MOUNT UNION — There was nothing short of tight competition in the latter part of the basketball season for the Curwensville Golden Tide. Games have been close, win or lose, and its kept the entire squad on their toes. It was no exception on Friday night as the Tide made the trip to Mount Union for a battle against the Trojans.
That game saw the visitors fall behind early, then regain the lead, but fell late as the Trojans rallied to give Curwensville a 47-44 heartbreaking loss, resulting in a season split between the two teams.
The two schools battled tight in the opening quarter, with the Trojans holding a slight two-point advantage, 14-12. All that excitement in the opening stanza seemed to deteriorate in the second quarter, as a combined 11 points were added to the totals. Entering the halftime break, Mount Union held a 21-16 lead that seemed to just be barely enough to hold confidence.
Curwensville sensed that, as they were still battling tight, and came out of the locker room firing. Fueled by a trio of threes by Andrew Wassil, the Tide went from being down five at the half to up four after three quarters, 36-32.
But, the issue down the stretch was not about making baskets, but instead not causing fouls. In the second half, Curwensville had four fouls to their name entering the final quarter. But, as the Trojans began their rally, getting the lead, the Tide had no choice but to foul. In the fourth quarter, Curwensville committed nine fouls, and it allowed the Trojans eight chances to head to the foul line, and that made the Tide pay. Only two shots in the final quarter were missed, one each by Andrew Cuff and Bryce Danish. But it was just enough that held the Tide at bay and have Mount Union secure the win.
For the visitors, only Parker Wood made it into double figures, finishing with 10 points. Meanwhile, Cuff added in 15 for a game-high performance, and Jayvien Brumbaugh added in 13 for the Trojans in a winning effort.
Curwensville (8-12) has two games next week to close out the regular season. It starts with a Valentine’s Day showdown against their rival up the road, the Clearfield Bison. Curwensville fell in the opening game of the season to the Bison, 56-39, and will be looking to get a measure of revenge. Jayvees will tip-off at 6 p.m. with the varsity to follow.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Curwensville 12 4 20 8 – 44
Mount Union 14 7 11 15 – 47
Curwensville – 44
Andrew Wassil 3 0-0 9, Dan McGarry 2 0-0 5, Grant Swanson 1 0-0 3, Davis Fleming 3 0-0 6, Chandler English 2 2-3 7, Hunter Tkacik 0 0-0 0, Ty Colton 0 0-0 0, Parker Wood 5 0-0 10, Ayden Sutika 2 0-0 4. TOTALS 18 2-3 44.
Mount Union – 47
Derek Member-Meneh 0 0-0 0, Gabe Stewart 3 1-1 7, Ryan Plank 2 0-0 4, Andrew Cuff 5 4-7 15, Jayvien Brumbaugh 4 4-4 13, Landon Johnson 0 0-0 0, Bryce Danish 1 3-4 5, Naiym Francis 1 0-0 3. TOTALS 16 12-16 47.
Golden Tide Scoreboard:
Date Opponent Score Record
12/02 CLEARFIELD 39 – 56 0 – 1
12/12 @ Mo Valley 44 – 35 1 – 1
12/15 GLENDALE ppd. 1 – 1
12/19 BELLWOOD-ANTIS 62 – 54 2 – 1
12/20 HARMONY 51 – 59 2 – 2
12/23 JUNIATA VALLEY ppd. 2 – 2
12/28 & 29 @ Philipsburg-Osceola Tourney
12/28 vs. Philipsburg-Osceola 44 – 74 2 – 3
12/29 vs. Bald Eagle Area 39 – 53 2 – 4
01/04 WILLIAMSBURG 45 – 61 2 – 5
01/05 @ Brockway 63 – 28 3 – 5
01/09 @ West Branch 46 – 67 3 – 6
01/11 MT. UNION 59 – 58 4 – 6
01/13 BROCKWAY 56 – 16 5 – 6
01/17 GLENDALE 40 – 42 5 – 7
01/20 MO VALLEY 63 – 40 6 – 7
01/24 @ Glendale 70 – 34 7 – 7
01/25 JUNIATA VALLEY ppd. 7 – 7
01/27 @ Bellwood-Antis 66 – 58 8 – 7
01/31 @ Juniata Valley 56 – 75 8 – 8
02/03 @ Williamsburg 56 – 65 8 – 9
02/07 WEST BRANCH 62 – 64 8 – 10
02/08 @ Harmony 62 – 76 8 – 11
02/10 @ Mt. Union 44 – 47 8 – 12
02/14 @ Clearfield
02/15 JUNIATA VALLEY