 2 0-0 4.
Three-point goals: OV 0, Walsh 5 (Kirkwood, Howard, Policastro 2, Bailey); Total fouls: OV 12, Walsh 18; fouled out:
NORTH TIER
Port Allegany 45, Austin 25
AUSTIN — Kayleigha Dowell’s double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds helped lead Port Allegany over Austin.
Dowell scored all 15 of her points in a second half that saw the Lady Gators turn what had been a one-possession halftime advantage into a runaway victory. Rylie Simpson scored a career-high 12 points, while Ella Moses had 11 rebounds and seven steals to go with her four points.
Leigha Nelson tallied 11 points, five steals, four rebounds and three assists.
“It took a little while to get our legs under us after a game (Friday) night, but we played much cleaner in the second half,” Port coach Jamie Evens said.
Ella Brewer recorded 18 points, seven rebounds and six steals to lead Austin. Port will host Northern Potter Monday in its fifth game in seven days.
Stauffer 1 0-0 2, Nelson 4 1-3 11, Moses 1 2-6 4, Simpson 4 0-0 12, Borowsky 0 1-3 1, Dowell 6 2-4 15.
Austin (25)Brewer 8 1-1 18, Williams 1 0-4 2, Horton 1 0-0 2, Rees 0 1-2 1, Lentz 1 0-0 2.
Three-point goals: Port 7 (Nelson 2, Simpson 4, Dowell 4), Austin 1 (Brewer); Total fouls: Port 9, Austin 12; fouled out:
LATE FRIDAY
St. Marys 48, Penns Valley 39
SPRING MILLS — Izzy Catalone scored 14 points to lead St. Marys over Penns Valley in Friday hoops action.
Maura Caskey added 13 points for the Lady Dutch, who built a double-digit lead by halftime. Isabelle Caskey tacked on six points.
Erich 1 0-0 2, Anthony 2 0-0 4, Catalone 7 0-0 14, Snelick 2 0-1 5, Eckels 2 0-0 4, M. Caskey 4 5-6 13, I. Caskey 3 0-0 6
Penns Valley (39)McMurtie 4 0-0 11, Dingers 1 2-6 4, Romig 2 0-0 4, Goodwin 1 2-2 4, Winkelblech 5 0-1 13, Emel 1 0-0 3.
Three-point goals: St. Marys 1 (Snelick), PV 7 (McMurtie 3, Winkelblech 3, Emel 1); Total fouls: St. Marys 8, PV 9; fouled out:
