The Karns City Gremlins knocked off the Clarion Area Bobcats, 70-55, at Clarion in Friday night boys high school basketball action.
Clarion Area came out strong taking control of the game early in first quarter play on their home court. The Bobcats did a good job of moving the ball up and down the court, but began to struggle as Karns City switched their defensive strategy from zone to man-on-man coverage. This along with Nathan Waltman’s entrance to the game, 10 point contribution and opening up plays both offensively and defensively for the Gremlins, resulted in Karns City tying the game and taking the lead, 30-27 by the end of the second quarter. The Bobcats continued to give it their all, including Beau Verdill who lost his shoe yet continued down court to score, without missing a beat. Third quarter play was characterized by one foul after another - six against Clarion and five attributed to Karns City. In the end, Clarion (2-3) came up short to Karns City’s (4-1) victory, 70-55.
Karns City’s Caiden Corbett was named Player of the Game. Caiden scored 16 points against the Bobcats which is more than he had scored in total for the season. When asked how it felt for a player who hasn’t typically had this type of scoring game to come out on top, Caiden said “it felt really good first of all, but I just wanted to help my team out and get the win.” He added, “I hope to keep it up and be consistent.”
Karns City will face Union in Rimersburg on Wednesday, while Clarion will host Kane on Monday.