MORRISDALE — One of the games that the Curwensville Golden Tide look forward to on the hardwood every year is getting the opportunity to face off with the West Branch Warriors. With a new attitude, and new playing style under head coach Josh Tkacik, the Tide were ready to show how driven they were against Danny Clark and his squad.
This night started out belonging to Curwensville, as they held the early lead. But that lead soon changed as Clark’s squad got to work, handing the Tide a 67-46 loss.
The first quarter was highly contested between the two squads, as Curwensville and West Branch both came out firing. For the Tide, Parker Wood was a big presence in the paint, putting up nine of his team-high 15 points in the quarter. Chandler English also started out hot, putting up seven points to help the Tide take an early 19-15 lead after one.
After that, much like the ocean, the Tide recinded.
West Branch began getting hot as all five starters began rolling in the second quarter, with Kyle Kolesar and Joel Evans combining for 12 points. Curwensville was limited in the quarter, as the Warriors doubled-up the Tide’s scoring output in the second quarter to take a 33-28 lead into the locker room.
That momentum continued into the second half as Curwensville came out flat-footed, and could not get any momentum to swing their way.
West Branch’s Owen Koleno got rolling in the second half, putting up 14 of his game-high 20 points in the final 16 minutes to push the Warriors to victory. Isaac Tiracorda added in another 16 points while Evans bucketed 12. Curwensville saw English make it into double figures with Wood, putting up 13 points on the night.
It will be Wednesday night when Curwensville (3-6) are back on the hardwood as they will play host to Mount Union inside Patton Hall. Tip-off for junior varsity is slated for 6 p.m. with the varsity action to follow.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Curwensville 19 9 8 10 – 46
West Branch 15 18 13 21 – 67
Curwensville – 46
Andrew Wassil 2 1-2 7, Dan McGarry 1 0-0 2, Connor Howell 0 0-0 0, Grant Swanson 0 0-0 0, Davis Fleming 3 0-0 7, Chandler English 6 0-3 13, Braden Holland 1 0-0 2, Hunter Tkacik 0 0-0 0, Ty Colton 0 0-0 0, Parker Wood 7 1-3 15. TOTALS 20 2-8 46.
West Branch – 67
Lucas Colton 4 0-0 8, Joel Evans 4 4-6 12, Owen Koleno 7 5-5 20, Isaac Tiracorda 7 2-2 16, Kyle Kolesar 3 0-2 6, Zach McGonigal 1 2-2 5, Dylan McGonigal 0 0-0 0, Noah Emigh 0 0-0 0, Easton Emigh 0 0-1 0, Logan Liptak 0 0-0 0, Brody Rothrock 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 26 13-18 67.