WESTOVER – It took an overtime period, but the Curwensville boys basketball team picked up its first win of the season Thursday against Harmony, 64-59, in a Moshannon Valley League battle.
The Golden Tide now stand at 1-8 on the year while the Owls drop to 1-12 after dropping its ninth straight game.
Tide Head Coach Matt Wassil was excited for his squad, saying, “I’m happy to see these guys experience some success. It was definitely the type of game you like to play and coach in.”
In a game that saw the teams tied after the last three quarters in regulation, the Tide had just a one point edge after the first quarter, 14-13, thanks to seven points by senior Christian Bakaysa.
Daniel Rorabaugh, also a senior, tallied eight in the first for the Owls.
Curwensville did take a five point lead in the second quarter 23-18 at the 1:31 mark only to have Rorabaugh hit a three pointer with 10 seconds before halftime to tie it at the break, 25-25.
Both teams put up 12 points in the third frame that once again had the teams knotted at 37-37 going into the final eight minutes of regulation.
To keep things equal, again, Curwensville and Harmony added 18 points each in the fourth quarter that sent the game into overtime at 55-55.
And it was Rorabaugh that provided the fuel for the Owls with 11 fourth quarter points.
It was a fourth quarter that went back and forth until Tide senior Jeremy Irwin connected on one of two free throws with just 3.4 seconds to play that sent the game into the extra four minute period.
Then it was a freshman who stepped up for Curwensville to ice the game from the charity stripe in OT.
From the 1:03 point in the extra stanza until 13.7 left in the game, Ty Terry visited the foul six times and boldly made five that secured the victory.
Curwensville had four players with double figures, as Bakaysa led the Tide with 21, followed by Terry with 13, Dakota Bloom with 11 and Avery Francisco adding 10.
Bloom was a defensive standout for Curwensville throughout the game with several steals and Francisco, as usual, pulled down his share of rebounds.
Wassil added, “Avery (Francisco), Christian (Bakaysa), Dakota (Bloom), Ty (Terry) all being in double figures allowed us to be balanced offensively. Also, I thought we did a better job of rebounding the ball in the second half.”
The Owls were led in scoring by Rorabaugh with a game high 28 points with Adam McGarvey adding 12 and Adam Dubyak hitting for 10.
There was no junior varsity game.
The Golden Tide are back in action on Tuesday with a home game with Elk County Catholic.
The JV game tips off at 6 pm with the varsity to immediately follow.
CURWENSVILLE – 64
Ty Terry 2 7-8 13, Dakota Bloom 5 1-3 11, Jeremy Irwin 2 3-4 8, Christian Bakaysa 10 0-0 21, Avery Francisco 5 0-3 10, Lincoln Giuffre 0 1-2 1, Trevor Lansberry 0 0-0 0, Adam Miller 0 0-0 0, TOTALS – 24 12-20 64
HARMONY – 59
Adam McGarvey 5 1-6 12, Adam Dubyak 4 0-0 10, Daniel Rorabaugh 9 5-6 28, Jayden Westover 2 0-1 4,
Cody Rowles 0 3-4 3, Isaac Elias 1 0-0 2, Jordan Schneider 0 0-0 0, TOTALS – 21 9-17 59
SCORE BY QUARTERS
CURWENSVILLE 14 11 12 18 9 64
HARMONY 13 12 12 18 4 59
THREE-POINTERS: CURWENSVILLE – 4 Terry 2, Irwin, Bakaysa HARMONY – 8
Rorabaugh 5, Dubyak 2, McGarvey
OFFICIALS: Jim Cushion, Jim Klausman, Keith Redfoot
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 26 – 65 0 – 3
12/17 @ Penns Manor 53 – 66 0 – 4
12/19 GLENDALE 45 – 66 0 – 5
12/21 @ Leechburg 45 – 83 0 – 6
01/04 @ Brockway 54 – 67 0 – 7
01/08 @ DuBois Central 36 – 67 0 – 8
01/10 @ Harmony 64 – 59 1 – 8
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