ST. MARYS — No. 1 Elk County Catholic shut down No. 8Clarion in the second quarter to balloon a five-point lead into a 12-point advantage by halftime, eventually winning, 51-36, in a District 9 Class A boys basketball quarterfinal.

ECC never let up on offense, led by hot shooting from Charlie Breindel. Breindel hit three triples and scored 22 points to lead the Crusaders. He scored in every quarter and put up 15 points in the middle two periods when ECC took over the game. Jordan Wasko added 10 points while nailing two 3-pointers.

Clarion couldn’t find its offense in the second quarter, scoring just two points. It kept pace with ECC the rest of the night but was unable to overcome that early deficit. Devon Lauer led the Bobcats with 10 points while Christian and Gabe Simko scored seven and six, respectively. Ryan Alston hit two treys to give Clarion six points.

ECC will advance to face North Clarion in the semifinal game.

Lauer 4 1-2 10, Simko 2 3-4 7, G. Simko 3 0-0 6, Alston 2 0-0 6, De. Small 1 0-0 3, Da. Small 1 0-0 2, Wright 0 2-2 2. Totals:

Elk County Catholic (51)Breindel 9 1-1 22, Wasko 4 0-0 10, Straub 4 0-0 8, Jansen 2 3-4 7, Nussbaum 1 0-0 2, Jacobs 1 0-0 2. Totals:

Three-point goals: Clarion 3 (Alston 2, Lauer), ECC 5 (Breindel 3, Wasko 2); Total fouls: Clarion 8, ECC 12; fouled out: None.