CURWENSVILLE — A happy new year was the one need the Curwensville Golden Tide cagers were hoping for when the calendar turned to 2024. The tough loss right after Christmas against Clearfield was a tough blow to a team that had a lot of momentum throughout December. The squad’s five-wins through the month was the highest in recent memory, and head coach Josh Tkacik could tell his team needed a boost after the most recent game. Tuesday night was the fifth-consecutive game inside Patton Hall, and once more the crowd came out ready for a game that could come down to the wire. The Harmony Owls came into town for a Moshannon Valley League showdown, and they got just that.
For 32 minutes, the contest was tight, and multiple players would have high-scoring outputs. Harmony battled so hard that they made the Tide nervous late. Yet, the will to win was higher for Curwensville, as they pulled out a 65-60 win that kept everyone nervous until the final buzzer.
The opening quarter for both squads was a tit-for-tat battle, with both holding the lead at certain points. The Owls only had two players account for all the points, and Curwensville had three get on the stat line. After eight minutes, the Tide held a slim two-point lead, 15-13. The entire game changed course in the second quarter when the Tide began to pull away, even just a bit, to give a cushion. The home squad outscored the opposition 17-11 in the stanza, taking an eight point lead into the locker room.
Curwensville’s last few weeks have been a struggle as Chandler English, a usual threat in the starting lineup, has been sidelined due to injury. But, in his absence, the play of Grant Swanson, Parker Wood, and Davis Fleming has been exceptional. On this night, Swanson made up for his deep shot issues that plagued him against Clearfield in a big way. He contributed 12 of his 18 points in the first half, all coming from behind the arc.
At the same token, Wood stepped up with his play in the paint, using his size to his benefit as he put up a team-high 24 points against Harmony.
The one struggle Curwensville has experienced is coming out of the locker room a bit flat, or having one tough quarter that made the game either out of reach or a struggle to maintain the lead. This night felt different as the Tide come out just as tough as they did in the first half, but the Owls were right with them, as they were down 47-38 heading into the final quarter.
That is when Jack Bracken suddenly put the team on his back, as he became the focus for the entire Curwensville defense. He got his points on the night, but it was the second half when he got extremely hot, finding a groove and suddenly pulling the game within reach. Bracken put up 15 points in the final quarter, part of his game-high 40 for the game.
What kept Curwensville in the fight was ultimately what did them in during part of December. When it mattered most, as Harmony would force fouls late in the contest, the Tide put the ball in the hoop at the foul line. After not getting any free throw opportunities in the first half, Curwensville went 8-for-10 in the second half. By contrast, in a bit of a surprise, the Owls only made it to the line six times in the second half, and late in the going a key pair of misses by Bracken took away a lot of momentum.
A pair of free throws from Fleming, Wood, and Braden Holland all were enormous shots to get Curwensville a much-needed win.
With the win, Curwensville (6-3) will head on the road for the first time in several weeks on Friday night when they make the trip west to face the Brockway Rovers.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Harmony 13 11 14 22 – 60
Curwensville 15 17 15 18 – 65
Harmony – 60
Jack Bracken 17 5-8 40, Foster Rowles 2 2-2 6, Jared Sward 0 0-0 0, Hunter Pearce 0 0-0 0, Brycen Hagens 0 0-0 0, Brady Hagens 4 0-0 8, Parker Maseto 1 0-0 3, Owen Bailey 1 0-0 3. TOTALS 25 7-10 60.
Curwensville – 65
Grant Swanson 6 0-2 18, Davis Fleming 6 3-3 15, Braden Holland 0 2-2 2, Hunter Tkacik 2 1-1 6, Louie Tkacik 0 0-0 0, Parker Wood 11 2-2 24. TOTALS 25 8-10 65.
