AMESVILLE — The two-pronged attack of Alex Kitko and Joe Bacher led Moshannon Valley to a 56-26 victory over visiting Curwensville in a Moshannon Valley League schoolboy basketball game Monday night.
The Black Knight seniors poured in 21 points apiece in their opener, with 12 of Kitko’s coming on three-pointers.
“We expected Kitko to do some scoring, but Bacher surprised us,” Golden Tide coach Matt Wassil said. “We knew he was decent, but he just outworked us. He got shots around the hoop by being active around the boards, and we didn’t match his intensity.”
The Golden Tide had no shooting touch in the first half, especially in the opening period with just two points, and trailed 31-7 by intermission.
“We were ice cold at the beginning,” Wassil said. “We couldn’t make any outside shots, and we had open looks.
“We’re just not good enough to overcome having only two points in the first quarter. We need the game to be tight throughout to have a chance to win it in the fourth quarter.”
Wassil felt the Golden Tide failed to match the intensity of the home team.
“We didn’t play as hard as we should have,” he said. “We have a lot of things to work on. It starts with effort and ends with execution. Until we change that, we can’t make any progress, because the same things are going to happen over and over again.”
Christian Bakaysa and Avery Francisco accounted for the bulk of Curwensville’s points with eight and seven, respectively.
The Golden Tide (0-2) will play their home opener Friday against Ridgway in an Allegheny Mountain League South Division game.
Moshannon Valley also won the junior varsity game, 44-38. Trevor Lansberry scored 15 points for Curwensville.
CURWENSVILLE — 26
Avery Francisco 2 3-4 7, Christian Bakaysa 3 2-2 8, Jeremy Irwin 1 1-7 3, Lincoln Guiffre 0 0-0 0, Ty Terry 1 2- 4 5, Trevor Lansberry 0 0-0 0, Jordan Demko 0 2-2 2, Adam Miller 0 1-2 1. TOTALS: 7 11-21 26.
MOSHANNON VALLEY — 56
Alex Kitko 7 3-5 21, Jacob Matchock 2 0-1 4, Ben Murawksi 1 0-1 2, Joe Bacher 8 5-8 21, Brent Butler 3 0-0 6, Todd Reed 0 0-0 0, Michael Kitko 1 0-0 2, Ethan Webb 0 0-0 0, Greg Dufour 0 0-0 0, Kadin Hansel 0 0-0 0, Dillon Clarkson 0 0-0 0, Noah Webb 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 22 8-15 56.
Three-Point Field Goals – Curwensville 1 (Terry); Moshannon Valley 4 (A. Kitko 4).
Score by Quarters
Curwensville 2 5 13 6 – 26
Moshannon Valley 14 17 20 5 – 56
Golden Tide Scoreboard:
Date Opponent Score Record
12/07 @ Clearfield 32 – 77 0 – 1
12/10 @ Mo Valley 26 – 56 0 – 2
12/14 RIDGWAY
12/17 @ Penns Manor
12/19 GLENDALE
12/21 @ Leechburg
01/04 @ Brockway
01/08 @ DuBois Central
01/10 @ Harmony
01/15 ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC
01/16 @ West Branch
01/18 @ Kane
01/21 HARMONY
01/22 @ Ridgway
01/25 BROCKWAY
01/28 WEST BRANCH
01/30 @ Glendale
02/01 @ Johnsonburg
02/05 DUBOIS CENTRAL
02/08 SHEFFIELD
02/11 MO VALLEY
02/13 CLEARFIELD
