The one thing that can hinder any team’s ability to be competitive is pressure by the opposition. Friday night inside Patton Hall, the Curwensville Golden Tide basketball team felt that pressure.
The visiting Dubois Central Catholic Cardinals used a full-court man defense for most of the game, which led to 18 turnovers by the Tide as the Cardinals went on to the dominating 75-60 win.
“We knew that they were going to pressure us and we had trouble picking up the full-court press,” head coach Matt Wassil said afterwards. “That was our biggest concern coming in was the turnovers. When you have pressure like that, turnovers are bound to happen. They just took advantage.”
The Cardinals took advantage right from the opening tip off as they rocketed out to a quick 11-0 advantage just 1:35 into the game, forcing Wassil to take an early time out. The Tide did not find any momentum as the Cardinals led 29-9 after one quarter.
The full-court press created multiple issues for the Tide besides turnovers. Bad passes and tipped balls were the story of the first 16 minutes, and the frustration could be seen on the players.
Dubois Central Catholic had two players make it into double figures with Chris Marshall gaining a team-high 22 points, including a perfect 4 for 4 from the line. Joe McNally added 19 points of his own. Marshall also led the Cardinals in rebounds and assists with six and five, respectively.
For the Tide, Sam Gardner, Jed Greslick and Kyle Barrett all hit double-digit scoring with Gardner getting the game-high 24 on the night. Greslick added 19 while Barrett accounted for 11. Barrett again led in rebounds with seven, while Gardner led the team with six assists.
The one player that was held in check was Alec Starr, who put up zero points and three rebounds. Wassil accounted this to the lack of rhythm the team had for a majority of the game, but also credited the Cardinals for their play.
“You know, that’s a good team over there. They like to play close and pressure, that’s what they do. They’re quick and take advantage of mistakes. We didn’t have a rhythm for three of the four quarters, and that cost us,” Wassil said.
Going into the fourth quarter, the Cardinals held a 69-39 advantage, their biggest lead of the game. It wasn’t until the final eight minutes that Curwensville built some momentum as Gardner put in five buckets while also getting four assists.
“In the fourth we finally began clicking. Sam began pushing and when he does that, he is able to get shots for himself or set up others for some buckets inside,” Wassil said. “I give the kids credit for not giving up. We played harder in the fourth quarter than anytime during the game.”
In junior varsity action, the Cardinals got a 34-26 victory over Curwensville.
After the game, Wassil talked about his team and what he will focus on in the practices leading up to their next game.
“We’re going to focus on the fundamentals. Our weakness right now is passing. We’re not hitting guys in stride, or we’re having balls tipped because of bad decisions,” Wassil said. “We’re going to focus on that this week and just get ready to go again.”
The Tide (4-8) will host their second of three straight home games on Tuesday night. Curwensville welcomes the Ridgway Elkers, who defeated Curwensville 75-49 earlier this season. Tip off is set for approximately 7:30 p.m. following the junior varsity game.
Dubois CC 29 12 26 8 75
Curwensville 9 16 14 21 60
Two-Point Shots: DCC-27/46 CV-20/38
Three-Point Shots: DCC-5/6 CV-5/12
Team Fouls: DCC-16 CV-13
Turnovers: DCC-11 CV-19
Rebounds: DCC-20 CV-22
Dubois Central Catholic 75
Zimmerly 0 0-0 0, Krause 1 0-0 2, Nesbit 0 0-0 0, Galluzzi 2 0-0 4, W. Gangewere 2 0-0 5, Marshall 9 4-4 22, Gallagher 1 0-0 2, Hopkins 0 0-0 0, Welch 4 0-0 8, D. Gangewere 2 0-0 4, McNally 7 1-2 19, Fitzpatrick 4 1-2 9. Totals 32 6-8 75
Curwensville 60
Barrett 5 1-2 11, Gardner 10 0-2 24, Greslick 7 4-4 19, Hoover 0 0-0 0, Starr 0 0-0 0, Jonson 0 0-1 0, White 1 0-0 2, S. McGary 0 0-0 0, B. McGary 2 0-0 4. Totals 25 5-9 60
Three-Point Field Goals: DCC-McNally (4), W. Gangewere CV-Gardner (4), Greslick