CURWENSVILLE — There is no quit this season for the Curwensville Golden Tide cagers. Each game, there’s been no relenting, win or lose, but always a lot of fight and desire. That desire was on full display Tuesday night, as they took to the hardwood inside Patton Hall for a contest with the West Branch Warriors.
Early on, the Tide showed momentum, and their fast-paced offense kept the Warriors off guard. Then, faltered, giving West Branch a chance to return the favor. In the end, Curwensville battled back in the waning seconds, but ran out of seconds on the clock. The final score, fell the way of the visitors, 64-62.
“You gotta play four quarters. We started hot right out the gate, and we weren’t able to sustain it in the second quarter,” Tide head coach Josh Tkacik said afterwards. “That’s when West Branch began hitting their shots. We got back into it coming out of the third, as it was still a 10-point game. We fought back into it, and simply ran out of time.”
He was right as the two battled tight in the early minutes, but Curwensville went on a 6-0 run midway through the first quarter. That lead would not be relinquished through the first eight minutes, as they held a 23-13 advantage after one.
And then, it all went awry.
The Warriors changed a few things in the quick break between the quarters, and immediately made things difficult for the Tide. Missed shots by Curwensville led to rebounds, but also West Branch managed to also get opportunities on their missed shots at the opposing end.
That made a big difference as West Branch went on a 12-4 run before Tkacik called timeout just past midway through the quarter. Fueled by quick inside buckets from Isaac Tiracorda, plus a pair of treys from Owen Koleno, West Branch would add on another 12 points to win the quarter 24-4 take a 37-27 advantage into the locker room.
Koleno finished the night with a team-high 16 points, one of four Warriors in double figures. He also managed a double-double with 12 boards, plus five assists.
“Second-chance points was something we discussed prior to tip-off. We knew after facing them before, Coach (Danny) Clark and his team, they are grinders. An absolutely great team, and these guys knew West Branch would attack the glass,” Tkacik said. “I told them we had to win the glass, and film may tell a different story, but I felt especially in the second quarter, we gave them too many opportunities to get their feet under them and get another chance at the bucket. West Branch did that in the second quarter, and did enough in the third to maintain it.”
Clark himself echoed the Tide coach, noting that it actually wasn’t the first time he’s seen his team have to rally in such a way after a sluggish start.
“This happened to us in back-to-back games. Last night, we were at Saint Joseph’s, another very talented team, and we were down there but came back a quarter later,” he said. “We come into tonight, against another up-and-coming team, and overall I think we weren’t locked down in that first quarter. In the second, we certainly did.”
The teams battled to a 13-13 draw in the third, as Curwensville still found itself down 10 points heading into the final eight minutes. That is when the Tide began to find a way to get back into the game. Bit by bit, Curwensville would fight to keep the game interesting. Davis Fleming, who was held scoreless through the middle quarters, ended up bucketing 10 of his game-high 22 points in the final stanza, but also was finding a way to get key rebounds to give his teammates chances late.
“I think we got too comfortable. Curwensville made plays down the stretch, and that’s a credit to them in the fourth quarter. Our guys maybe thought we had won, and possibly I did, too,” Clark said. “They just kept coming; that last three and a half minutes, Curwensville did everything perfect. We did everything to give it to them as well.”
In the waning moments, it was play off the bench that suddenly made the game interesting. Hunter Tkacik, playing deep on an in-bounds pass by West Branch, came up with an enormous steal as the Tide were down by five. Chandler English managed to get an inside dish to Parker Wood following a pass from Tkacik, pulling them to within three. West Branch’s Joel Evans answered with a bucket on the other end, however the Tide would not quit, going back down on their end as Andrew Wassil found an open gap on the left wing to drain one of his two treys in the final quarter. Down 62-60, Tkacik called time out with just over 10 seconds remaining after Wassil’s bucket. Down two, the only option left was to foul.
Grant Swanson did just that putting Koleno at the line. With the student section roaring as loud as they could, Koleno kept his cool and drained both shots. Clark called a time out to get his team settled in knowing the only option that Curwensville had left was to get down the court, try for a three-point shot, and hope that on the shot a foul would occur.
That almost became a reality as Dan McGarry found an open shot, however it hit off the rim. Chandler English came up with the board, and the put back, but the quick shot in the paint only brought the score closer at the final buzzer.
“We were down 10 after one, then came back to be up by 10 heading to halftime, and held that through the third quarter. In the fourth, they just started nickel-and-diming us, and we uncharacteristically turned the ball over,” Clark said. “It kept them in the game.
“Both teams are young, and I can tell you for sure, it’s going to be just as exciting next year going against them.”
Curwensville also lost the under card, as the junior varsity fell, 46-24.
Tkacik was devastated to be on the losing end of the game, and the body language on his team said the same thing. At the same time, he was looking at his squad and how they simply would not yield, coming from behind to nearly winning in the final minutes.
“One thing that our program tries to pride itself on is being distinct. Our distinction is we need to be reliable and trustworthy, and that means you are reliable in times where there’s a lot of stress,” Tkacik said. “In basketball, probably more than any sport, it’s a highly stressful game. Those guys being able to respond in those dire moments, all of them, I’m so proud of them.
“There’s so many effort plays by these guys that kept us in it. It makes my heart swell, and gives me so much pride as a coach. It just stinks that we just ran out of time.”
Curwensville (8-10) is back at it on Wednesday as they travel to Westover to face Harmony.
SCORE BY QUARTER
West Branch 13 24 13 14 – 64
Curwensville 23 4 13 22 – 62
West Branch – 64
Lucas Colton 4 1-2 10, Joel Evans 4 1-1 9, Isaac Tiracorda 5 2-3 12, Owen Koleno 6 2-2 16, Kyle Kolesar 2 1-2 9, Zach McGonigal 4 0-0 12. TOTALS 26 7-10 64.
Curwensville – 62
Dan McGarry 0 2-2 2, Grant Swanson 0 0-0 0, Davis Fleming 8 0-0 22, Chandler English 4 1-2 9, Parker Wood 7 2-2 16, Hunter Tkacik 0 0-0 0, Ty Colton 1 0-0 2, Ayden Sutika 1 0-0 2, Andrew Wassil 3 0-2 9. TOTALS 24 5-8 62.
GAME STATISTICS
West Branch/Curwensville
- Shooting: 24-60/24-62
- Rebounds: 36/29
- Fouls: 11/11
- Turnovers: 17/13
- Three-Point Shots: Colton, Koleno-2, McGonigal-3/Fleming-6, Wassil-3
- Technical Fouls: Evans