CURWENSVILLE — A new era began on Friday night inside a packed Patton Hall gymnasium. For years, the Golden Tide basketball squad had a familiar face as the leader on the sidelines, Matt Wassil. However, at season’s end last year, he resigned from his post, opening a door for a new individual at the helm. Taking over a young squad, but one with talent and experience, is Josh Tkacik, and after a summer of getting his team prepared, the time had come to hit the hardwood.
The opposition, a tough task in the reigning District 9 champion Clearfield Bison, ready to go with a lot of returning starters, and Nate Glunt at the helm.
Curwensville had a much different, more aggressive, look that kept them close through the first 16 minutes of action. However, some decisions that could have been different and turnover woes left Curwensville with a sour taste in a 56-39 loss, a loss that in ways was not indicative of how the team played.
“I have absolutely no reservations, nor any apologies, for the way we came out. When we came out the gate in the first quarter, I told the guys we had to come out swinging, have our foot on the throttle, and not let off,” Tkacik said in the locker room. “At the half, you saw that met our expectations, 100 percent.”
He was right in every sense. Clearfield got the first bucket of the night, a quick jumper by Andon Greslick, but immediately the Tide answered back when Dan Fleming nailed a three from the wing. At that point, the squads would put on a back-and-forth clinic in the opening quarter. Clearfield would pull out a bit, but the Tide would not let the lead grow. After one, it was a two-possession game with the Bison up by four 14-10. It continued in the second quarter, as Clearfield’s defense had some openings that let Fleming and his teammates find paths to the basket.
In the second quarter alone, six different Tide players would put up points, with Fleming putting up four of his team-high 14 in the frame. Curwensville ultimately won the quarter, going into the locker room trailing, 27-24, with the possession arrow in their favor.
Glunt himself knew the Tide would be a much different group, coaching change or not.
“I knew Curwensville was going to be tough. We played them this summer a couple times. Matt (Wassil) did a fantastic job getting this program to where it is right now. Josh was putting in the time, when no one was looking, taking their lumps. Now, after working so hard at it, they have a very good team,” Glunt said of the opposition. “Josh did an excellent job in his first game coaching.
“Curwensville was prepared, their kids played super hard, and we were certainly fortunate to come out with a win.”
Coming out from halftime, things were a bit different, as the Bison started to swing momentum in their favor. The Tide began finding difficulty penetrating to the basket, and often were settling for jump shots in the paint or outside corners, something Tkacik noted were not as high percentage shots. Many of those missed shots ended up as rebounds for Clearfield, as they would pull ahead for good in the third, outscoring the home squad 16-7, holding Curwensville to a pair of three’s from both Fleming and Chandler English.
After being kept in check for most of the first half, Clearfield’s Cole Miller began finding some rhythm, as he accounted for half of the Bison scoring in the third, finishing with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds. Miller was one of three double-digit scorers for the Bison, with a returning Morgen Billotte adding in 11 points in his return to the court after not playing for a year, and Greslick with another 10. Freshmen starter Braison Patrick led the Bison with three steals.
Glunt admitted, aside from a few starters, his team does not have much in the way of experience on the varsity squad, with only three returning starters. But, he acknowledged that as the game went on, the team figured out how to adjust to the pace, and find the way to achieve the win.
Tkacik, on the other hand, was quick to acknowledge some decisions made on the floor trying to get points were costly.
“You heard me say to them, ‘We need a layup,’ and the reason is we were settling for those mid-range shots that were not necessarily going to be the easiest to make. They would not go in, and Clearfield answered back with a basket, then we’d try to answer again only to miss, and it got out of hand at that point.
Curwensville only shot 5-for-22 in the second half, and also struggled at the foul line, only going 3-for-8 in free throws.
“That was the key thing. WHEN we got to the foul line, we couldn’t make the shots, and then if they would go down and get a bucket, we couldn’t reciprocate,” Tkacik said. “I think that is what we struggled with the most, and had we not done that, it would be a much closer game.”
Curwensville also fell in the junior varsity contest, 58-21.
With a win under their belt, Clearfield’s road trip will continue next week with a pair of games in tough environments. Glunt chuckled when the mere thought of it was mentioned.
“Mountain League right out the gate, with one of the most intense environments we go to, P-O, and at Punxy is always tough as well. We have to be ready,” he said. Clearfield (1-0) will travel to Philipsburg-Osceola on Wednesday night, then Punxsutawney on Friday, with varsity tip-off slated for both contests at approximately 7:30 p.m.
By contrast, Curwensville (0-1) will not be back on the hardwood until December 12, when they travel to Moshannon Valley.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Clearfield 14 13 16 13 – 56
Curwensville 10 14 7 8 – 39
Clearfield – 56
Cole Miller 8 1-4 19, Andon Greslick 3 2-2 10, Luke Pallo 4 0-0 8, Morgen Billotte 4 2-3 11, Braison Patrick 1 3-4 6, Kam Kushner 0 0-0 0, Kai Lynch 0 0-0 0, Cole Bloom 0 0-0 0, Skylar Clark 1 0-1 2, Parker Collins 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 21 8-14 56.
Curwensville – 39
Dan McGarry 1 3-4 5, Grant Swanson 2 0-0 4, Dan Fleming 6 0-2 14, Chandler English 2 0-2 5, Benden Holland 1 0-0 2, Hunter Tkacik 1 0-0 2, Ty Colton 1 0-0 2, Ayden Sutika 0 0-0 0, Andrew Wassil 2 0-0 5. TOTALS 16 3-8 39.
GAME STATISTICS
Clearfield/Curwensville
- Shooting: 21-51/16-46
- Rebounds: 27/24
- Fouls: 7/14
- Turnovers: 16/18
- Three-Point Shots: Miller-2, Greslick-2, Billotte, Patrick/Fleming-2, English, Wassil