The Punxsutawney Chucks will be taking part in a tournament against the Clarion Area Bobcats at 7:45 p.m. on Friday.
It's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 61-31, which was the final score in Punxsutawney's tilt against Elk County Catholic on Friday.
Meanwhile, Clarion Area waltzed into their matchup on Wednesday with four straight wins... but they left with five. They enjoyed a cozy 55-40 win over the Knights/Damsels. Given the Bobcats' advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 198th, while the Knights/Damsels are ranked 575th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Clarion Area's win came from a few key players Punxsutawney will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Derek Smail, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 11 rebounds. Another player making a difference was Mason Burford, who posted 12 points and eight rebounds.
Clarion Area smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in three consecutive contests.
Clarion Area pushed their record up to 5-2 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.0 points per game. As for Punxsutawney, their loss dropped their record down to 2-2.
Punxsutawney was able to grind out a solid win over Clarion Area when the teams last played back in January of 2022, winning 46-37. Will Punxsutawney repeat their success, or does Clarion Area have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
