CURWENSVILLE — Hoping to get on the right track after the tough night against Ridgway the night before, the Curwensville Golden Tide took once more to their home hardwood inside Patton Hall less than 24 hours after their loss to the Elkers. The opposition was not any easier as the high-powered Mounties from Philipsburg-Osceola made the trip west.
The visitors were scoring at will the entire night, as over 80 percent of the roster chipped in for points, and cruised to a decisive 66-30 victory over the Golden Tide.
Head coach for the Tide, Matt Wassil, credited the P-O coaches with making early adjustments defensively after it started out as a back-and forth contest.
“They made an adjustment and went to zone (defense) and we’re not as built for those types of things. We don’t have the ball-handling to get out of that,” he said. “I think if they stayed man-to-man, I think we would’ve stuck around longer.
“But that’s good coaching; they (P-O) saw we were scoring easy buckets inside, and they changed that defense to make it more difficult for us to do, and it proved true that it was more difficult.”
Both squads were trading buckets early in the contest, with Curwensville holding a 6-2 lead at one point. Shortly after, the Mounties went on a tear in the opening quarter with that change in defense, forcing turnovers and difficult shots, then capitalizing on the other end. After one quarter, P-O held a 23-8 advantage, and never looked back.
Fresh legs for the Mounties started the second quarter, as the starting five got a quick rest on the bench before coming back out. Although the Tide played better in the second stanza, they were still held to nine points, while the Mounties added another 17 to take a 40-17 advantage heading into the locker room.
One bright spot for Curwensville for the entire game was senior Adam Miller, who finished with a team-high 13 points, but added in another five boards but also chipped in six blocks under the basket, something that Wassil took notice of.
“Adam played really well tonight, not only offensively but defensively. That is huge to have a guy back there protecting the rim, because they could score even more points if he’s not back there doing that,” Wassil said.
P-O had more of the same following the halftime break as they outscored Curwensville in the third quarter, 21-7, to really put the game out of reach, almost at the point of a running clock.
Overall, of the 14 players the Mounties dressed for the game, 11 of them added points on the night, with Jake DeSimone leading all scorers with 15 points, plus six boards, while Tyler Doyle added in another 11 plus five assists.
The contest went to a running clock early in the fourth quarter with P-O hitting a quick jumper by Parker Matson, putting the game at 66-26, and was ultimately the final points the Mounties had as they ran out the clock in the waning minutes.
P-O also won the opening junior varsity contest, 48-28, which started late as the two squads played a junior high, eighth-grade and ninth-grade games prior to the jayvees taking the court.
Compared to the night before, Wassil did feel his team played a better game than they did against Ridgway, but also felt his team wasn’t maintaining a consistent game throughout not just the night, but all year.
“I think that’s just us right now. We are so up-and-down, and we just can’t seem to get our finger on everything,” Wassil said. “Tonight I thought we played a little harder, and also executed a lot better.
“The ball didn’t move at all last night; it was so stagnant last night, anyone could have guarded us. Obviously Ridgway is a great team, and they guarded us really well. Tonight, we moved the ball, or at least attempted to move the ball better, so it did get us easier looks. When you move the ball around, the better looks you are going to get.”
Curwensville (1-12) finishes out the week on the road this Friday when they travel to Brockway, with tip off slated for 6 p.m. for JV action. Varsity will follow.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Philipsburg-Osceola 23 17 21 5 – 66
Curwensville 8 9 7 6 – 30
Philipsburg-Osceola – 66
R. Whitehead 4 0-0 9, Ty. Doyle 5 0-0 11, DeSimone 5 4-5 15, Richardson 4 1-3 9, J. Whitehead 0 5-6 5, Matson 4 0-0 9, Depto 0 0-0 0, Harpster 1 0-0 2, K. Hahn 1 0-0 2, Tr. Doyle 1 0-0 2, Frank 1 0-0 2, Fenton 0 0-0 0, Eckberg 0 0-0 0, C. Hahn 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 26 10-14 66.
Curwensville – 30
Lee 0 0-0 0, McGarry 1 0-0 3, Condon 3 3-4 7, Lansberry 2 0-0 5, Lezzer 0 0-0 0, Rowles 0 0-0 0, Mulaney 0 0-0 0, Colton 0 0-0 0, Miller 5 3-4 13, Swatsworth 0 0-0 0, Spencer 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 11 6-8 30.
GAME STATISTICS
Philipsburg-Osceola/Curwensville
Shooting: 26-60/11-34
Rebounds: 22/17
Fouls: 8/14
Turnovers: 8/19
Three-Point Shots: R. Whitehead, Ty. Doyle, DeSimone, Matson/McGarry, Lansberry
Golden Tide Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 12/06 | CLEARFIELD | 31 – 82 | 0 – 1 |
| 12/11 | MO VALLEY | 53 – 47 | 1 – 1 |
| 12/13 | @ Ridgway | 16 – 66 | 1 – 2 |
| 12/18 | @ West Branch | 29 – 71 | 1 – 3 |
| 12/27 | @ Philipsburg-Osceola | 34 – 76 | 1 – 4 |
| 01/03 | BROCKWAY | 39 – 54 | 1 – 5 |
| 01/07 | DUBOIS CENTRAL | 30 – 45 | 1 – 6 |
| 01/10 | HARMONY | 39 – 55 | 1 – 7 |
| 01/14 | @ Elk County Catholic | 4 – 64 | 1 – 8 |
| 01/15 | @ Glendale | 52 – 66 | 1 – 9 |
| 01/17 | KANE | 39 – 69 | 1 – 10 |
| 01/21 | RIDGWAY | 19 – 59 | 1 – 11 |
| 01/22 | PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA | 30 – 66 | 1 – 12 |
| 01/24 | @ Brockway | ||
| 01/27 | WEST BRANCH | ||
| 01/29 | GLENDALE | ||
| 01/31 | JOHNSONBURG | ||
| 02/04 | @ DuBois Central | ||
| 02/07 | @ Sheffield | ||
| 02/10 | @ Harmony | ||
| 02/12 | @ Mo Valley | ||
| 02/13 | @ Clearfield |