The Juniata Valley Hornets will head out on the road to square off against the Curwensville Golden Tide at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Juniata Valley scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Wednesday. They blew past Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy 101-47 at home. That 54 points margin sets a new team best for Juniata Valley this season.
Juniata Valley's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Charlie Mattas, who scored 35 points along with seven assists and five rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Mattas has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Connor Robinson, who dropped a double-double on 23 points and ten rebounds.
Curwensville posted their biggest win since December 8, 2023 last Thursday. Everything went their way against Moshannon Valley as Curwensville made off with a 74-53 win. The win was just what Curwensville needed coming off of a 76-47 loss in their prior game.
Curwensville can attribute much of their success to Davis Fleming, who scored 23 points along with eight rebounds and five steals, and Parker Wood, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and ten rebounds. Fleming has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last six times he's played. Another player making a difference was Hunter Tkacik, who scored nine points along with 17 rebounds and two blocks.
Juniata Valley's win bumped their record up to 10-4. As for Curwensville, they pushed their record up to 8-4 with that victory, which was their third straight on the road.
Tuesday's contest is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Juniata Valley have been dynamite from deep this season, having drained 45% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Curwensville struggles in that department as they've drained 42.9% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Juniata Valley strolled past Curwensville when the teams last played back in December of 2023 by a score of 95-81. The rematch might be a little tougher for Juniata Valley since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
