WESTOVER — It was quite the start for the Curwensville Golden Tide round-ballers for the 2023-2024 season. After last year’s successful campaign under new head coach Josh Tkacik, the Tide were hungry and ready to get back on the hardwood for a new year. The new squad got that opportunity on Wednesday night via a road trip to Harmony to face off with the Owls.
There was no doubt that Harmony had a stud player to try and defend, as Jack Bracken was showing his skills all game long, dropping a game-high 35 points against the Tide. However, that effort was not complemented as great from his teammates, as Curwensville’s unit would have three players drop double-digits to take a 79-60 triumph to start the year.
Neither squad really got out to an advantage in the opening quarter, both swapping the lead on several occasions. Harmony took advantage of the new foul rule to get multiple chances at the charity stripe in the first eight minutes, but only managed to put three of nine shots in the net. After one quarter, both teams were still knotted up at 18 points each, with no real answer to who would break out and set the pace.
The second quarter saw the visitors become a decisive unit as six different Tide players would manage to get points on the board, allowing Curwensville to head into the locker room with a solid 40-32 advantage.
The second half is when Curwensville turned up the pressure and proved that they were ready for the new season, as the Tide’s Davis Fleming got rolling in fast fashion. He would put up 19 of his team-high 27 points in the second half, including 13 in the final quarter. Add in the effort of Chandler English and Parker Wood, who added in 13 and 11 points a piece, and Curwensville began to pull away to give the Owls a sour taste at night’s end.
The week is not done for Curwensville (1-0) as they are back on the road Friday night when they take on Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Curwensville 18 22 17 22 – 79
Harmony 18 14 13 15 – 60
Curwensville – 79
Andrew Wassil 2 3-3 7, Grant Swanson 2 0-0 5, Davis Fleming 13 1-3 27, Chandler English 6 1-2 13, Braden Holland 2 1-3 5, Hunter Tkacik 3 2-2 9, Louie Tkacik 2 0-0 4, Parker Wood 4 3-4 11. TOTALS 35 11-17 79.
Harmony – 60
Jack Bracken 15 5-12 35, Foster Rowles 4 0-0 8, Jared Ward 0 0-0 0, Carter Doland 3 0-0 6, Hunter Pearce 0 0-0 0, Bryson Hagens 2 1-3 6, Brady Hagens 2 1-1 5, Parker Maseto 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 26 7-16 60.
TIDE SCOREBOARD:
Date Opponent Score Record
12/06 @ Harmony 79 – 60 1 – 0
12/08 @ St. Joe’s Catholic
12/11 WILLIAMSBURG
12/14 @ Juniata Valley
12/18 CLAYSBURG-KIMMEL
12/21 GLENDALE
12/22 BUCKTAIL
12/28 CLEARFIELD
01/02 HARMONY
01/05 @ Brockway
01/08 WEST BRANCH
01/11 @ Mo Valley
01/16 @ Williamsburg
01/19 @ Mt. Union
01/23 JUNIATA VALLEY
01/26 @ Glendale
02/02 @ West Branch
02/05 KEYSTONE
02/06 MO VALLEY
02/10 @ DuBois Central Catholic
02/13 @ Clearfield
02/15 @ Bucktail