CURWENSVILLE — Improvement the Curwensville Area High School boys basketball team has made this month was not reflected in the final score, but the Golden Tide played Brockway much tougher than just three weeks ago in a 75-53 loss on the Patton Hall hardwood Friday night.
The Rovers blitzed the Golden Tide 25-4 in the first quarter in their 76-40 home win, but coach Matt Wassil’s shorthanded crew hung around throughout the first half and trailed by only five points, 42-37, two minutes into the third period of the Allegheny Mountain League South Division rematch.
Brockway’s fullcourt man defense and motion offense continued to pay dividends, though, as the visitors outscored the Golden Tide 37-15 over the final 14 minutes.
“It was night and day as far as what we were able to do offensively against them compared to what we were able to do up there,” Wassil said. “I was pleased with our effort. We just make too many mistakes, and it’s gonna catch up to you eventually.”
Thanks to a pair of three-pointers by Zach Marshall, Curwensville (3-11, 0-7 AML-South) held a 7-5 lead with two minutes gone, but turnovers took their toll with Brockway (12-5, 5-2 AML-South) gaining a 20-13 advantage by the first rest stop.
“We definitely had a better start this time,” Wassil said. “We had some guys be really aggressive on offense. Zach got us started, and then Devan Barrett kind of took over for a while.”
Barrett rippled the nets three times from behind the arc as the Golden Tide matched the Rovers point-for-point in the second period, closing to within two, 27-25, with a little over four minutes left in the half.
“I thought we played well overall as a team in the first half,” Wassil said. “We handled their pressure pretty well. That was a key to us being in the game. It was a key to their victory up there.”
Christian Bakaysa’s putback and layup and Barrett’s drive kept the Rovers in sight early in the third quarter, but they went on a 25-7 run that extended into the final period to stay within a game of Ridgway in the AML-South chase.
“They’re long and athletic, and they play a lot of guys,” Wassil said. “They can wear you down, and I think that kind of played into it a little in the second half.”
Brockway had five players in double figures, Quenton Jackson high with 13 points. Carter Adams and Quade Lundberg tallied 12 apiece and Zane Puhala and Jake Wineberg chipped in 10 apiece.
Jackson and Wineberg came off the bench to make their contributions for a veteran team that has 10 seniors.
Marshall is the lone senior for Curwensville, which was missing two ballhandlers who really could have helped against the Brockway press in Josh Terry (illness) and Noah VonGunden (injury).
The Golden Tide was guilty of three dozen turnovers.
“We did turn the ball over a lot, but I thought a lot just were us making bad decisions,” Wassil said. “The right idea, but not a well-executed pass.”
“I wasn’t too displeased with how we played on the defensive end sometimes as much as I was displeased with how we rebounded. They shot four or five times in certain possessions.”
Avery Francisco snared nine missed shots and Bakaysa pulled in seven to go with 15 points.
Barrett topped the Golden Tide with 16 points, and Marshall added 11.
Wassil is hoping the improvement will continue and translate into some wins soon, but there won’t be much practice time for the Golden Tide next week with four games on tap, three of them in as many nights beginning with Kane’s visit to Patton Hall Monday.
Bakaysa and Dakota Bloom scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, but the Curwensville junior varsity lost the prelim 50-42.
Allegheny Mountain League South Division standings – Ridgway 6-1, Brockway 5-2, DuBois Central Catholic 1-6, Curwensville 0-7.
BROCKWAY — 75
Zane Puhala 4 2-4 10, Hunter Miller 3 0-0 6, Jarrett Esposito 3 1-2 7, Carter Adams 5 2-2 12, Quade Lundberg 6 0 0-0 12, Andrew Trunzo 2 0-0 4, Jake Wineberg 2 4-4 10, Quenton Jackson 5 2-4 13, Jake Gorham 0 0-0 0, Jesse Johnson 0 0-0 0, Tim Brosky 0 0-0 0, Noah Vokes 0 1-2 1. TOTALS: 30 12-18 75.
CURWENSVILLE — 53
Devan Barrett 6 1-2 16, Zach Marshall 3 2-3 11, Christian Bakaysa 4 3-4 15, Avery Francisco 3 1-5 7, Dakota Bloom 1 0-0 2, Cameron Moore 0 0-0 0, Jeremy Irwin 0 0-0 0, Nate McKenrick 0 00 0, Jordan Demko 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 20 7-14 53.
Three-Point Field Goals – Brockway 3 (Wineberg 2, Jackson 1); Curwensville 6 (Barrett 3, Marshall 3).
Score by Quarters
Brockway 20 18 20 16 – 75
Curwensville 13 18 13 9 – 53
Officials – Chris Sherkel and Craig Witherow.
Golden Tide Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 12/09 | CLEARFIELD | 38 – 81 | 0 – 1 |
| 12/12 | @ West Branch | 57 – 72 | 0 – 2 |
| 12/16 | MO VALLEY | 25 – 57 | 0 – 3 |
| 12/21 | GLENDALE | 60 – 54 | 1 – 3 |
| 01/03 | RIDGWAY | 33 – 62 | 1 – 4 |
| 01/04 | JOHNSONBURG | 56 – 42 | 1 – 5 |
| 01/06 | @ Brockway | 40 – 76 | 1 – 6 |
| 01/10 | @ DuBois Central Catholic | ppd. | 1 – 6 |
| 01/11 | @ Mo Valley | ppd. | 1 – 6 |
| 01/13 | HARMONY | 70 – 45 | 2 – 6 |
| 01/17 | ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC | 32 – 78 | 2 – 7 |
| 01/18 | WEST BRANCH | 55 – 50 | 3 – 7 |
| 01/20 | @ Kane | 41 – 60 | 3 – 8 |
| 01/23 | @ DuBois Central Catholic | 56 – 66 | 3 – 9 |
| 01/24 | @ Ridgway | 42 – 53 | 3 – 10 |
| 01/27 | BROCKWAY | 53 – 75 | 3 – 11 |
| 01/30 | KANE | ||
| 01/31 | @ Harmony | ||
| 02/01 | @ Glendale | ||
| 02/03 | @ Johnsonburg | ||
| 02/06 | @ Clearfield | ||
| 02/07 | DUBOIS CENTRAL | ||
| 02/10 | SHEFFIELD | ||
| 02/13 | @ Mo Valley |