The win gives the Warriors 10 victories for the season against only four defeats. The Golden Tide dropped to 1-9 for 2011-12.
West Branch senior Aaron Lidgett and Kyle Johns, a sophomore for Curwensville, tied for the game’s high scorer as each poured in 20 points on the night.
West Branch, under head coach Bill Etchison, jumped out to a quick 12-0 lead in the first eight minutes before Alex Olson of the Tide connected on a free throw.
The Tide would fall further behind at 17-1 before sophomore guard Tanner Elensky made a bucket for the home team only to have the Warriors close out the quarter with a 22-5 edge.
Curwensville would actually outscore the Warriors over the middle two periods, 21-19, by winning the third frame 13-9 as the Warriors appeared to let up some following their big first quarter.
But Tide head coach Shane Pentz also saw his squad play hard and determined, not just during the second and third quarters but throughout most of the entire contest, “We did start slow tonight, but this team got it together and played very hard most of the night. We got into a hole at the start, as I mentioned, which put us behind the eight ball, but again, we did fight back.”
Elensky helped the Tide cause on offense with 10, while Parker Emigh with 15 and Andrew Larson with 11 assisted with the Warrior scoring.
The Warriors made six three pointers during the game.
In the junior varsity competition it was West Branch coming away with the sweep on the night, beating the Golden Tide 44-31.
Next up for Curwensville will be a home game against Ridgway on Tuesday. The Elkers beat the Golden Tide earlier this season 60-21. JV action starts at 6 pm with the varsity to immediately follow.
WEST BRANCH -63
Tyler Rothrock 3 0-1 8, Aaron Lidgett 9 1-2 20, Mike Pennington 3 1-2 9, Parker Emigh 5 4-5 15, Andrew Larson 4 3-4 11, Skylar Krise 0 0-0 0, Jarrett Rockey 0 0-2 0, Ben Hubler 0 0-0 0, Kirt Carles 0 0-0 0, Chad Kolesar 0 0-0 0, Nate Kerlin 0 0-2 0, TOTALS – 24 9-14 63.
CURWENSVILLE – 40
Brett Gardner 1 0-0 3, Kyle Johns 8 4-5 20, Tanner Elensky 4 1-3 10, Alex Olson 0 1-2 1, Austin Jacobson 2 0-0 4, Marcus Stephenson 0 0-0 0, Nate Kurtz 0 0-0 0, Josh Shaffer 0 0-0 0, Trevon Pennington 1 0-0 2, Nick London 0 0-0 0, TOTALS – 16 6-10 40.
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
WEST BRANCH 22 10 9 22 63
CURWENSVILLE 5 8 13 14 40
THREE-POINTERS: Rothrock 2, Pennington 2, Emigh, Lidgett, Gardner, Elensky
OFFICIALS: Tim Barnes, Chris Sherkel
Golden Tide Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 12/13 | BROCKWAY | 31 – 73 | 0 – 1 |
| 12/16 | @ Ridgway | 21 – 60 | 0 – 2 |
| 12/22 | @ Harmony | 28 – 40 | 0 – 3 |
| 12/28 | @ Punxsutawney | 20 – 50 | 0 – 4 |
| 12/30 | @ Glendale | 29 – 62 | 0 – 5 |
| 01/04 | @ Kane | 51 – 43 | 1 – 5 |
| 01/06 | DUBOIS CENTRAL | 26 – 72 | 1 – 6 |
| 01/10 | @ Johnsonburg | 23 – 60 | 1 – 7 |
| 01/13 | HARMONY | ppd. | 1 – 7 |
| 01/17 | @ Elk County Catholic | 36 – 51 | 1 – 8 |
| 01/20 | WEST BRANCH | 40 – 63 | 1 – 9 |
| 01/24 | RIDGWAY |
