DUBOIS — DuBois Central Catholic took command of the Allegheny Mountain League South Division race by pulling away from Curwensville in the second half for a 59-41 victory in schoolboy basketball action Wednesday night.
The Cardinals, 10-1 overall after stretching their winning streak to six, own a two-game lead with their 3-0 record. The Golden Tide (5-4) is second at 1-2.
After falling behind 15-10 in the first quarter, the Golden Tide made it interesting in the next eight minutes, thanks to 11 points by Philip Michaels. Coach Matt Wassil\’s team was on the verge of taking a one-point edge into halftime when Cardinal Christian Spilman hit a three-point shot at the buzzer to make it 29-27.
Poor shooting led to Curwensville\’s downfall in the second half.
\”We just didn\’t make shots, and then we got beat in transition and gave up some lay-ups which we knew we couldn\’t do, \”Wassil explained. \”They built a quick eight-point lead and it stayed that way until we put them on the line in the fourth quarter. They made six out of eight, which a good team will do, and that helped make it look worse than it was.
\”They did a little better job on Michaels defensively in the second half, but we missed lay-ups and wide-open looks, shots you have to make against a good team. We just didn\’t convert them.\”
Michaels wound up with a game-high 20 points, while Cody Wilson scored 15 and Erik Johnson 14 for the Cardinals.
In the prelim, the DuBois Central Catholic underclassmen also were victorious 58-45 behind John Ferraraccio\’s 20 points. Ryan Gardner led Curwensville with 14.
The Golden Tide will try to balance its AML-South record Friday when Kane visits Patton Hall.
AML-South standings: DuBois Central Catholic 3-0, Curwensville 1-2, Ridgway 0-2, Brockway 0-3.
CURWENSVILLE — 41
Philip Michaels 8 2-2 20, Craig Bartlett 3 0-0 7, David Kalgren 1 0-0 2, Shawn Sopic 2 0-0 4, Brandon McDonald 0 0-0 0, Joey Palmer 3 0-0 6, Ben McGary 1 0-0 2, Ryan Gardner 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 2-2 41.
DUBOIS CENTRAL CATHOLIC — 59
Erik Johnson 6 2-2 14, Cody Wilson 5 4-6 15, Chris Wulderk 3 2-2 8, Christian Spilman 3 0-0 7, Dom Varacallo 3 0-0 6, Andrew Welch 3 1-1 7, Michael Hassan 1 0-1 2. Totals: 24 9-14 59.
Three-Point Field Goals: Curwensville 3 (Michaels 2, Bartlett 1). DuBois Central Catholic 2 (Wilson 1, Spilman 1).
Curwensville 10 17 5 9 — 41
DuBois Central Catholic 15 14 14 16 — 59