HYDE — Despite classes not being in session due to the Christmas break, up on the hill inside the Bison Gymnasium, a packed crowd filled both sides of the hardwood for the first of a three-game homestand for the Clearfield Bison round-ballers. To start it off, they welcomed in a Curwensville Golden Tide squad that was coming off a last-second thrilling win just days earlier against Glendale. Add to it that Curwensville’s Davis Fleming was knocking on the door of hitting 1000-career points, plus was almost at the point of becoming the Tide’s all-time assist leader.
Fleming did hit the four-figure mark in points for his Tide career, but it was Clearfield that turned up the heat on the court as the Bison took advantage of turnovers and turned them into points to take a 72-62 triumph, their second win on the 2024-2025 campaign.
“These kids gave unbelievable credit. Curwensville came in and played really hard. At one point we had a lead that was 17 points, but they (Curwensville) battled back to cut it down to just seven,” Clearfield coach Nate Glunt said afterwards. “We were just more fortunate to be able to put up more shots than they did when needed.”
Early on, Curwensville was rolling as Fleming managed to put in the first five points, starting off with a trey at the post and a pair of foul shots. After a foul shot by Clearfield’s Evett Maines, Fleming managed to get a look just inside the arc at the foul line to put the ball in the net. At that moment, Tide coach Josh Tkacik called timeout as that shot put him above the 1000-point mark. His team gathered together to congratulate him, along with his family and fellow classmates that made the trip up Route 879 to take in the moment.
Once the thank-you moments were done, Curwensville and Clearfield got back to the task at hand, and at that point the Bison’s leading scorer, Braison Patrick, found his groove. In the first quarter, Patrick put up 12 of the team’s 19 points, taking a two-possession lead after one, 19-15.
It was the second quarter that Clearfield’s opportunities at the basket were the highest, as they began to pick up the rebounds they were missing in the opening eight minutes. Despite being down in boards in the first quarter, Clearfield out-rebounded Curwensville by a 13-6 margin in the second quarter, with five of them on offense to keep possessions going. That ultimately resulted in the Bison getting more chances at the basket, as Maines began getting looks from deep outside, putting up 12 of the team’s 20 points in the quarter. Turnovers hurt Curwensville in the opening half, as a dozen of them ended possessions and left them in a 39-28 gap heading into the locker room.
“Anytime you win, or lose, always reflect on the event that you won or lost in. Having a reflective heart and mind about it is important, and we learned some stuff tonight about us that is hopefully going to propel us forward as a team this year, and as a program in the future,” Tkacik said afterwards. “Our young guys stepped up to play really well, our senior leadership among all three of them did what they needed to.
“The stat line is not going to reveal all that Davis, Chandler (English), and Hunter (Tkacik) did, or Evan McCartney, Trenton (Best), or Breck (Finn), but I saw it, as did Coach Fleming. There’s definitely a lot of positives to come out of this.”
Maines and Patrick came out of the locker room a bit off, despite getting looks, but Clearfield’s Elijah Glunt came in large in the third quarter, putting up nine of his 12 points in the stanza. He added in another seven steals, plus four rebounds on the night, as Clearfield held on to a 56-46 lead entering the final quarter. Glunt was one of three Bison in double figures, as Patrick led all scoring with 27 points, coming up one rebound short of a double-double, while Maines added in an additional 26 points.
However, Curwensville refused to go away quietly.
After Maines drained one of his five three’s to start the fourth quarter, it was Breck Finn that got hot to give Curwensville some life. He would drain back-to-back three’s from the top of the arc to pull the Tide to within nine points, as both Patrick and Noah Rumfola combined to answer with a pair of buckets of their own. But, those shots then took some of the focus off Fleming, who finished with 24 points, and made Clearfield have to worry about other guys on the court that could make key buckets.
“I tell the guys that Davis is going to shoot, he’s going to get his shots, and get his points. But, we also recognize there’s other guys on the floor. It’s a team effort, and we tell everyone, the young guys especially, be a threat.” Tkacik said. “Don’t just be a guy that moves the ball, but be a threat, and be patient with it.”
“Not just Breck, but Tuck (Tkacik) as well. I thought he was very head-strong tonight as well. He realized when he should attack the rim, but also kick the ball out, shoot from the outside or drive to the basket.” Tuck Tkacik would finish with 16 points, while Chandler English led the squad with 12 rebounds and Hunter Tkacik finished with seven assists.
At night’s end, the thrill of getting back to the winning ways was a big moment for Clearfield as they halted a three-game skid where their opponents averaged a margin-of-victory of 24 points in that span. Despite the losses, Glunt could see that the team was still battling, and also putting in the work both at practice, and in the classroom. He reflected on the teachings the team has learned and how it also has been able to rub off onto many outside of the classroom.
“I’m extremely fortunate to have kids that listen, and try to do everything we teach them to do, an excellent staff to help coach them, and a great community of support,” he said.
Both teams will get to enjoy a week off from competition, as the holiday break rolls on into next week. Both Clearfield (2-5) and Curwensville (2-5) are back on the court next Friday, January 3, to start the 2025 portion of the schedule.
Curwensville is in the midst of a five-game road trip as they will travel to face Keystone.
The Bison will be back on their home court as part of a double-header for Clearfield. Westmont Hilltop will be coming in and will do so with both the boys and the girls squad. Unlike years past, it will be the guys that will be the first game, tipping off at 6 p.m. The Lady Bison will follow at approximately 7:30 p.m.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Curwensville 15 13 18 16 – 62
Clearfield 19 20 17 16 – 72
Curwensville – 62
Trenton Best 0 0-0 0, Evan McCartney 2 0-0 6, Davis Fleming 8 5-6 24, Chandler English 4 0-3 9, Hunter Tkacik 0 1-4 1, Tuck Tkacik 7 1-3 16, Breck Finn 2 0-0 6. TOTALS 23 7-16 62.
Clearfield – 72
Evett Maines 10 1-2 26, Braison Patrick 13 1-1 27, Carter Kaskan 0 1-2 1, Kai Lynch 0 0-0 0, Jake Rumfola 0 0-0 0, Elijah Glunt 5 1-1 12, Noah Rumfola 2 0-0 4, Cooper Broad 0 0-0 0, Easton Maines 1 0-0 2, JT Strishock 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 31 4-6 72.
GAME STATISTICS
Curwensville/Clearfield
- Shooting: 23-57/31-69
- Rebounds: 32/28
- Fouls: 9/19
- Turnovers: 19/9
- Three-Point Shots: McCartney-2, Fleming-3, English, T. Tkacik, Finn-2/Ev. Maines-5, Glunt
- Foul Out: Kaskan
GOLDEN TIDE SCOREBOARD:
Date Opponent Score Record
12/04 @ St. Joseph’s Catholic ppd. 0 – 0
12/07 OSWAYO VALLEY 67 – 56 1 – 0
12/10 @ Williamsburg 49 – 59 1 – 1
12/13 @ Juniata Valley 64 – 85 1 – 2
12/16 @ Claysburg-Kimmel 66 – 70 1 – 3
12/18 MOSHANNON VALLEY 50 – 55 1 – 4
12/20 @ Glendale 64 – 62 2 – 4
12/23 @ St. Joseph’s Catholic PPD 2 – 4
12/27 @ Clearfield 62 – 72 2 – 5
01/03 @ Keystone
01/07 @ West Branch
01/10 @ Harmony
01/13 WILLIAMSBURG
01/17 MT. UNION
01/21 JUNIATA VALLEY
01/24 GLENDALE
01/25 @ St. Joseph’s Catholic
01/28 DUBOIS CENTRAL
01/31 WEST BRANCH
02/04 @ Moshannon Valley
02/06 @ Marion Center
02/07 HARMONY
02/10 @ Oswayo Valley
02/12 CLEARFIELD
Bison Basketball Scoreboard
Date: Opponent Score, Record
- 12/3: at Central 49-67, 0-1
- 12/6: at Greater Johnstown 44-68, 0-2
- 12/9: BELLEFONTE 61-51, 1-2
- 12/13: at Bishop Guilfoyle 46-72, 1-3
- 12/16: TYRONE 53-75, 1-4
- 12/19: at Hollidaysburg 47-71, 1-5
- 12/27: CURWENSVILLE 72-62, 2-5
- 1/3: WESTMONT HILLTOP
- 1/6: HUNTINGDON
- 1/8: at Philipsburg-Osceola
- 1/10: BELLWOOD-ANTIS
- 1/15: at Penns Valley
- 1/17: at Bedford
- 1/20: WEST BRANCH
- 1/22: BALD EAGLE AREA
- 1/29: CENTRAL
- 1/31: RICHLAND
- 2/4: DUBOIS CENTRAL CATHOLIC
- 2/5: at Bellefonte
- 2/7: BISHOP GUILFOYLE
- 2/10: at Tyrone
- 2/12: CURWENSVILLE
