Press Releases / News

Clifford Wins Unified Half-Court Challenge

Monday, February 5, 2024

St. Clairsville Middle School eighth-grader Kolby Clifford made an amazing shot over the weekend and won himself $500.00 from Unified Bank. Fifteen-year-old Clifford was attending a St. Clairsville High School Boys' Basketball game with his friends. At half-time, his name was drawn at random, meaning he was selected to participate in the Unified Bank Half Court Challenge. Unified provides the Half Court Challenge at every St. C Boys Basketball home game. Fans who attend the game receive a ticket upon entering the game. One ticket is drawn per game, and the fan that is selected from the random drawing gets to take one shot from half court. If a shot is made from half-court, the fan that takes the shot receives $500.00 from Unified Bank. If they miss, Unified provides the school with $100.00.

Kolby Clifford is the son of St. C Boys Basketball Head Coach Ryan Clifford. Coach Clifford said, “I was in the locker room with the team Friday evening when we heard the gymnasium erupt with stomping and applause. We all knew exactly what had happened: someone had made the half-court challenge shot. Someone made the shot last year, too.” “I had no idea it was my son who had won,” Clifford added. Coach Clifford said that the Unified Half Court Challenge is very popular and has even helped increase attendance at the games. “Who doesn’t want a shot at $500.00,” said Clifford.

Kolby Clifford said that when he heard his number called, he had a suspicion he was going to make the shot and win the money. Kolby said, “You have to believe in yourself. I thought about it for a few seconds and took the shot. While the ball was still in the air, I just knew it was going in.” He added, “If you watch the video of me taking the shot, you can see that I’m not surprised at all when the ball goes in.”

Unified Bank has two branches in St. Clairsville, one in Plaza West and one on Stewart Drive near the Ohio Valley Mall. Unified President, Chairman, and CEO Scott Everson said that Unified has 18 banking centers in Ohio and West Virginia and is in the process of opening a new banking center in Wheeling. “We care deeply about the people and communities we proudly serve and make it a priority to sponsor and support student and youth athletics in our communities,” said Everson.

Unified Bank is a full-service Member FDIC-insured, state-chartered commercial bank headquartered in Martins Ferry, OH and has eighteen locations that serve the Ohio counties of Athens, Belmont, Carroll, Fairfield, Harrison, Hocking, Jefferson and Tuscarawas and Marshall County in West Virginia. Unified Bank is the sole operating subsidiary of United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP), a publicly-traded bank holding company, and has been serving the financial needs of the Ohio Valley since 1902 from its headquarters in Martins Ferry, Ohio.