CLARION – It wasn't Karns City's night.

Not by a long shot.

The Gremlins shot poorly, especially from behind the arc, and watched Clarion-Limestone run away in the second half in a 51-32 loss Friday night in the Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference championship game at Clarion University's Tippin Gym.

“They had us spread out in that zone, (but) we were getting some decent looks,” said Karns City coach Chris Bellis. “They had us spread out so far that, sometimes when you play up here, you get in the habit of shooting behind the college 3-point line versus the high school 3-point line, so we got caught up in that a little bit. We just had trouble attacking the basket all night.”

Karns City shot just a shade over 27 percent from the floor and a mere 4 of 21 from 3-point range.

It was an uncharacteristically poor shooting night for the Gremlins, who had just come off a 66-54 win over Clarion-Limestone Wednesday.

It was also a struggle getting inside.

Karns City didn't hit its first field goal from inside the arc until 1:38 remaining in the first half.

“We just weren't aggressive enough,” Bellis said.

Both teams appeared sluggish in the first half and neither shot well.

Karns City was 2 of 15 in the first quarter and just 3 of 19 until two quick baskets at the end of the half.

Clarion-Limestone, meanwhile, didn't fare much better, going 7 of 21 from the field in the first 16 minutes.

Still, the Gremlins were down by just four.

“I thought we defended well in the first half. If you can find a silver lining, we boxed out well and held that team to 17 points,” Bellis said. “But I don't think much else went right.”

Not only did things not go right in the second half for Karns City, things got worse.

In what has traditionally been a strong quarter for the Gremlins, the third quarter was a nightmare.

“I thought we needed a big third quarter,” Bellis said. “We've been strong in the third quarter all season long, but we came out and gave up a (16-4) quarter. That was a big part of the game.”

Clarion-Limestone guard Deion Deas scored eight in the quarter by himself and finished with a game-high 20.

He was named the game MVP.

Meanwhile, Karns City had just one player in double figures with Austin Fahlor leading the Gremlins with 13 points.

“It was a good experience for our kids,” Bellis said. “We still have District 9 playoffs to look forward to. I think we're the No. 1 seed in triple-A

“It was great being in this game, but we can't let this game affect how we look forward to the District 9 playoffs. It was big for us to play on this floor and get some playoff experience.”

KARNS CITY 32

Austin Fahlor 5-11 0-0 13, Chase Beighley 0-8 2-02 2, Logan Pistorius 0-5 0-0 0, Nolan Riley 1-7 0-0 2, Jacob Friel 3-7 0-0 6, Ethan McElroy 1-4 0-0 3, Nathan Waltman 2-5 2-3 6. Totals: 12-47 4-5 32.

CLARION-LIMESTONE 51

Deion Peas 8-15 1-1 20, Julian Laugand 1-2 0-0 2, Ian Callen 2-4 0-0 4, Christian Smith 3-9 2-4 9, Hayden Callen 6-12 0-0 13, Kyle Kerle 0-0 0-0 0, Ian Hawthiorn 0-1 1-2 1, Nick Cyphert 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 21-54 4-7 51.

Karns City 6 7 4 15 — 32

Cl-Limestone10 7 16 18 — 51

3-point goals: Fahlior 4, McElroy; Peas 3, Smith, H.Callen