FOXBURG — Day two of the AML-KSAC Boys Basketball Christmas Challenge saw its share of action long before the teams played on the court. Three of the four teams had to deal with backed up traffic getting to the A-C Valley High School due to part of Interstate 80 being closed.
The slowed traffic only gave more time for preparation as the Curwensville Golden Tide were ready to play hard against the Union Knights. Both Tide head coach Matt Wassil and Union head coach Karen Burns were fired up and ready to get down to business. What they got was a matchup between a team with size and a team with speed.
For Curwensville, their size proved to be no match as the Knights held on to win the physical 56-46 contest.
Coming off a frustrating loss yesterday, Wassil knew that there needed to be improvements, especially in the rebounding.
“Yesterday was a tale of two halves for us. I think the first half we played excellent, but then after halftime I didn’t know what happened,” Wassil said. “I think the effort was there, but we just got too relaxed.
“I think tonight we played a lot better and it showed.”
It definitely showed for the Tide as junior center Kyle Barrett recorded a season-high 14 rebounds to go along with his team-high 17 points, his third double-double of the season. After the game, Wassil praised his big player.
“Kyle has been good all year. We talked in the preseason that I thought he would be the one guy to sneak up and be the player for this team, and he’s done that,” Wassil said. “The thing about Kyle is that he doesn’t quite realize yet just how good he is. But he’s getting better each game and that means a lot to the kids.”
Along with Barrett, senior Sam Gardner broke into double figures as he posted 11 points while securing a team high seven assists.
For Union, forward Scott Booth led the charge with 18 points while both Logan Mortimer and Zach Smith made it into double figures, scoring 15 and 10 respectively. Scott’s brother, Shawn, led the team with six assists while it was Austin Davis leading the rebounding statistics with eight.
Going into the game, Wassil knew that each team had an advantage in some aspect, but knew what it would come down to was execution.
“You have two teams each with a particular strength. Going in, I think we definitely had the size and physical advantage over Union. But, they had the speed to get to the basket and we just couldn’t contend with it,” Wassil said.
Despite the two losses, Wassil was very pleased with his team in both games, stating that he wanted to have a consistent effort by the team. In his eyes, they were consistent for a majority of the two games.
“I told the kids in the locker room that they played six good quarters. They had a great showing both days, but we need to play eight good quarters in order to win,” Wassil said. “I think we’re just fine and we’re looking forward to getting back on the court once break is over.”
Curwensville will be back in action for two consecutive days starting on Monday, both away from Patton Hall. But, Wassil is not worried as their first game will be against Glendale, who last week defeated the Tide 53-52 in a controversial game.
“I think we have a lot of motivation heading into that game, and I know the kids are amped up for it,” Wassil said. “It’s going to be another close game, just like the first one was, and we’ll be ready.”
Tip off for Monday’s contest will be at 6 p.m. for the junior-varsity game, with the varsity to follow at approximately 7:30.
UNION 12 19 6 19 56
CURWENSVILLE 13 11 8 14 46
TWO-POINT SHOTS: UN-18/34 CV-16/37
THREE-POINT SHOTS: UN-2/9 CV-3/15
TEAM FOULS: UN-10 CV-18
REBOUNDS: UN-34 CV-30
TURNOVERS: UN-8 CV-12
UNION 56
Z. Smith 4 2-2 10, Pollock 1 4-5 7, Sh. Booth 0 0-2 0, Mortimer 5 3-4 15, Burns 0 0-0 0, T. Smith 0 0-0 0, Shirey 0 0-0 0, Davis 1 2-2 4, Sc. Booth 8 2-2 18, Corle 1 0-0 2, Johnson 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 20 12-17 56
CURWENSVILLE 46
Starr 2 0-1 5, Barrett 6 5-7 17, Greslick 4 0-0 8, Gardner 5 0-0 11, Johnson 1 0-0 3, Makin 0 0-0 0, White 0 0-0 0, S. McGary 0 0-0 0, Vasbinder 0 0-0 0, B. McGary 1 0-0 2, Rauchorst 0 0-0 0, Hoover 0 0-0 0, Ireland 0 0-0 0, Davis 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 19 5-8 46
THREE POINT BUCKETS: UN-Pollock, Mortimer, CV-Starr, Gardner, Johnson
FOUL OUTS: UN-None, CV-Johnson