CURWENSVILLE – At the end of the first quarter, Coach Matt Wassil huddled his entire team and told them to be aggressive on the court. His words echoed as the Curwensville Golden Tide showed determination and passion throughout the remainder of the game, leading to a 49-42 victory over the visiting Moshannon Valley Black Knights.
“I think tonight was one of the best defensive performances I have seen all season,” said Wassil in the locker room.
His Tide defense, down 17-12 after one quarter, held the Black Knights to only six points in the second quarter and forced turnovers inside the basket along with beyond the arc. Wassil also credits many of his players for stepping up in rebounds, which he says was big later in the game.
“In the second half, Derek (Dixon) and Sam (Gardner) really went after the ball and that led to some fast breaks and big plays,” said Wassil.
Dixon and Gardner accounted for seven rebounds each, team highs, while senior David Kalgren led the team in scoring with 13 points. Kalgren, along with Ben McGary, led the team in assists, with four each.
With only a one-point lead heading into halftime, Wassil said he told his players to play simple basketball and to not settle for jump shots.
“I said to everyone that we were going for 18-foot shots when we had the opportunity to work for the 8-foot shots,” said Wassil. “The second half, we wanted to drive the basket more and make their defense work harder, and that is what made the big difference tonight.”
For the Black Knights, Tom Rowley led the team with 22 points, only missing two shots from the floor, while Brandon Marroni led the team in rebounds with four.
Wassil says that his team did play well, but also says that they will need to work on a few things before their next game.
“Offensively, we need to take care of the ball because sometimes we have a tendency to be sloppy,” says Wassil. “On defense, we just have to continue to be consistent. Tonight was a great game, so it’s definitely giving us momentum for the next time.”
In the junior varsity game, the Black Knights defeated the Tide, 41-31.
Curwensville will continue their home stand as they host Sheffield on Friday night. Moshannon Valley is also slated for action on Friday as they travel to face Southern Huntingdon.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Mo Valley 17 6 11 8 42
Curwensville 12 12 9 16 49
GAME STATISTICS
FIELD GOALS: Mo Valley-17/23; Curwensville-18/32
THREE POINT: Mo Valley-Rowley (4), Neff; Curwensville-Gardner, McGary
FREE THROWS: Mo Valley-3/8; Curwensville-7/15
TEAM FOULS: Mo Valley-16; Curwensville-7
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Mo Valley: Rowley-9/11, 22 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists; Neff-4/6, 9 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
Curwensville: Kalgren-5/9, 13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists; Gardner-5/11, 11 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists; Dixon-4/8, 8 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists