'TEAM EFFORT' CARRIES ATHENS TO 66-46 WIN OVER CANTON
By: Tim Birney | AthensWildcats.com | December 18, 2021
CANTON — Athens built an eight-point cushion at the half, then limited
Canton to just 13 points in the second half on its way to a convincing,
66-46, win here Saturday night in a key early-season NTL boys basketball
match-up.
"I am very pleased with the entire team's effort -
everyone contributed," said Athens coach Jim Lister. "Our bench was
outstanding.
"Defensively, I thought we played very well,
especially in the second half," noted Lister."Tucker Brown's quick
hands created a lot of deflection and turnovers.
"We need to continue to do that to be successful," added Lister.
Senior
Nalen Carling scored 15 points and grabbed three boards, and junior
Mason Lister had 15 points and three assists to lead the Wildcats.
Senior
Troy Pritchard scored 11 points in the win, while senior J.J. Babcock
had eight points, nine assists, and three blocked shots, senior Tucker
Brown added eight points, and junior Chris Mitchell chipped in with five
points.
"Offensively, everyone contributed, which is what we want," said Lister.
"The birthday boy Nalen Carling was terrific," noted Lister. "Troy (Pritchard's) posts moves underneath were just fun to watch.
"Mason Lister is getting smoother and more comfortable by the game and J.J. is becoming the complete player," added Lister.
The
Wildcats jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead on a bucket Pritchard, a
conventional three-point play by Carling, and a bucket by Lister, off a
feed from Babcock, but Canton answered with seven straight points to tie
the game.
Brown put Athens back in front with an old-fashioned
three-point play, and Lister made the Warriors pay for a turnover with a
3-point bomb to give Athens a 13-7 lead.
Carling turned another
Canton turnover into a lay-up yo give the Wildcats an eight-point lead,
at 15-7 with 1:45 left in the first quarter.
Canton closed the
gap to two points, at 18-16, but Mitchell knocked down a pair of free
throws in the closing moments of the opening stanza to give the Wildcats
a 20-16 lead.
Babcock scored a pair of buckets to start the
second quarter, pushing the Athens lead to 24-16, but Canton answered
with seven straight points to close the gap to one, at 24-23.
The
game of runs continued as the Wildcats scored eight straight points to
take its biggest lead to that point, at 32-23. Pritchard scored five of
the eight points.
After a bucket by Canton stopped the run, Lister canned a 3-pointer to give Athens a 35-25 lead with 2:50 remaining in the half.
The
Athens lead ranged from six to 10 points until midway through the third
quarter, when a 12-2 spurt that bridged the final two quarter extended
the Wildcat lead to 56-37 with 7:09 remaining in the game.
Carling
sparked the run with a break-away lay-up, and Brown's three-point play
made it 49-37. Mitchell's bucket, off a feed from freshman Kolsen
Keathley, gave the Wildcats a 51-37 lead entering the final eight
minutes.
Lister opened the fourth quarter with a steal and a
lay-up, then capped the run with an old-fashioned three-point play to
make it 56-37.
The Warriors closed the gap to 15, at 56-41,
midway through the final stanza, but never got any closer as buckets by
Babcock, Brown, and Pritchard gave the Wildcats a 21-point lead, at
64-43 with 56 seconds remaining in the contest.
Isaiah Niemczyk
led Canton with 18 points "”16 of them in the first half, while Caiden
Williams netted 10, and Cooper Kitchen added nine.
Athens, now 3-1, hosts Sayre Thursday night.
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