KARNS CITY — The atmosphere was that of a playoff game.

The implications were certainly there, albeit in a round-about way.

The Karns City High gymnasium was packed.

But the Gremlins fell behind early to Clarion at home and couldn't recover in a 72-55 loss Wednesday night.

“I talked about it in the pregame, about this being treated as a playoff game. Apparently, we didn't approach it that way,” said Karns City coach Chris Bellis.

A win may have given Karns City a big feather in its cap if the KSAC South came down to a tiebreaker. As it stands now, the Gremlins need to beat Keystone Tuesday and get some help.

Karns City didn't get much help during the game.

Clarion hit nine 3-pointers and went on a 16-2 run late in the first half to take a 40-26 lead at the break.

“We just didn't defend very well. That's what it came down to,” Bellis said. “We gave up 21 in the first quarter and 19 in the second quarter and that's not gonna get it done.”

Karns City (11-5) had cut the lead to 24-21 before the run. Ian McElroy hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to make it a 14-point game at the half.

He led all scorers with 18.

Ryan Anthony and Reed Anthony combined for 32 points for the Bobcats (12-3).

They were adept at hitting 3-pointers to staunch Karns City comebacks.

The Gremlins only got as close as 13 from the lead in the second half.

“We look at our team, we have eight guys who can run,” said Clarion coach Jess Quinn. “That really helps us and it really puts pressure on defenses because Ryan and Reed can hit. We can drive and hit.”

Clarion was also patient and rarely took a bad shot.

“They're a good team. They have a lot of good guards and they know how to play basketball,” Bellis said. “They did a good job taking what was there and not forcing what wasn't. I thought we did the exact opposite. We tried to force what wasn't there.”

Chandler Turner added a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Bellis said his team can learn from this experience.

“This isn't the end of the world,” Bellis said. “This is an inter-division game. We're still poised to possibly make a run at the division title. This is a bump in the road we have to overcome.”

CLARION 72

Ty Burford 5-13 4-8 14, Cam Craig 6-8 0-0 13, Ceventh Lynch-Skunda 4-10 0-2 8, Ryan Anthony 6-13 0-0 17, Spencer Miller 2-5 0-0 4, Reed Anthony 4-8 4-5 15, Zak Bauer 0-4 0-0 0, Austin Hummell 0-1 1-2 1. Totals: 27-62 8-15 70.

KARNS CITY 55

Noah Pollock 4-9 0-0 9, Noah Kepple 1-7 0-0 3, Ian McElroy 7-16 2-2 18, Jacob Friel 1-3 0-0 2, Chandler Turner 6-9 1-5 13, Eric Dodd 3-12 0-0 6, Jimmy Thompson 2-4 0-0 4, Nolan Riley 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 24-61 3-7 55.

Clarion 21 19 19 13 — 72

Karns City14 12 14 15 — 55

3-point goals: Clarion 9 (Craig, Ryan Anthony 5, Reed Anthony 3); Karns City 4 (Pollock, Kepple, McElroy 2)

Friday: Karns City at Cranberry