CLARION — Karns City welcomed the chance to prove its 31-point effort in a loss to Clarion in early January was an anomaly.

The rematch came Thursday in a KSAC boys basketball semifinal at Clarion University and the Gremlins were fast out of the gate.

They reached their total output from the first game in less than 14 minutes and rolled to a 62-49 win over the Bobcats.

“The earlier game we played against them, we were coming off a long break, 13 days, and it’s tough to replicate game situations in practice,” said KC coach Zach Kepple. “We shot just 22 percent from the field that night.”

The Gremlins made 58 percent (24 of 41) of their shots Thursday, including six field goals in the first quarter that helped to put the Bobcats in a 19-9 hole.

Junior guard Taite Beighley sank three of his four treys in the first half, finishing with 21 points.

“We knew we were better than what we showed before against Clarion,” Beighley said. “We were excited to play tonight, came out with energy and so much confidence.”

KC (20-3) will face Clarion-Limestone, which defeated Union in Thursday’s other semifinal, in the championship game here at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Trailing 33-20 at halftime, Clarion got to within 35-26 before a basket from Beighley and two from Hobie Bartoe pushed the lead to 41-26 with just over a minute left in the third quarter.

KC sophomore forward Shane Peters helped put any chance of a Clarion comeback to rest, scoring eight of his 14 points in the fourth period.

“It didn’t take him long at all to become a major contributor for us this season,” Kepple said of Peters. “He actually scored 20 points in our first game. He’s 6-foot-6, has long arms and keeps the ball high. That’s tough to defend.”

Bartoe added 10 points for KC, which received eight points and eight rebounds from senior forward Micah Rupp.

Clarion (15-8) was paced by Bryce Brinkley and Gabe Simko, who both scored 13 points.

Clarion-Limestone 56, Union 51

The Golden Knights came painfully close to pulling off a huge upset of the Lions.

Payton Johnston’s conventional 3-point play, followed by his basket after a steal gave Union a 51-48 lead with just 65 seconds left in the game.

It was 23 seconds later when C-L began the flurry that decided the game.

With 42 seconds on the clock, Jack Callen made a basket that cut Union’s lead to one point. He soon found himself at the free throw line after the Lions forced a turnover. The junior forward sank both free throws and the Knights quickly turned the ball over twice more, resulting in a pair of buckets from Alex Painter for the final points of the game.

“That last minute of the game was like a blur,” said Union coach Eric Mortimer. “There was a basket, turnovers and more baskets. That’s how C-L plays.”

C-L coach Joe Ferguson agreed.

“It’s hard to explain,” he said. “We played all season with a fire on defense, but it didn’t show up tonight until the very end. It came down to the heart and effort of our kids.”

But earlier in the second half, it was the Lions (21-2) who were knocked onto their heels. They enjoyed a 33-23 lead at halftime, but behind Zander Laughlin’s 11 points in the third quarter, Union trailed just 43-41 with eight minutes to play.

Laughlin led the Knights (12-11) with 14 points and Johnston added 13.

“It was a tremendous effort by our guys,” Mortimer said. “They all busted their butts and we made up that deficit quickly.”

Painter’s late baskets gave him 16 points to lead C-L. Callen scored 14 and Jack Craig 10.

KARNS CITY 62

Hobie Bartoe 4 2-2 10, Taite Beighley 7 3-4 21, Micah Rupp 4 0-0 8, Jacob Callihan 2 5-6 9, Shane Peters 7 0-2 14. Totals: 24 10-14 62.

CLARION 49

Devon Lauer 3 0-2 7, Tanner Miller 1 0-1 3, Bryce Brinkley 5 1-2 13, Gabe Simko 6 1-2 13, Derek Smail 3 1-4 7, Dawson Smail 2 2-2 6. Totals: 20 5-13 49.

Karns City 19 14 13 16 — 62

Clarion 9 11 9 20 — 49

3-point goals: Karns City 4 (Beighley 4); Clarion 4 (Brinkley 2, Lauer, Miller)

UNION 51

Skyler Roxbury 3 3-4 9, Dawson Camper 4 0-0 9, Trey Fleming 0 2-2 2, Payton Johnston 5 2-4 13, Hayden Smith 2 0-0 4, Zander Laughlin 6 0-0 14. Totals: 20 7-10 51.

CLARION-LIMESTONE 56

Jordan Hesdon 2 2-2 7, Rylie Klingensmith 0 1-2 1, Alex Painter 7 1-3 16, Tommy Smith 2 0-0 4, Ty Rankin 2 0-0 4, Jack Callen 6 2-2 14, Jack Craig 4 0-0 10. Totals: 23 6-9 56.

Union 6 17 18 10 — 51

C-L 16 17 10 13 — 56

3-point goals: Union 4 (Laughlin 2, Johnston, Camper); Clarion-Limestone 4 (Craig 2, Hesdon, Painter)