WESTFIELD — The Cowanesque Valley Indians (6-9) basketball team split games over the past week as they fell to a heartbreak against the Towanda Black Knights (4- 10) here on Friday January 21 where Towanda hit a game-winner with 3.3 seconds remaining and Tuesday January 25 traveled to Williamson where they beat the Warriors (2-10) by a score of 64-32 to their sixth victory of the 2021-2022 season.

In the first quarter of their fight against Towanda, it was CV who struck first as they opened the game with an abundance of energy on both sides of the floor as they raced to a 5-0 lead in the opening section of the match. .

Towanda would quickly tie the game five minutes later, but the Indians would get a three-pointer from Tucker St. Peter setting off another run in the first quarter.

They would score nine unanswered, Painter McGwire putting the Exclamation Point on the run with another Indian three that forced a timeout from Towanda and got the CV team started.

But out of the timeout, Towanda would again find a way to respond and close the gap.

They would eventually end their drought with 2:30 left in the frame, but Gage Tilton would find nothing but nylon on the next possession on a three-pointer that gave them a 17-7 lead.

But Towanda went on a 7-2 run to finish the frame crowned by a Dante Ottaviani knocking down a three-pointer that breathed new life into his side.

Towanda would tear up in the second quarter, and after trailing up to 12 points, he rallied behind a three-pointer to score 21 points and take the lead in the final minute of the quarter.

CV’s Tilton would make a strong move to the bucket with 33 seconds remaining in the half to draw the foul, and despite allowing 21 points in the quarter, Tilton was able to knock down both shots on the line and even the score at 33 before the half-time break.

In the second half, CV again came out of the break with an abundance of energy that led to another big run.

They opened things up with a huge 10-3 run that forced another timeout from the Black Knights, and Towanda would adjust again as they prepared to fight back in what looked to be a heavyweight title match with the two offense trading runs throughout.

They would cut the lead to just six points at the end of the fourth as they started the fourth quarter trailing 44-50 with Irish showing their clutch goal as they knocked down a shot when time expired.

In the fourth, Towanda would start cooking from three points, where they knocked down three critical blows from deep during the frame.

CV would push their run again early in the quarter and take an early 55-46 lead, but Towanda would hit back straight away as they used their own 11-2 run which was capped by another Irish three.

But Tilton, who was on fire throughout the second half when he scored 10 of his 21 points, would break the run with his own clutch three-pointer with 3:10 to go to give his side a lead. by five points 60-55. .

Towanda would respond instantly with a three of their own, and after Tilton knocked down another two-point shot, the Black Knights would knock down another three-pointer and the five-point lead was reduced to a single point. in a few moments.

Tilton would once again have an answer and knocked down another late three that gave the Indians a 64-61 lead, but the late game run would be the eventual loss for them down the stretch.

Towanda would score five points unanswered by the Irish who came into the lane with just 39 seconds left and got a shot to close the gap to 64-63.

The Indians just needed to hold the ball and keep the clock ticking, but they would make some mental mistakes in stride, and sophomore Carter Ackley was unable to strike up front on a one-off opportunity. which turned out to be extremely expensive.

With just 3.3 seconds left, Irish would play the game, as he dove into the lane and fired a shot over the outstretched arm of a defender who found the back of the net.

CV had a chance for a long play inbounds, but the pass went out of bounds over Painter’s head and gave the ball back to Towanda with 1.7 seconds left.

The Black Knights would take care of business in stride and escape CV with an impressive win in the dying moments of the game.

Towanda was led by Irish who scored a team-high 19 points and played the hero with the two biggest buckets of the night down the stretch.

Ottaviani was also huge for Towanda in the win as the sniper went ballistic on three points, knocked down three shots from deep and scored 18 points on the night.

The Indians also had strong performances from their three-headed offensive monster in St. Peter, Tilton and Painter who all topped double digits in the contest.

St. Peter, who started the game on fire, scored 11 points, all in the first half.

Painter led all scorers on the night as he scored a game-high 25 points, including a torrential third quarter that saw the scoring phenom drop 12 points in an impressive performance.

Tilton, who was huge in the fourth, also had a big night scoring 21 points in the loss.

He was able to hit three three-pointers and went a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line in the effort.

In their next contest, CV traveled to Williamson and came away with a 64-32 win on Tuesday, January 25.

The Indians came out of the gates fast, scoring 18 points in the first quarter and Painter went wild as he scored 12 points on six field goals to help his team take an 18-7 lead.

The Indians would continue to rack up the points before halftime as the Williamson team had no answer for Painter who scored eight while sharpshooter Tilton scored six of two three to extend their lead to 35-17 at halftime.

Williamson’s offense began to come together in the second frame, scoring 10 points, Everett Dominick would hit two shots from deep in the first half while scoring eight points and Devin O’Dell would also add four points in the first half. time.

The second half saw the Indians’ offense continue to thrive, as they finished things off with a 16-10 advantage in the third quarter where Painter would continue to score at will as he poured in another 10 points for his team.

At 51-27, the Indians closed things out easily in the fourth with five players adding buckets in a 13-5 quarter that pushed their lead to 64-32 in the win.

Painter was again unstoppable scoring the basketball, scoring 30 points in the win with consistent score production for each of the first three quarters.

Tilton added 10 points with two three-pointers, Fletcher Good managed to break double digits in a 10-point performance for the rookie, St. Peter added six points while Ackley was able to contribute four points in the Indians victory .

Williamson was led by Dominick who scored eight points and Tristian Parker who also added eight points in the Warriors’ 10th straight loss this season.

Williamson will be looking to round the corner and get back into the win column as they travel to Canton on Thursday January 27 for a big school clash.

CV will be looking to string together the winning streak when they host the Athens Wildcats (11-4) on Thursday, January 27.

Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m.