The Gant Daily Game of the Week pits bitters rivals against each other on the basketball court.
Clearfield and Curwensville are set to clash Friday evening at Arthur J. Weiss Gymnasium at the Clearfield Area High School. Junior varsity action tips off at 6 p.m., with varsity action to follow.
A full house is expected as the Black & Gold invade the Bisons home floor. Each team has had its ups and down this year, but like with any rivalry you can throw the records out the window.
Curwensville stands at 10-4 and is riding a 5-game win streak into the contest. The Tide have won five of their last six games and seven of the last eight. The Tide turned back Brockway 76-43 on Wednesday. The Tide will definitely be a focused bunch for Friday\’s showdown.
Phillip Michaels leads the Tide in scoring this season with 14.8 points per game. Craig Bartlett is chipping in with 11.1 points per game, while Brandon McDonald is adding 7.8 points per game. Shawn Sopic comes in with 7.5 ppg. The Tide offense is averaging 61.6 points per game and is surrendering just 51.5 on defense. Curwensville scored a season-high of 88 points in a December 13 win over Glendale and has scored more than 70 points on four occasions. The Tide have won all four of those games.
The Bisons, on the other hand, have had an up-and-down season stand at 7-7 after suffering a 66-61 loss at the hands of St. Marys on Wednesday evening. Clearfield has lost four of its last five games after piecing together a 3-game win streak over the holiday break. Clearfield has played some tough opponents in the early portion of the season, which will only help down the long run.
Clearfield is led by Mike Johnson. Johnson is averaging 13.4 points for a Clearfield team that prides itself on defense.
The Bisons are scoring 51.3 points per game under head coach Forrest Campman, but are allowing just 47.9.
The Bisons have held five opponents to less than 40 points this season and have won four of those games. Their only loss when holding an opponent under 40 points came on Monday in a 34-31 loss to Philipsburg-Osceola.
