CURWENSVILLE — After starting the year on the road for a pair of tough contests, it was a welcome feeling to be inside Patton Hall for the Curwensville Golden Tide round-ballers on Friday night. Hoping to get back on track, Matt Wassil and his team welcomed in the Black Knights of Moshannon Valley for an early-season Moshannon Valley League battle on the hardwood.
For the visitors, what was a decidedly stark disadvantage ended up being their downfall. With center Chase Shoemaker out, the Tide used their size advantage in the paint, to dominate the opposition. Center Parker Wood would take advantage, finishing as one of three Tide players in double digits, as Curwensville accomplished their first win of the season, a 62-34 victory that was decided early and often.
In the first quarter alone, Wood put up eight of the Tide’s first nine points, while the defense held the opposition to just a single field goal from the floor. That lead faded late in the quarter, but Curwensville rallied strong to take a 17-10 lead after one. The second quarter, though, was all throttle for Curwensville, taking advantage of turnovers and turning them into points from many different players. Ball movement helped out as the Black Knights tried to keep Ty Terry from being a factor, but instead it allowed him to feed his teammates and get them involved.
At one point in the second frame, Curwensville pushed to a 19-2 advantage before Moshannon Valley got back on the board. Still, heading into halftime, Curwensville had a 26-point lead, something that kept Wassil and the Tide bench fired up heading down the stairs to the lockerroom.
The contest wasn’t all good for Curwensville, as the second half overall was not as productive, and the shooting percentage dropped as a group. Despite that, the Tide were able to push the gap past the 30-point threshold, forcing a running clock for the remainder of the game, and gave Curwensville a chance to get some younger players some minutes in the later stages.
For the Tide, Terry put up a game-high 17 points, while Wood added another 14, and Danny McGarry chipped in 11. Wood and Terry each added in eight rebounds, while Terry got credited with four assists.
For the Black Knights, James Hummel would be the lone individual in double-figures, finishing with 12 points. Curwensville had a slight advantage at the free throw line, going 5-for-7, compare to Moshannon Valley’s 5-for-10.
Curwensville (1-2) has one final game on the slate before the holiday break, a road game on Monday against Glendale. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. with no junior varsity contest prior.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Moshannon Valley 10 8 11 5 – 34
Curwensville 17 27 13 5 – 62
Moshannon Valley – 34
Kitko 2 0-0 4, Hansel 2 0-2 5, Webb 2 0-0 4, Hummel 4 4-6 12, Howard 3 0-0 6, Evans 1 0-0 2, Kephart 0 1-2 1, Reifer 0 0-0 0, Gardner 0 0-0 0. Totals: 14 5-10 34.
Curwensville – 62
Swanson 1 0-0 3, English 2 0-0 4, Wood 6 2-3 14, McGarry 3 3-4 11, Terry 7 0-0 17, Sutika 2 0-0 4, Fleming 2 0-0 6, Wassil 1 0-0 3, Luzier 0 0-0 0, Holland 0 0-0 0, Colton 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24 5-7 62.