RIDGWAY — The tough-luck Curwensville Area High School boys basketball team pushed once-beaten Ridgway to the limit but came out on the short end of a 41-40 overtime thriller Tuesday night.
The Allegheny Mountain League South Division game was a see-saw affair throughout, with the Golden Tide leading 28-26 going to the fourth quarter period but needing a three-pointer by Jake Terry at the buzzer to force the extra period.
Ridgway, No. 3 in this week’s Laurel Eye Clinic/D9Sports.com District 9 Power Ratings, then outscored Curwensville 6-5 for its 14th victory.
Jeremy Breier, who gave the Golden Tide fits in the post all night, netted four of his game-high 29 points as the reigning District 9 Class A champion Elkers built a four-point advantage before Harrison Bloom hit a three-pointer with three seconds on the clock.
A 6-4 junior who was named to the All American Awards and Engraving/D9sports.com All-District 9 First Team after averaging 17.4 points last season, Brier accounted for 12 of Ridgway’s 16 points in the first half and all nine of the hosts’ points in the fourth period.
For the game only two other Elkers broke into the scoring column.
Trey Rauckhorst paced the Golden Tide with 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
The defeat was the fourth Curwensville (4-10) has suffered at the hands of teams that are showing only one loss. One was 38-33 in the first game against Ridgway on Dec. 12.
The Golden Tide, which also lost two games by two points, will strive to get back into the win column when Brockway visits Patton Hall in another AML-South game Friday.
Ridgway’s junior varsity also was victorious, 53-16. Zach Marshall scored seven points for Curwensville.
Allegheny Mountain League South Division — Ridgway 5-1, DuBois Central Catholic 6-2, Curwensville 1-4, Brockway 1-5.
CURWENSVILLE — 40
Noah Strickland 1 0-0 2, Jake Terry 3 0-2 7, Trey Rauckhorst 6 3-3 15, Harrison Bloom 1 0-0 3, Alex Hill 4 1-1 9, Johnathan Miller 2 0-1 4, Zach Marshall 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 17 4-7 40.
RIDGWAY — 41
Jeremy Breier 12 4-5 29, Ben MacDonald 3 2-2 8, Josh Linberger 1 2-4 4, Andy Breier 0 0-0 0, Mitchell Stark 0 0-0 0, Cody Delhunty 0 0-0 0, Johnny Mitchell 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 16 8-11 41.
Three-Point Field Goals – Curwensville 2 (Terry, Bloom); Ridgway 1 (J. Brier).
Score by Quarters
Curwensville 9 6 13 7 5 – 40
Ridgway 7 9 10 9 6 – 41
Golden Tide Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 12/05 | @ Mo Valley | 41 – 51 | 0 – 1 |
| 12/08 | @ Brockway | 53 – 51 | 1 – 1 |
| 12/10 | HARMONY | 52 – 43 | 2 – 1 |
| 12/12 | RIDGWAY | 33 – 38 | 2 – 2 |
| 12/15 | CLEARFIELD | 40 – 71 | 2 – 3 |
| 12/16 | WEST BRANCH | 61 – 81 | 2 – 4 |
| 12/19 | KANE | 55-57 ot | 2 – 5 |
| 01/02 | @ DuBois Central Catholic | 38 – 63 | 2 – 6 |
| 01/06 | JOHNSONBURG | 38 – 40 | 2 – 7 |
| 01/09 | MO VALLEY | ppd. | 2 – 7 |
| 01/14 | ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC | 36 – 63 | 2 – 8 |
| 01/16 | GLENDALE | 53 – 30 | 3 – 8 |
| 01/17 | MO VALLEY | 42 – 34 | 4 – 8 |
| 01/19 | @ West Branch | 42 – 59 | 4 – 9 |
| 01/20 | @ Ridgway | 40-41 ot | 4 – 10 |
| 01/23 | BROCKWAY | ||
| 01/26 | DUBOIS CENTRAL CATH | ||
| 01/28 | @ Harmony | ||
| 01/30 | @ Johnsonburg | ||
| 02/02 | @ Glendale | ||
| 02/03 | SHEFFIELD | ||
| 02/06 | @ Kane | ||
| 02/09 | @ Clearfield |