HOUTZDALE — It’s difficult for any team in any sport to get back in a rhythm after a long layoff. It’s even harder when the layoff comes after the first game of the season. The Curwensville Golden Tide cagers were last on the hardwood on December 2, starting their season with a loss to Clearfield. At that point, they had to wait, and wait, and still wait. After 10 days, they finally got the chance to get back on the court, traveling to Houtzdale to take on the Moshannon Valley Black Knights.
The advantage to having such a long wait between games was time. Time to work on miscues, time to mesh together, and time to get healthy. It was time to work on strengths and weaknesses, and all that time paid off for the Tide, as they would overcome some early struggles to get the first win in the Josh Tkacik era, 44-35.
Both squads would trade shots in the first quarter, but the Tide stayed in the contest thanks to four free throws. Still, they would trail after one quarter by a possession, 8-6.
Things quickly changed in the second quarter.
Curwensville got buckets from five different players, with Chandler English dropping four of his 10 points in the frame. Defensively, the Tide shut down the Black Knights, as the hosts were limited in chances and buckets. Heading into halftime, Curwensville went from being down a possession to taking a comfortable 21-14 lead.
Tkacik himself admitted the game got a bit harder than expected, because of some miscues and mistakes. Moshannon valley began clawing back in the second half, fueled by Samuel Howard’s game-high 16 point effort.
However, when it mattered most, the Tide made it count. The final quarter saw Davis Fleming take charge, putting up nine points in the remaining eight minutes, part of a team-high 13-point effort, which was just enough for the Tide to pull away late to secure the victory.
The Tide dropped the junior varsity contest, 35-30.
Sitting at 1-1, Curwensville returns to Patton Hall on Thursday night when they play host to the Glendale Vikings. Jayvees will tip at 6 p.m. with the varsity to follow at approximately 7:30 p.m.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Curwensville 6 15 10 13 – 44
Moshannon Valley 8 6 11 10 – 35
Curwensville – 44
Andrew Wassil 1 0-2 2, Dan McGarry 0 0-0 0, Grant Swanson 0 0-0 0, Davis Fleming 5 2-2 13, Chandler English 3 4-6 10, Braden Holland 2 2-2 7, Hunter Tkacik 2 0-0 6, Parker Wood 3 0-1 6, Ayden Sutika 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 16 8-13 44.
Moshannon Valley – 35
James Hummel 1 4-5 6, Tanner Kephart 1 0-0 2, Samuel Howard 6 3-5 16, Micah Beish 0 2-4 2, Landyn Evans 4 1-4 9, Dreyden Gardner 0 0-0 0, Zach Reifer 0 0-0 0, Kaden Kephart 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 12 10-18 35.