PHILIPSBURG — It is never easy having to settle for trying to win the consolation game in any tournament. It may seem like it’s a demotion, but the reality is that it is an opportunity to correct miscues that meant having to play in the consolation game. The Curwensville Golden Tide had a tough night 24 hours earlier as part of the Philipsburg Christmas Challenge, falling to Philipsburg-Osceola and into the third-place game against the Bald Eagle Area Bald Eagles.
This game was not won on the court, at least not in the traditional way. Curwensville kept the game close in the first half, but what was most costly was fouls and foul shots. In the second half, even with being limited to just five shots on the floor, Bald Eagle took full advantage of every opportunity given at the charity stripe. The Eagles dropped 16 shots from the stripe in the second half, handing Curwensville a 53-39 loss.
Curwensville was able to maintain a tight gap in the opening quarter, courtesy of a trio of three-pointers. Bald Eagle kept it close, with Blaze Angellotti accounting for eight of the team’s 10 points, holding a single-possession lead at 10-9.
The struggles for Curwensville began in the second quarter, as they were limited to only three buckets, plus a pair of free throws, while Bald Eagle doubled up the offensive output, taking a 26-17 advantage into the halftime break.
It was then when the difference became evident.
In the first 16 minutes, Curwensville only committed five fouls. Defensively, the Tide were able to limit the Eagles to only five made baskets on the floor in the second half. What became a struggle was not fouling during the missed shots. In the second half, Curwensville committed 14 fouls, with three starters getting into a difficult spot, and also starter Dan McGarry fouling out in the late going.
Those 14 fouls led to 23 foul shots in the second half, with 16 of them finding the net.
Lead scorer for the entire game, Angellotti, made the most shots from the floor to achieve his 17 points, while teammate Cam Watkins paced the foul shots, making 8 of 10, to account for half of his 16 points on the night.
For the Tide, Davis Fleming led the scoring with nine points, with Grant Swanson, McGarry, Parker Wood and Andrew Wassil all adding in a six-pack of points.
Curwensville finishes the 2022 part of the schedule at 2-4, and now gets a few days to recoup before getting back on the hardwood. It will be Wednesday, January 4, when the Tide host Williamsburg. The jayvees will tip off at 6 p.m. with the varsity to follow.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Curwensville 9 8 10 12 – 39
Bald Eagle Area 10 16 8 19 – 53
Curwensville – 39
Andrew Wassil 2 0-0 6, Dan McGarry 2 0-0 6, Grant Swanson 2 0-0 6, Davis Fleming 3 2-4 9, Chandler English 1 0-0 2, Braden Holland 1 2-4 4, Hunter Tkacik 0 0-0 0, Ty Colton 0 0-0 0, Parker Wood 3 0-0 6, Ayden Sutika 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 14 4-8 39.
Bald Eagle Area – 53
Kahale Burns 0 3-7 3, Chase Thompson 3 0-0 6, Aaron Sharp 0 0-0 0, Cam Watkins 4 8-10 16, Blaze Angellotti 7 3-4 17, Tyler Serb 2 4-4 9, Tre Green 1 0-0 2, Kieran Jodon 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 17 18-25 53.
