Muncy stormed back from an eight-point second quarter deficit and built an eight-point advantage entering the fourth quarter more than two hours away at Clarion Saturday afternoon. Clarion, however, staged its own impressive comeback, finished strong and edged Muncy, 46-42, in the Class AA state tournament’s first round.

Clarion outscored Muncy 19-7 in the second quarter, defeating it for a second straight year and earning a spot against undefeated United in Wednesday’s second round.

Muncy made its fifth consecutive state playoff appearance and returns four starters next season. The Indians overcame a rash of injuries this season to reach states and closed the first half on a 10-0 run to turn an eight-point deficit into a 19-17 advantage.

Dylan Mausteller scored 11 points off the bench and his putback at the buzzer had the Indians (18-9) up, 35-27 entering the fourth. Mausteller also had six rebounds, while Jaxton Frantz scored 11 points. Kyran Lisembee scored eight points and both Nixon Lamper and Nate Rogers added five rebounds.

• The Lewisburg girls basketball team gave District 6 champion Penn Cambria a battle, trailing by just six at halftime before falling, 51-40. The Green Dragons (13-13) made their fourth straight state tournament appearance despite losing all-state candidate Maddy Moyers before the season to a torn ACL.

Teagan Osunde missed nearly a month to start the season but closed her strong scholastic career with a double-double of 14 points, 14 rebounds and six points. Fellow senior Addy Shedleski scored eight points and pulled down nine rebounds.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Clarion 46, Muncy 42

(PIAA CLASS AA TOURNAMENT)

MUNCY (42)

Gavin Barrows 0 0-0 0, Nate Rogers 2 1-2 5, Carter Feigles 0 0-0 0, Kyran Lisembee 3 0-0 8, Jaxton Frantz 4 1-2 11, Dominic Guardini 0 2-2 2, Dylan Mausteller 5 0-0 11, Caleb Beaver 0 0-0 0, Nixon Lamper 2 1-2 5. Totals 16 5-8 42.

CLARION (46)

Mason Burford 3 1-4 7, Nathan Frederick 4 4-5 13, Wyatt Waterson 1 1-4 4, Parker Miller 2 1-3 6, Dylan Smail 4 6-8 16, Trey Hooks 0 0-2 0. Totals 14 13-26 46.

Muncy 5 14 16 7–42

Clarion 9 8 10 19–46

3-point goals: Muncy 5 (Lisembee 2, Frantz 2, Mausteller 1), Clarion 5 (Smail 2, Frederick 1, Waterson 1, Miller 1).

Records: Clarion (19-8), Muncy (18-9).

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Penn Cambria 51, Lewisburg 40

(PIAA CLASS AAAA PLAYOFFS)

LEWISBURG (40)

India Walker 1 1-5 3, Ava Motto 2 2-2 6, Kennedy North 1 2-4 4, Teagan Osunde 6 2-4 14, Lauren Schwartz 2 1-2 5, Addy Shedleski 3 1-2 8. Totals 15 9-19 40.

PENN CAMBRIA (51)

Reagan Ronin 0 2-2 2, Makenna McCay 2 1-2 7, Rachel Fisher 7 9-11 23, Avayan Lemaster 1 1-2 3, Meghan Anderson 4 0-0 8, Avery Lemaster 2 0-0 5, Peyton Rabatin 0 1-2 1. Totals 17 14-20 40.

Lewisburg 9 11 12 8–40

Penn Cambria 14 12 15 10–51

3-point goals: Lewisburg 1 (Shedleski 1), Penn Cambria 3 (McCay 2, Avery Lemaster 1).

Records: Lewisburg (13-13).