ATHENS RIDES BIG FIRST HALF TO 62-40 WIN AT COWANESQUE VALLEY
By: Tim Birney | AthensWildcats.com | January 27, 2022
WESTFIELD — Athens used a 9-0 run early in the first quarter, and a 16-2
blitz that bridged the first two quarters to build a 26-point halftime
lead in a 62-40 win over Cowanesque Valley here Thursday night in NTL
boys basketball action.
With the scored tied at 2-2, senior Troy
Pritchard, off a feed from senior J.J. Babcock, scored to give Athens
the lead for good, at 4-2.
Moments later, Babcock scored
back-to-back buckets, and senior Tucker Brown, off a feed from senior
Nalen Carling, capped the nine-point run that left Athens up 11-2 midway
through the opening stanza.
After a pair of free throws by
McGwire Painter trimmed Athens’ lead to 14-6, Babcock scored
back-to-back buckets, then assisted junior Mason Lister on a bucket in
transition to make it 20-6 at end of the first eight minutes.
Painter
scored a bucket in the opening moments of the second quarter, but
Athens scored 10 straight points, including six by junior Chris
Mitchell, to take a 30-8 lead.
Gage Tilton stopped the bleeding
with a 3-pointer to make it 30-11, but the Wildcats closed the first
half with a 9-2 spurt, thanks in large part to a 3-pointer and a pair of
free throws by sophomore Korey Miller, to make it 39-13 at the half.
Athens
kept it rolling in the third quarter as Lister scored a pair of buckets
to spark a 10-2 spurt that gave the Wildcats its biggest lead of the
game — at 49-15 — with 5:45 remaining in the third quarter.
Cowanesque Valley closed the gap to 19, at 58-39, in the final minute.
Babcock
led Athens with 16 points, six rebounds, five assists, and two blocked
shots, while Mitchell had 10 points and four rebounds, and Lister had
nine points, three assists, and one blocked shot.
Brown had six
points, four rebounds, and four assists in the win, while Pritchard had
six points and five rebounds, Carling added five points, three assists,
and three steals, and Miller chipped in with five points.
Painter led CV with 17 points, and Tilton added nine — all on 3-pointers.
Athens, now 12-4, hosts powerhouse Dallas Saturday in a non-league contest.
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