CLARION, Pa. — Familiar names emerged as champions in the District 9 basketball playoffs again last weekend as the Bradford, Kane and Elk County Catholic boys and the Bradford, Karns City and Union girls were victorious at Clarion University\’s Tippin Gym.
Boys title games resulted in Bradford bouncing No. 1 seed St. Marys 69-54 in Class AAA, Kane upending No. 1 seed Smethport 54-49 in Class A and defending state champion Elk County Catholic downed Keystone 54-37 in Class A.
Girls championship games ended with Bradford knocking off No. 1 seed Punxsutawney 33-31 in Class AA, Karns City turning back Curwensville 42-33 in Class AA and Union dumping No. 1 seed Coudersport 67-55 in Class A.
In Class A consolation games, the Coudersport boys surprised No. 1 seed DuBois Central Catholic 52-48 and the Elk County Catholic girls edged Clarion-Limestone 49-46.
Defense was the key for the second-seeded Bradford boys, who held No. 1 seed St. Marys (15-10) to its second lowest point total of the season. The Owls (13-11) also limited Louis Pisani to 17 points. Pisani, third in District 9 with a 25-point average, managed only two points as the Flying Dutch fell behind 32-20 at the half.
Bradford got 19 points and 13 rebounds from junior Ben Lanich, 16 points from Ryan LaBrozzi, 15 points and six assists from Tom Morris and 10 points from sophomore Drew Kelly. Dan Vecellio added eight points and seven rebounds in addition to holding Levi Welder (13.6 average) to five points.
Matt Guido and Brett Quiggle chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively, for St. Marys, which was playing for the first time since Feb. 9.
Bradford, now sporting 30 District 9 championships overall, has won the last two AAA titles and six of the last seven.
Revenge for two regular season losses by a total of four points was an incentive for Kane (16-10) against Smethport (21-5). The Wolves, with five underclassmen in the starting lineup, trailed 23-14 with 3:36 left in the first half when they went on a 13-3 run and then held off the Hubbers throughout the second half.
John Bizzak had a game-high 18 points and eight rebounds and Mike Punk contributed 15 points for Kane, which was 20-for-23 at the foul line. Matt Johnson had 15 and Justin Smith 13 for Smethport, which was playing in its first title game following its first 20-win season since 1955.
The D-9 championship was the 11th for Kane, the first since 2000.
Elk County Catholic, seeded second in the loaded Class A field after regular season and Allegheny Mountain League championship game losses to DuBois Central, made it four titles in a row, six in the last eight years and 15 in the last 21 years by riding hot shooting to leads of 17-5 after one quarter and never looking back against Keystone, which had won the AA crown last year.
Jesse Bosnik, who became one of very few cagers to play on four District 9 championship teams and has 2,047 career points, led the Crusaders (26-2) with 17 points. Josh Salter and Brad Meholic tallied 13 and 10, respectively. Kyle Rhoads scored 12 for the Panthers (24-2).
The game featured the two winningest active head coaches in the district. ECC\’s Aaron Straub now is 558-163 in 25 seasons, while Keystone\’s Greg Heath is 434-165 in 23 seasons.
The Punxsutawney girls\’ bid for a sixth consecutive 9-AAA championship was denied by Bradford (19-6), which used stifling defensive play for leads of 19-6 at halftime and 27-12 after three quarters and then held off the Lady Chucks\’ rally in the final period. It was the fifth game in a row and No. 12 this season in which the Lady Owls have held opponents under 40 points.
Punxsy (18-6) closed to within 29-25 with 1:40 left and 32-31 with nine seconds remaining but had a long last-second shot deflected. The loss was only the second for the Lady Chucks in 96 games against district opponents under coach Randy Reitz (126-28 in six seasons).
Whitney Cline scored 11 points and Nicole Siffrinn added 10 as Bradford won a District 9 title for the first time since 1996, when the Lady Owls copped their 12th Class AAAA crown.
Amanda Wehrle led the Lady Chucks with 10 points, while Lauren Martino was held to eight after entering the game with an 18.3 average, tied for second in the district.
Bradford ended Punxsy\’s winning streaks of 90 games against district foes and 67 games against District 9 League opponents with a 31-25 shocker on Jan. 26.
An 18-0 run that started in the second quarter gave Union (26-3) a 40-22 cushion against Coudersport (25-2) with 3:37 left in the third period, and the Golden Damsels went on to stretch their winning streak against District 9 opponents to 47 games for their third Class A championship in a row and eighth overall, one in Class AA.
It marked the 19th consecutive year that one or both of the teams has been in the 9-A championship game. Coudersport owns 11 crowns, including four in a row from 2001 through 2004.
Tiffany Corle starred for Union with 19 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Denyelle Painter followed with 12 points and Janele Divins added 11. Corle now has 1,072 career points.
Coudersport, which missed 16 of 30 free throws, got 18 points from Hope Morris, the lone senior starter, and 17 points and 12 rebounds from Kristy Kamper.
Union teams have compiled a 712-197 record in 36 seasons.