WINGATE – The Bald Eagle Area boys basketball team opened its 2026 portion of the season by welcoming in undefeated Clearfield in a Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference battle.

The Eagles would keep it close early but in the end the Bison (8-0) were too much for the Eagles as they won, 69- 43, in front of the home fans at Bald Eagle Area.

“It was a tough finish for us. Clearfield is really good. We knew coming in they were undefeated and they’ve had some very big wins. We were hoping we could be a little more competitive,” said Bald Eagle Area coach Kris Glunt. “I liked how we started early. We did some good things offensively. We still gave up too many points in the first quarter.”

Offensively, the Eagles were led by Luke Hosband’s and Kane Wolf’s nine point efforts. Teammate James Cowan just missed a double-double posting eight points and 10 rebounds.

In the first quarter the two battled head-to-head in a close opening quarter. With the tip going to Bald Eagle, the Eagles worked the ball inside to James Cowan for the easy lay in and lead. He was fouled in the a t of shooting and headed to the line to hit the back end of an old fashion three-point play.

He was automatic, giving his team an early three-point lead.

The Bison made the most of their first touch as they attacked the basket as well as Ev Maines went right in the middle for the bucket. Kane Wolf got the home fans cheering as he launched a triple from downtown, upping the lead to 6-2 with 6:30 left in the opening period.

But the Bison can score quick and often as they found themselves taking the lead going on a 7-0 run thanks to two field goals by Eli Glunt and a triple by Maines giving their team a 11-6 advantage.

Bald Eagle refused to give away their team lead that easy. A triple by Wade Habovick cut the Bison lead to two with a minute and a half left.

Bald Eagle later tied things at 12 going into the last minute. However, the undefeated Bison surged in the minute to take a 18-14 advantage going into the second.

Clearfield was led by Braison Patrick who posted a game-high 20 points while Evert Maines Eli Glunt both chipped in 17 for the victory.

Clearfield started to pull away in the second period as they were able to hit from outside and inside while its defense was able to hold the Eagles at bay for much of the quarter. In the end, the Bison were able to outscore the Eagles 22-7.

When the two teams went into the intermission, Clearfield held a 40-21 advantage. In the second half, the Eagles tried to work into the lead. Clearfield had answered for everything that the Eagles threw at them. In the end, Clearfield was able to hold and take home the 69-43 victory to improve to 9-0 on the season.

The Bison outscored Bald Eagle Area 29-22 in the second en route to the victory. Bald Eagle is back in action Thursday as they have a showdown with Central.

Clearfield 69, Bald Eagle Area 43

CLEARFIELD (69)

Parker Collins 2 0-0 5, Evert Maines 6 1-1 17, Braison Patrick 7 4-6 20, Eli Glunt 6 4-4 17, Noah Rumfola 2 0-0 4, Ethan Couderiet 1 0-0 3, Nolan Livergood 1 0-0 0, Nico Natiloli 0 0-0 0, Avery Shineck 0 0-0 0, Tanner Kaskan 0 0-0 0, Easton Maines 0 0-0 0, Noah Rumfola 0 0-0 0, Cooper Broad 0 0-0 0, Damitri Vitullo 0 0-0 0, Dom Natoli 0 0-0 0 Totals 25 9-11 69.

BALD EALGE AREA (43)

Luke Hosband 4 1-2 9, Mason Nagle 1 1-3 3, Kane Wolf 3 1-2 9, Nolan Butterworth 0 1-2 1, James Cowan 3 2-5 8, Wade Habovick 1 2-2 5, Jayden Yeaney 1 1-1 3, Sam Clark 1 0-0 2, Wyatt Klinefelter 1 1-1 3, Jackson Willward 0 0-0 0, Henry Cowan 0 0-0 0, Owen White 0 0-0 0, Mason Glunt 0 0-0 0, Jackson Jones 0 0-0 0, Chase Kane 0 0-0 0.

. Totals 15 10-17 43.

CL 18 22 16 13 – 69

BEA 14 7 11 11 – 43

3-point goals: Clearfield 10 (Glunt 4, Patrick 4, Livergood 1, Maines 1), BEA 3 (Wolf 2, Habovick 1).