Curwensville — After a physical contest last Friday against Dubois Central Catholic, the Curwensville boys basketball team was looking for a big comeback. Inside Patton Hall, the Tide were looking to not only get back to their winning ways, but also avenge an early season loss. On the other side of Patton Hall were the Ridgway Elkers, who gave Curwensville their first loss of the season, 75-49 back on December 18, after a 2-0 start.
Unfortunately, the Tide could not gain any momentum, only shooting 28 percent from the floor and being out-rebounded on both ends of the court. The end result was a 63-43 loss, the team’s third consecutive defeat.
The Elkers got inside the paint often as they built an early lead, while holding Curwensville to just 10 first quarter points.
Meanwhile, Ridgway was hitting shots both inside and beyond the arc, while making strategic passes around the court to confuse the defense. Both Eric Matheson and Ben Jacques were on their game as they scored 24 and 21 points, respectively. No other player on the Elkers’ team had more than six points.
Jacques led the Elkers in rebounds with six, while it was Kevin Mornatti leading in assists with nine.
The Tide could not find the right combination to deal with the quickness of their opposition as turnovers and bad passes happened throughout the game. Senior Jed Greslick finished with a team high 12 points with junior Kyle Barrett adding 11 of his own. Barrett also led in rebounds with seven while Alec Starr led in assists with four.
As the third quarter came to a close, the Elkers were playing their best ball as they held the Tide to just nine points, while scoring 22 of their own. Frustration could be seen on head coach Matt Wassil’s face along with some of his players.
Greslick and Sam Gardner did not play during the final quarter, with Shelby and Boone McGary taking the most playing time in the final eight minutes.
Curwensville did pick up a win in the junior varsity game as they defeated Ridgway 41-36 in overtime.
The Tide (4-9) will not have much time to prepare for their next contest as they are back in action Wednesday night against Harmony. Fans attending tomorrow night’s contest are encouraged to wear pink for breast cancer awareness.
Tip off is set for approximately 7:30 p.m. following the junior varsity contest.
Ridgway 16 19 22 6 63
Curwensville 10 13 9 11 43
Two-Point Shots: RY-21/37 CV-12/39
Three-Point Shots: RY-5/10 CV-2/10
Rebounds: RY-30 CV-26
Turnovers: RY-6 CV-12
Team Fouls: RY-15 CV-10
Ridgway 63
Matheson 8 5-6 24, Cappiello 0 0-0 0, Marnatti 1 0-0 2, Sorge 1 0-0 2, Jacques 9 1-3 21, Aiello 2 0-0 4, Lundin 1 0-0 2, Bellotti 1 0-0 2, Stillwell 0 0-0 0, Oknefski 3 0-0 6. Totals 26 6-9 63
Curwensville 43
Barrett 5 1-1 11, Gardner 2 2-3 6, Ireland 1 0-0 2, Greslick 5 0-2 12, Hoover 0 2-4 2, Starr 0 1-2 1, Rauchorst 0 1-2 1, Johnson 0 4-4 4, White 0 0-0 0, S. McGary 0 2-2 2, B. McGary 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 13-20 43
Three-Point Field Goals: RY-Matheson (3), Jacques (2) CV-Greslick (2)