CURWENSVILLE – In a game that included fast action, high scoring offense and raw emotion, it was the Glendale Vikings that held off a late rally by the Curwensville Golden Tide to win the game, 71-68. Afterwards, in the locker room, head coach Matt Wassil was still proud of his entire team.
“Tonight, I was the proudest I have been all year of this team. They left it all on the floor,” said Wassil.
He had reason to be proud as his team came back from a 16-point halftime deficit to almost defeat Glendale. The Tide outscored the Vikings 44-30 in the second half, 25 of which came in the fourth quarter. Sam Gardner scored ten of his team-high 28 points in the fourth quarter while also getting four rebounds along with three steals. Wassil was pleased with Gardner’s performance, along with that of his teammates.
“Late in the game, Sam, Derek (Dixon) and Andrew (Starr) all were able to really drive to the basket and finish, which really got us going,” said Wassil.
Dixon finished with 13 points, while Starr accounted for six. David Kalgren also had a big night, with 16 points while going 7 for 10 on the night. Ben McGary led the Golden Tide in assists with eight, which Wassil said was his strong point in the game.
“Ben really came through in his passing and assists, which doesn’t show much on his individual stats, but really helped us rally and make a game of it,” said Wassil.
For Glendale, it was Brad O’Donnell leading in scoring with 27 points, while Vance Kimberly accounted for another 15.
Early in the game, Glendale got an early 18-4 lead, which Wassil said was because they were getting good shots close to the basket.
“In the first half, especially in the first quarter, we were letting them get too many easy looks,” said Wassil. “They were able to drive to the paint and we couldn’t defend them.”
The second half saw Curwensville play a lot of man-to-man defense which caused more turnovers and fast breaks. The Golden Tide pulled to within two points late in the game, but a late foul put Kimberly on the line, where he put down one of his two free-throws. With nine seconds left in the game, Curwensville was able to drive down the court and Kalgren put up one last three-point jump shot, which fell just short as the buzzer sounded.
In the junior varsity game, Curwensville defeated Glendale 33-29.
With the loss, Curwensville falls to 5-8, while Glendale moves to 8-4. Curwensville is on the road Tuesday night as they face the Ridgway Elkers.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
GLENDALE 24 16 15 16 71
CURWENSVILLE 12 12 19 25 68
GAME STATISTICS
Field Goals: GLENDALE-27/30; CURWENSVILLE-30/44
Three Point Shots: GLENDALE-Kimberly, Jenny; CURWENSVILLE-Kalgren, Dell’Antonio
Free Throws: GLENDALE-13/21; CURWENSVILLE-8/11
Team Fouls: GLENDALE-12; CURWENSVILLE-20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
GLENDALE: O’Donnell-12/13, 27 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists; Kimberly-4/4, 15 points, 3 rebounds 2 assists; Jenny-4/4, 12 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists; Westover-4/4, 10 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist
CURWENSVILLE: Gardner-12/19, 28 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists; Kalgren-7/10, 16 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists; Dixon-6/6, 13 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists
