ATHENS — Athens earned three wins in four nights over NTL Large School
Divisional opponents, including a victory over Troy to avenge a loss
earlier this season, to improve to 18-3 on the season.
Athens 41, Towanda 28
At Towanda, Athens gradually pulled away for a 41-28 win over Towanda Monday night.
Kolsen
Keathley scored four points in the first quarter to help the junior
Wildcats to an 11-7 lead after the first seven minutes.
Troy
Rosenbloom scored six points in the second quarter, and Keathley added
an old-fashioned three-point play in an 11-7 run that pushed the Athens
lead to 19-14 at the half.
Jase Babcock and Korey Miller scored
four points apiece in the third quarter as Athens outscored Towanda,
12-8, to take a 31-22 lead into the final seven minutes.
Xavier Watson and Keathley scored four points apiece in the fourth quarter as Athens added to its lead with a 10-6 spurt.
Keathley
led Athens with 11 points and six rebounds, while Rosenbloom had eight
points, two assists, and two steals, and Watson had eight points, five
boards, two steals, and one blocked shot.
Miller had four points,
seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals in the win, while Jack
Cheresnowsky had four points, three rebounds, and one blocked shot, Jase
Babcock chipped in with four points, Davin Spencer had three rebounds
and two steals, and Peter Jones grabbed three boards.
Athens 61, Troy 51
At Troy, Athens rallied from seven points down at the half to pull out a 61-51 win over Troy at the Commons Building Saturday.
Korey
Miller buried a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter, while Xavier
Watson also had six points, and Troy Rosenbloom added four points to
help Athens to an 18-6 lead after the first seven minutes.
Troy
outscored Athens, 18-9 in the second quarter to take a 34-27 lead into
the half, but the Wildcats answered with a strong third quarter.
Kolsen
Keathley scored nine points to fuel a 13-2 third-quarter blitz that
gave Athens a 40-36 lead heading into the final seven minutes.
Watson
scored eight points in the fourth quarter, and Miller added six points,
including four free throws, as Athens made 7 of 10 free throws down the
stretch to preserve the win in a 21-15 fourth-quarter run.
Watson
scored 17 points and Miller had 16 points, three rebounds, six assists,
and four steals to lead Athens, while Keathley had 13 points, seven
rebounds and four steals.
Rosenbloom had six points and two
assists in the win, while Jase Babcock had four points and two assists,
Jack Cheresnowsky grabbed three rebounds, and Conner Mosher dished out
three assists.
Athens 40, Wellsboro 23
At Athens, the
junior Wildcats used a 12-2 second quarter blitz to build an 11-point
halftime lead on its way to a 40-23 win over Wellsboro Friday.
Matt
Aquilio buried a 3-pointer in the first quarter, and three of his
teammates put their name in the scoring column to help Athens to a 9-8
lead after the first seven minutes.
Korey Miller canned a
3-pointer, and Kolsen Keathley converted an old-fashioned three-point
play as Athens extended its lead to 21-10 at the half.
Keathley
scored six points in the third quarter, and Xavier Watson finished off a
three-point play as Athens used a 15-11 advantage to take a 36-21 lead
into the final seven minutes.
Keathley led Athens with 11 points,
12 rebounds, three assists, three steals, and three blocked shots,
while Watson scored seven points, and Miller had five points, three
rebounds, three assists, seven steals, and one blocked shot.
Aquilio
scored five points for the Wildcats, while Connor Mosher had four
points, four boards, and one blocked shot, Jack Cheresnowsky had four
points and three rebounds, and Troy Rosenbloom added three rebounds.
TROY — Athens came within a rimmed out lay-up of possibly taking hold of
the NTL Large School title chase, but ultimately ran out of gas as it
fell to Troy, 70-64, in boys basketball action here Saturday at the
Commons Building.
The Wildcats, who trailed for most of the game,
rallied from 14 down in the third, to a 2-point deficit with a little
more than a minute to go when that shot rolled out. In the final 67
seconds, the Trojans used the free throw line to out score Athens, 6-1,
to preserve the win, and clinch their second straight division
championship.
“First, I want to say I’m going to give Coach Renzi
and Troy all the credit in the world,” said Athens coach Jim Lister.
“They really played hard tonight, they won the game.
“I’m very
proud of my kids. This was a hell of a gauntlet we had to go through
here, (NP-Mansfield) Wednesday night, Wellsboro last night) and to come
here and play Troy tonight, we were asking a lot of our kids, and they
never quit,” noted Lister. “They came back, and they showed me a lot of
heart tonight, and I’m extremely proud of them.”
The Wildcats
rolled past NP-Mansfield mid-week, but had to hold off Wellsboro on
Friday before facing the league leading Trojans.
“I thought our
legs were a little tired in the first half,” said Lister. “I think
that’s why they got a good lead on us. But, just my kids, man, they got a
ton of heart, they fought back.”
Babcock certainly put it all
out on the court as he had one of the best games of his career with 30
points, eight boards, four assists, four steals, and three blocked
shots. In the first half, he helped carry the load with nine points in
the opening quarter to keep Troy from getting too far out in front, then
scored 13 in the final frame during Athens’ rally.
“I’m thrilled
with JJ, and his effort tonight,” Lister remarked. “I mean, he just
wanted to take over the game, he wanted to win.”
Mason Lister added 15 points, and five boards, as he was money with his mix of baseline jumpers and runners.
Nalen
Carling scrapped for 10 points, and six rebounds, while Tucker Brown
had four points, and four assists, Troy Pritchard finished with three
points, and Kolsen Keathley added two points, four boards, and some
tough defense on Troy’s Ty Barrett.
“I’m going to give a big
shout out to my freshman Kolsen Keathley,” said Lister. “He came in in
that quarter and he busted his tail, and he worked hard, and he got us
back in that game.”
Mason Imbt led Troy with 24 points, while
Barrett finished with 23. Zeb Oldroyd netted eight, Justice Chimics
scored seven, Jackson Taylor and Ethan VanNoy had three points apiece,
while Colin Loveland rounded things out with two.
Barrett came
out of the gates on fire, hitting back-to-back 3-balls in Troy’s first
two possessions to put the Trojans up 6-0. Their lead would get to 8-0
on an Imbt lay-up from a VanNoy pass, but a Lister jumper stopped that
run.
Imbt would make it 10-2 with another lay-up at the 4:17 mark
of the first quarter, but the Wildcats came back with jumpers from
Babcock and Lister.
Imbt’s third bucket of the game made it 12-6,
but after that the Wildcats went on a 9-2 run to take a 15-14 lead.
Babcock scored seven of the night points, while Lister had a lay-up.
However, Barrett’s third 3-pointer of the quarter with 16 seconds on the clock would put the Trojans back up 17-15.
Troy
came out strong in the second, with getting back to back lay-ups from
Barrett and Imbt to take a 21-15 lead in the first minute.
Another Babcock ‘And-1’ cut it to 21-18, followed by the two teams trading bucket to make it 23-20 at the 4:49 mark.
The
back-and-forth continued for the next three minutes, as both teams had
five points apiece, until Lister hit a baseline jumper at the minute
mark to cut it to 28-27.
Oldroyd would answer with a 3-ball,
followed by a Barrett dump off to Imbt down low that put the Trojans
back up 33-27 with 21 seconds left to play.
Pritchard would get a lay-up with a 6.6 seconds for a 33-29 halftime score.
Troy came out of the half like a shot, beginning with buckets from Imbt and Barrett to take a 37-29 lead.
A Carling jumper cut it to 37-31, but Oldroyd answered with a 3-ball to go up 40-31.
Babcock
would get another old fashioned 3-point play, but the Trojans followed
with a 6-0 run — Barrett had a lay-up, Oldroyd finished a put back, and
Chimics scored on a transition lay-up – to build their biggest lead yet,
46-34.
A Babcock steal and lay-up at the 2:52 mark made it a
10-point game, but two more Trojans baskets — one from Chimics, the
other from Imbt, and both off Barrett assists — gave the Trojans a 50-36
advantage with 2:00 left in the third.
Athens answered with a 4-0 spurt as Babcock found Lister for a lay-up, and Brown had a steal and bucket.
Then, with 1:18 left on the clock, Barrett found Imbt for a lay-up, plus the foul, to make it 53-40.
Babcock
would continue to make plays for his team, though, as he found Brown
for a bucket, then had another steal and lay-up, to cut it to 53-44.
The
final basket of the quarter belonged to Barrett, though, as he hit a
runner to make it a 55-44 Trojan lead going into the final frame.
“You
know, when we were up going into the fourth, I said to the guys, this
ain’t over,” said Troy coach Steve Renzi. “Athens was a champion two
years ago, they know. They know what they got to do to comeback, and
they did.”
It began on the defensive end for the Wildcats, as
they held Troy scoreless for nearly four minutes to start the fourth.
That allowed them to chip away, going on an 9-0 run, with seven of them
from Babcock, to cut it to 55-53.
A pair of Imbt free throws extended the lead back to four points, but a Babcock driving lay-up made it a 2-point game again.
Barrett answered with a driving lay-up of his own with 3:57 on the clock for a 59-55 lead.
Athens
would get a turnover on their next possession, with Chimics getting
fouled and going to the line for a 1-and-1. He made the first, but
missed the second, giving the Trojans a little more breathing room at
60-55 with 3:15 left.
The Wildcats would have another turnover, but Troy missed at the other end.
It was Keathley cutting it to 60-57 for the Wildcats with a lay-up at the 2:41 mark.
Troy, though, would get a big 3-ball from VanNoy — nothing but net — off an Imbt assist to push their lead to 63-57.
Lister,
though, was able to erase that with a lay-up plus the foul, making the
freebie for a 63-60 score with just over two minute to play.
Taylor would get fouled at the other end, making both, to once again push the lead to four points.
The
two teams would then trade misses, followed by Babcock getting his
seventh And-1 of the game, making the free throw to cut it to 65-63 with
1:46 left.
After getting the ball back, Athens had a good look at a lay-up, but that’s when it rolled out.
Barrett ended up with the ball, and at the free throw line, making both, to push it to 67-63 with 1:07 left to play.
Babcock would get to the free throw line at the other, making 1-of-2, to cut it to 67-64 with 43.5 left to play.
Those
would be the final points Athens would score, though, as their final
three possessions ended with two turnovers, and a miss.
Troy would go 3 of 6 down the stretch — Imbt himself was 2-for-4 — to secure the win.
“We
were a lay-up away from tying this game up with a minute left,” Lister
said. “It was a fantastic basketball game in front of a packed house.
It’s the way it’s supposed to be. We just came up on the short end of
it.”
The Wildcats have two league games left, beginning with a
trip to Towanda on Monday, and, if they win out, will be in the NTL
Showdown where they could meet Troy for the third time this season.
“We have a lot of basketball left,” Lister remarked. “And we will be back. I promise you that.”
ATHENS — Senior Nalen Carling fueled a strong first half, and his
classmate J.J. Babcock netted his 1,000th career point in Athens’ 48-40
win over Wellsboro here Friday night in NTL Large School Division boys
basketball action.
However, Athens coach Jim Lister said it was his team’s defense, employing 1-3-1 half-court pressure, that was the difference.
“Defensively,
I thought we played awesome in the first half,” he said. “We only gave
up 15 points to a very good Wellsboro team … if we continue to play
defense like that, we should be OK.
“I went back over the last 48
hours and I watched our game (at Wellsboro) three times,” noted Lister.
“I realized (Wellsboro’s) guards are very good shooters, but I thought
we could put some more pressure on them, which we did not do the first
game, and make it a little more difficult for them.
“Our length and athleticism created a lot of problems for them,” added Lister. “I don’t think they saw that coming.”
The
6-3 Carling, matched up against a 5-10 defender, scored 10 points in
the first quarter, including a pair of feee throws that gave Athens the
lead for good at 6-4.
“We didn’t have Nalen (Carling) at Wellsboro, he was very ill and did not make the trip,” said Lister.
“Watching
film and looking at the match-ups … I thought we’d have a size
advantage with Nalen,” added Lister. “I thought Nalen would be the
x-factor, and dominate in the paint, and that’s exactly what he did.”
After
a 3-pointer by Wellsboro’s Connor Adams closed the gap to 8-7, Lister
drained a long 3-pointer from the right wing to trigger a 13-1 run that
put the Wildcats ahead 21-8 with 2 1/2 minutes remaining in the first
half.
Carling and Lister scored buckets to give the Wildcats
their biggest lead of the first half, at 27-13, with 40 seconds
remaining in the half, but Liam Manning scored on a putback at the
buzzer to make it 27-15.
Peyton McClure, who scored a game-high
21 points on seven 3-pointers in the first Athens-Wellsboro game, canned
his second 3-pointer of the game to close the gap to 29-20 with 5:29
remaining in the third quarter. McClure finished the game with two
3-pointers and eight points.
“We had Mason (Lister) on (Peyton
McClure) in the second half, and his job was to make sure he didn’t hurt
us,” said Lister. “We did a good job on him.”
Adams knocked down
a jumper in the lane to make it 29-22 with 5:16 remaining, but senior
Troy Pritchard and Babcock scored in the low blocks to make it 33-22
with 3:08 remaining.
The teams traded buckets, with Liam Manning
scoring in the post with 50 seconds left to close the gap to 35-26
heading into the final eight minutes.
Carling scored on a nice
drive down the lane with 6:25 remaining, but Adams drained a 3-pointer
just 10 seconds later to make it 37-29.
Drew Manning scored on
the offensive boards midway through the final stanza to make it 39-33.
After a defensive stop, the Hornets had a chance to cut deeper into the
Athens lead, but Babcock came up with a steal and coast-to-coast drive
for an old-fashioned three-point play to make it 42-33 with 3:22
remaining.
Babcock made 2 of 5 free-throw attempts over the next two minutes, but the Wildcats kept Wellsboro off the board.
With
Athens up 44-33 with 1:15 remaining in the contest, Adams drained a
pair of 3-pointers in a 17-second span to close the gap to 44-39.
“That
was probably my mistake,” said Lister of Adams’ consecutive 3-pointers.
“I switched us into man-to-man, and I probably should have stayed with
the half-court press a little longer because (Wellsboro) was struggling
to get the ball up the court.
“We stayed in man, and we packed it too deep,” noted Lister. “We let (Adams) get to the top-of-the-key, and he hurt us.”
“We called timeout, and fixed that real fast,” added Lister. “Then, they had no choice, but to foul us.”
The
Wildcats, who made just 8 of 19 free throws in the game, made 3 of 6
free throws, including Babcock knocking down one from the charity stripe
with 20 seconds remaining in the game for his milestone point.
“We
didn’t shoot fouls shots very well tonight,” said Lister. “If there’s
one thing that bothered me tonight, it was our foul shooting. We can’t
do that (Saturday) night at Troy, we have to make those shots.
“We’ll spend some time on the foul line (Saturday) before we go to Troy, I guarantee you that,” Lister added.
Lister also lauded Babcock for his 1,000th point.
“He’s
turned into a complete player … for him, it wasn’t about the 1,000th,
it was about the win,” he said. “To get both tonight, I’m so happy for
him.
“I’ve been coaching J.J. since the third-grade, so I’ve watched him grow and develop over the years.
“Does
it help that he’s 6-foot-6? Yes,” said Lister. “But, it’s the other
parts of the game that make him the player he is … he has an incredible
basketball IQ, and he has the frame to go with it.
“It’s an awesome accomplishment. I’m very happy for him,” he added.
Carling
led Athens with 19 points and four rebounds, while Babcock had 15
points, seven rebounds, three assists, and three blocked shots, and
senior Tucker Brown added five points and six rebounds.
Pritchard
chipped in with four points and six rebounds in the win, and junior
Mason Lister had five points, three boards, three assists, three steals,
and one blocked shot.
Adams led Wellsboro with 14 points and four 3-pointers, and Liam Manning added eight points.
With the win, Athens remains 1 game behind Troy in the Large School standings. The Wildcats travel to Troy Saturday night.
“We’ve
been taking it one game at a time,” said Lister. “If we get through the
Troy game (Saturday), we still have to go to Towanda Monday, and we
still have to go to Williamson Wednesday night.
“We just have to keep our foot on the gas, and keep going.
“Troy
is a big one tomorrow night, I’m sure that’s going to be a packed
house,” added Lister. “We have to bring it, and be ready.”
Lister continues to be impressed with the support his teams has received from the student body.
“A
huge shout-out to the student section, they were awesome again
tonight,” he said. “The school spirit is incredible, and I hope they all
come to Troy (Saturday) night.”
ATHENS — The Athens boys and girls rolled to big wins over Towanda on
Senior Night here Thursday in NTL swimming & diving action.
Senior
Reuven Gifeisman won four events to lead the Athens boys to a 115-41 wi
over the Black Knights, while senior Brooke Kopatz was a triple-winner
to help the Lady Wildcats to a 115-35 win.
BOYS
Athens 115, Towanda 41
Like
Gifeisman, junior Chris DeForest won four events, while junior Ethan
Denlinger and freshman Ethan Hicks was a triple-winner as the Wildcats
close the season with a 6-1 record.
"I am really impressed with
all our first-year swimmers and how all our kids have shown improvement
this season,” said Athens coach Mark Keister.
Gifeisman led a
sweep in the 100-yard freestyle, clocking in at 1:02.65, while junior
Joe Blood was second in 1:08.52, and freshman Aiden Oldroyd was third in
1:14.86.
DeForest won the 200-yard freestyle in a time of 1:56.1, and Blood was third in 2:29.51.
DeForest also won the 50-yard freestyle in a time of 23.61, and freshman Ronel Ankam was second in 25.86 seconds.
Gifeisman and DeForest teamed with Hicks and Blood to win the 400-yard freestyle relay in a time of 4:07.84.
Gifeisman, DeForest and Denlinger teamed with Ankam to win the 200-yard free relay in a time of 1:44.54
Gifeisman and Hicks teamed with freshmen Ryan Gorman, and Josh Leonard to win the 200-yard medley relay in a time of 2:04.38
Denlinger won the 200-yard IM in a time of 2:24.23, and Hicks won the 500-yard freestyle in a time of 5:40.32.
Ankam won the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 1:16.29, and Leonard won the 100-yard butterfly in a time of 1:10.96.
Freshman
Treyvon Simpson won the 1-meter diving competition with 143.25 points,
and freshman Carter Lewis was second with 120 points.
Denlinger was second in the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 1:19.56, and Gorman was third in 1:28.28.
GIRLS
Athens 115, Towanda 35
Juniors
Taegan Williams and Taylar Fisher won four events, while sophomore
Emily Marshall joined Kopatz as a triple-winner in Athens’ 115-35 win
over Towanda.
“The kids are really hitting their times at the
right time of the season to qualify for the post-season,” said Athens
coach Shauntel Place. “I am so happy with all our swimmers today."
Williams
won the 200-yard freestyle in a time of 2:08.8, and sophomore Grace
Cobb was second in 2:23.42. Williams also won the 500-yard freestyle in a
time of 5:55.95, and Cobb was second in 6:32.85.
Fisher won the
200-yard IM in 2:32.47, edging Kopatz (2:32.9) by less than a
half-second. Fisher also won the 100-yard backstroke in a time of
1:11.73, and Marshall was second in 1:18.15.
Williams and Fisher teamed with Marshall and Kopatz to win the 200-yard freestyle relay in a time of 1:53.35.
Williams and Fisher teamed with Kopatz and Cobb to win the 400-yard free relay in a time of 4:28.51.
Kopatz
led a sweep in the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 1:13.42, while
junior Alli Thoman was second in 1:24.19, and sophomore Emily Henderson
was third in 1:42.62.
Marshall won the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:19.5, edging out Macaria Benjamin, who was second in 1:19.93.
Marshall, Thoman, Benjamin, and freshman Elizabeth Talada teamed to win the 200-yard medley relay in a time of 2:20.13.
Senior Hannah Walker was second in the 100-yard freestyle in a personal-best time of 1:11.71
Thoman finished third in the 50-yard freestyle in 31.37 seconds
“We
are looking to have an all-NTL last chance meet next week to give
swimmers and divers one more time to improve their swims and possibly
qualify for post-season competition,” said Keister.
ATHENS — Athens used balanced scoring to pull away from North
Penn-Mansfield for a 45-24 win here Wednesday night in NTL junior
varsity boys basketball action.
Four different Wildcats put their names in the scoring column in the first quarter, helping them to a 9-8 win.
Six
Wildcats scored in the second quarter, including Nicholas Jacob and
Korey Miller who connected on 3-pointers, in a 15-5 run that extended
the Athens lead to 24-13 at the half.
Peter Jones and Xavier
Watson scored four points apiece in the third quarter in a 13-6 run that
pushed the lead to 37-19 entering the final seven minutes.
Ten different Wildcats scored in the win, led by Watson and Kolsen Keathley, who had nine and eight points, respectively
Jase
Babcock had seven points and three rebounds in the win, while Jack
Cheresnowsky had four points and four rebounds, Miller had four points,
rebounds, four assists, and one blocked shot, Jones had four points and
five rebounds, and Troy Rosenbloom had four rebounds, three steals, and
one blocked shot.
Athens returns to action Friday when it hosts Wellsboro.
ATHENS — Athens dished out a large dose of senior Caydence Macik, and an
even bigger dose of defense in a 45-26 win over Troy here Thursday
night in NTL Large School girls basketball action.
“I really love
to coach defense, and we have a philosophy,” said Athens coach Brian
Miller. “We all believe in it, and the girls really played to that
philosophy tonight.
“We wanted to limit them driving the ball to
the basket, because they are more of a driving, slashing team,” noted
Miller. “We made sure we were outside on their shooters, and we did a
nice job fronting the post because they love to enter the ball into the
post.
“That might have been our best defensive performance of the
year as a team,” added Miller. “To hold that team to 25 points … even
the shots they made were highly-contested.”
The win also avenges a
35-28 loss at Troy earlier this season. In that loss, the Lady Wildcats
played without junior Karlee Bartlow.
“Having Karlee (Bartlow)
was the huge difference,” said Miller. “She’s one of our better guards
and scorers and has experience; that was a huge difference.
“We also executed offensively against their zone, and then against their man-to-man,” he added. “And, we scored in transition.“
Macik scored 15 points in the first quarter to help Athens to a 17-9 lead after the first eight minutes.
“We got the ball Caydence a lot, especially early on, and she finished,” said Miller. “She had a really good offensive night.”
Athens stretched its lead to nine points, at 22-13, on a 3-pointer by Addy Wheeler with 2:10 remaining in the first half.
Karlee
Bartlow scored on a driving lay-up early in the opening minute of the
second half, and Macik scored off a steal under the bucket to give the
Lady Wildcats a 27-15 lead with 6:18 remaining in the third quarter.
A
jumper by Troy’s Katie Lackey with 3:10 remaining in the third quarter
trimmed the deficit to 30-21, but Athens closed the quarter with a 6-2
spurt — on a jumper by Macik, and back-to-back driving lay-ups by Karlee
Bartlow — to take a 36-23 lead into the final eight minutes.
Sophomore
Mya Thompson scored four points, and Macik converted an old-fashioned
three-point play as the Wildcats used a 9-2 spurt to take its biggest
lead of the game, at 45-25, in the final minute of the game.
Macik
led Athens with 28 points, six rebounds and one blocked shot, while
Karlee Bartlow had eight points, seven rebounds, two assists, and one
blocked shot, and Wheeler added five points, seven rebounds, and two
assists.
Thompson chipped in with four points and one blocked
shot in the win, while senior Olivia Bartlow grabbed five rebounds and
blocked four shots, and junior Emma Bronson contributed five rebounds,
three assists, and six steals.
Lackey led Troy with 12 points and six rebounds.
Athens,
now 15-5, moves into a tie with Troy for second place in the Large
School Division, but currently holds the third tie-breaker, which is
power points.
Athens closes out the regular season Monday when it hosts North Penn-Mansfield, while Troy plays at division champion Towanda.
ATHENS — Fueled by its full-court pressure, Athens used a 28-2 run in a
12-minute span that extended from the first to the third quarters on its
way to a 63-25 win over North Penn-Mansfield here Wednesday night in
NTL Large School Division boys basketball action.
“We came out in
our 1-3-1 just to get the boys warmed up,” said Athens coach Jim
Lister. “We switched to the full-court press, and played some of our
best defense of the season.
“We forced turnovers, and turned them into a boatload of points in transition,” noted Lister.
Lister was especially pleased with his team’s performance considering it had been off since Jan. 29.
“This
was a group of kids who have been cooped up for 11 days, and they were
able to release a lot of frustrations tonight,” said Lister.
“And,
I’ve been saying since Day 1 that our second five could start for a lot
of teams in the area,” noted Lister. “I think it helped us to beat up
on each other for the last 11 days.
“I was very pleased with our
intensity tonight,” added Lister. “The boys played extremely hard, and
our defense was outstanding.”
Karson Dominick knocked down a
3-pointer to give NP-M a 5-2 lead then added a pair of buckets in the
paint to make it 9-6 with 4:40 remaining in the first quarter.
After
a lay-up by senior J.J. Babcock of an in-bounds play cut the deficit to
9-8, Dominick, who scored nine points in the stanza, made a pair of
free throws to give the Tigers an 11-8 with 3:11 remaining in the first
quarter.
On the Wildcats’ next possession, they hit the offensive
boards. On their fourth shot of the possession, Lister canned a
3-pointer from the win with 2:45 remaining in the first quarter to tie
the game at 11-11.
With 1:30 remaining, Lister scored in
transition to make it 13-11. Moments later, Athens forced a turnover
with its press, and Babcock knocked down an 18-foot jumper to make it
15-11.
Senior Nalen Carling drained a runner with 1 second remaining to give the Wildcats a 17-11 lead after the first eight minutes.
The
second quarter was all Athens. Its pressure defense resulted in 14 NP-M
turnovers in the stanza, including in each of its final 10 possessions
of the half. The Tigers did not get a shot off in the final 4 1/2
minutes of the second quarter.
After a blocked shot by Babcock, Lister scored in transition to make it 19-11 with 7:30 remaining in the first half.
Dominick
scored off an in-bounds play with 6:45 left in the half to close the
gap to 19-13, but that was NP-M’s only bucket in Athens’ 19-2
seconds-quarter run.
After Carling scored on a putback, Brown
scooped up a loose ball and found Babcock for a dunk to make it 23-13
with 5:28 remaining in the half.
Lister knocked down another
3-pointer with 3:32 remaining in the half to make it 26-13. Moments
later, after another NP-M turnover, Lister dropped a behind-his-back
pass to Babcock for an emphatic dunk with 3:10 remaining to extend the
lead to 28-13.
A driving lay-up by senior Tucker Brown with 9 seconds remaining gave the Wildcats a 34-13 lead at the half.
Senior Troy Pritchard capped the 26-2 run with a drive down the lane with 6:50 left in the third quarter to make it 36-13.
After
a putback by Dominick closed the gap to 36-15 with 6:40 remaining, the
Wildcats went on a 15-0 blitz to take a 51-15 lead with 3:10 remaining
in the third quarter. Lister scored six points in the run, and Brown
added five points, including an old-fashioned three-point play.
Lister
led Athens with 18 points, while Babcock scored 12 points, Brown had 11
points, Carling had eight points, sophomore Carson Smith added six
points, and freshman Kolsen Keathley chipped in with four points.
Dominick led NP-M with 14 points, and Brody Burleigh added seven.
Lister was not only pleased with his team’s performance, but also by the support from the student section.
“The
student section was out in force,” he said. “They were awesome, they
were loud, and I hope to see them Friday and Saturday night.”
Athens, now 13-5, returns to action Friday when it hosts Wellsboro. The Wildcats travel to Troy Saturday.
ATHENS — Athens shook off a slow start, then pulled away for a 56-29 win
over Wyalusing here Tuesday night in NTL Large School Division girls
basketball action.
Olivia Spencer scored four points, Brin
Zionkowski canned a 3-pointer, and Olivia Leichliter converted an
old-fashioned three-point play to help the Lady Rams to a 10-6 lead
after the first eight minutes, but the Lady Wildcats dominated the final
three quarters.
Senior Caydence Macik, who moved past Janet
Gabriel and Kayleigh Miller into fifth all-time on the program’s scoring
list, pumped in 14 points in the second quarter after being shutout in
the first half, while junior Karlee Bartlow canned a 3-pointer and added
five points to fuel a 19-8 run that gave the Lady Wildcats a 25-18 lead
at the half.
Junior Natalee Watson scored six points, while
junior Emma Bronson and Macik added four points apiece in a 17-6 run
that extended the Athens lead to 42-24 heading into the final eight
minutes.
Bronson scored six points in the fourth quarter, and
senior Olivia Bartlow added four points as Athens sealed its victory
with a 14-5 game-closing run.
Macik, who now has 1,202 career
points, led Athens with 20 points, eight rebounds, seven steals, two
assists, and two blocked shots, while Karlee Bartlow had 12 points, four
assists, and three rebounds, and Bronson scored 12 points.
Watson
added six points in the win, while Olivia Bartlow chipped in with four
points, three boards, and one blocked shot, freshman Addy Wheeler had
four rebounds, four assists, and four steals, and sophomore Mya Thompson
chipped in with three rebounds, three assists, and two blocked shots.
Zionkowski
led Wyalusing with 17 points and five 3-pointers, while Leichliter
added five points, and Spencer chipped in with four points.
Athens, now 13-5, hosts Troy Thursday.
WELLSBORO — Thanks in part to a switch back to full-court pressure with
five minutes remaining, Athens closed the game with a 16-2 run in a
52-37 win over Wellsboro here Monday night in NTL Large School Division
girls basketball action.
After Wellsboro’s Ella Posada scored
with 6:02 remaining to trim the Athens lead to one point, at 36-35, the
Wildcats had three offensive rebounds in a row in an attempt to push the
lead back to three points, but turned the ball over before it could get
off its fourth shot of the possession.
Athens coach Brian Miller then called a time out, and put his team back into a full-court press.
“We
wanted to pressure them the whole game, but we got into a little bit of
foul trouble, so we had to take it off, which hurt our scoring
opportunities,” he said.
“We wanted to turn up the pressure after
the time out to create some more scoring opportunities, which we did,”
added Miller. “And once (Emma) Coolidge fouled out, we dialed it up a
little bit more.”
Wellsboro turned the ball over on its first
possession after the time out when freshman Addy Wheeler came up with a
steal and full-court pass to junior Emma Bronson for a lay-up to make it
38-35 with 4:09 remaining.
After a steal in the press, Macik
scored in the low post off a nice entry pass from Wheeler, then added a
free throw to complete the old-fashioned three-point play to make it
41-35 with 3:43 left in the game.
After another turnover, Bronson
knocked down two free throws to make it 43-35 with 3:17 remaining,
prompting a Wellsboro timeout.
Wellsboro quickly beat the Athens
press on its next possession with Maddy Mascho’s lay-up closing the gap
to 43-37 with 3:06 left in the contest.
After an Athens timeout,
the Lady Wildcats began to milk the clock, and made 4 of 6 free throws
to take a 47-37 lead with 1:20 remaining.
Following a Wellsboro
turnover, Bronson connected with Macik on a “TD pass” off the in-bounds
pass for a lay-up to make it 49-37 with 1:01 left in the game.
“Emma
Bronson had a nice fourth quarter, and went 3-for-4 from the foul
line,” said Miller, “And, Caydence (Macik) was dominant in the second
half.
“Aside from scoring, Addy (Wheeler) had the most solid game
from start to finish — pressuring the basketball, getting the ball to
girls in areas they can score, and not turning the ball over,” noted
Miller.
“As a coach, I appreciate what she does,” added Miller. “It’s not all about scoring. She played a great floor game.”
Junior
Karlee Bartlow made a free throw and a 3-pointer in the opening 70
seconds of the game to give the Lady Wildcats a 4-0 lead, and they never
trailed.
On several occasions, Athens built their lead to six or seven points, only to have Wellsboro close the gap to one or two points.
“That’s
a credit to them and their coach,” said Miller. “They are a good team,
and coach Davis is an outstanding coach, who has been doing it for
years.
“He knows how to keep the game close with his game plan, and give his team a chance to win.
“Every
time we got the lead to a point where I thought we’d be in control, all
the sudden here comes Wellsboro — they’re executing and we’re not,”
added Miller. “Fortunately, we finished the game strong on a nice run.”
A bucket by Thompson pushed the Athens lead to 9-4 with 1:50 left in the first quarter.
After
a bucket by Emma Coolidge trimmed the deficit to 9-6, junior Natalee
Watson scored off a feed from Bronson, and sophomore Mya Thompson, off
an assist from Wheeler, scored her third bucket of the opening stanza to
make it 13-6 with just 10 seconds remaining.
The teams traded
buckets until a pair of free throws by Coolidge with 1:53 remaining in
the half, and a 3-pointer by Chloe Brandenburg with 20 seconds left
closed the gap to 21-19 at the half.
Macik made 3 of 4 free throws in the opening 80 seconds of the second half to give Athens a 24-19 lead.
With
4:50 left in the third quarter, Brandenburg knocked down another
3-pointer to trim the deficit to 26-24, but senior Olivia Bartlow, off
an assist from Wheeler, and a Wheeler lay-up following a steal and
coast-to-coast drive extended the lead to 30-24 with 3:45 left.
Wellsboro
closed the gap to 34-33 in the opening moments of the fourth quarter on
a pair of free throws by Coolidge, but Thompson scored on the break to
make it 36-33, and Posada scored to set the stage for Athens’
game-closing blitz.
Macik led Athens with 23 points and eight
rebounds, while Karlee Bartlow had 10 points and five boards, and
Thompson had six points and one blocked shot.
Wheeler contributed
seven assists, five rebounds, seven steals, and two blocked shots,
while Bronson added five points, three rebounds, and three assists, and
Watson chipped in with four points.
Coolidge led Wellsboro with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Brandenburg added eight points.
With
the win, the Wildcats keep their hopes alive for a second-place finish
in the Large School Division, and a berth in the NTL Showdown.
“We
have four games left and they will dictate whether we make the Showdown
or not,” said Miller. “Hopefully, we beat Wyalusing, and the next game
means something.”
Miller says his team is approaching every game
as a playoff game, and he believes it will beneficial once the
postseason rolls around.
“Playing games that count down the
stretch to make your league final four is going to give us the pressure
we need when it comes to the Showdown, or District play, where every
possession determines whether we game to play another game or not,” he
said.
Athens hosts Wyalusing Tuesday, with the varsity game at 6 p.m., and the JV game to follow.
LAPORTE, Pa. — Athens scored the first 21 points of the game, and
cruised to a 51-19 win over Sullivan County Saturday afternoon in
non-league girls basketball action.
Junior Karlee Bartlow knocked
down a 3-pointer and scored five points in the first quarter, and
Caydence Macik an and junior Natalee Watson scored four points apiece as
the Lady Wildcats raced out to a 17-0 lead after the first eight
minutes.
Freshman Addy Wheeler, sophomore Mya Thompson, and
Karlee Bartlow scored four points apiece in the second quarter in an
18-7 run that stretch the Lady Wildcat lead to 35-7 at the halftime
intermission.
Macik scored five points, including an
old-fashioned three-point play, and Karlee Bartlow connected on a
3-pointer as Athens used a 10-5 spurt to extend its advantage to 45-12
heading into the final eight minutes.
Karlee Bartlow led Athens
with 12 points and five assists, while Macik had 11 points and six
rebounds,and Wheeler had six points and three steals.
Thompson
had six points, five rebounds, and three blocked shots in the win, while
Watson had six points and one blocked shot, and junior Emma Bronson and
sophomore Sara Bronson added four points apiece.
Athens, now 12-5, returns to action Monday at Wellsboro.
ATHENS — Athens lost the pre-match coin flip, a couple of “toss-up”
matches, and eventually a 39-28 decision to South Williamsport here
Wednesday night in the opening round of the District 4 Wrestling Duals.
Losing
the coin toss, which determines who dictates the match-ups throughout
the match, was a critical blow, said Athens coach Shawn Bradley.
“It was huge,” said Bradley. “Unfortunately, we have a team where it comes down to the flip.”
Losing the toss, led to a domino effect for the Wildcats
“(South
Williamsport) gets to control the match-ups, so we have to wrestle
Bobby Gardner, which is normally great,” said Bradley. “Any other time
that’s a match you want, but with our team we need to control the
match-ups.
“If we control the match-ups, I think we get two more falls, but it didn’t work out,” he added.
The
match started with Athens senior Kaden Setzer, who entered the night at
26-3, squaring off against South’s Bobby Gardner, 24-2 and ranked No. 1
in the state at 126 pounds.
After a scoreless first period,
Setzer was on top to start the second period, and twice returned Gardner
to the mat directly to his back for two sets of swipes and a 5-0 lead.
Gardner registered an escape with 19 seconds remaining, then scored a takedown with 7 seconds left to close the gap to 5-3.
Gardner
cut Setzer loose to start the third, extending the lead to 6-3, but the
South standout scored three takedowns, including one with 8 seconds
remaining to pull out a 9-8 decision to give the Mounties an early 3-0
lead.
“It wouldn’t have made difference in the match if (Setzer)
pulls that out,” said Bradley. “Kaden gets the match-up with the No. 1
kid in the state at 126 … he’s controlling the match, he has to step up
and win that damn match.
“If he wants to be a state medalist, he
has to win that match,” added Bradley. “Hopefully, he learns from that
match, and he gets the state medal.”
After a Wildcat forfeit at 138, junior Jake Courtney put Athens on the board with a third-period pin of Gabe Harvey.
After
a scoreless first period, Harvey cut Courtney loose to start the second
period. Courtney scored a pair of takedowns in the middle two minutes,
and led 5-1 entering the final two minutes.
In the third period,
Courtney scored a quick escape, and hit a double-leg for a 10-1 lead. He
feigned cutting Harvey loose, then locked in a cradle, and scored the
fall at 5:13 to close the gap to 9-6.
At 152 pounds, after a
scoreless first period, Athens senior Lucas Forbes scored a pair of
takedown to take a 4-1 lead with 53 seconds remaining in the second
period, but Landyn Gephart tied the bout with an escape and a takedown
in the closing moments.
Gerhart started on top in the third
period, and stopped Forbes’ attempt at a Granby Roll for three near-fall
points to secure a 7-4 decision to give South a 12-6 lead.
At
160, Athens senior Karter Rude turned a single-leg into a standing
cradle and a 37-second fall over Garrett Cooley to tie the match at
12-12.
At 172 pounds, South’s Jonah White hit a four-point move
with 22 seconds remaining in the second period, and held on to top
senior Cameron Whitmarsh, 4-1.
Bradley said the matches at 152 and 172 were pivotal.
“No
excuses,” said Bradley. “We are seniors there, we have to have heart
and win those matches. It has to mean more to us than their kids, and it
didn’t.”
South’s Landon Lorson and Ryan Casella followed with
first-period pins at 189 and 215 pounds, respectively, to extend the
Mounties’ lead to 27-12.
After a forfeit to sophomore Josh
Nittinger at 285 pounds closed the gap to 27-18, South’s Kaden Shay
locked up the win for the Mounties with a first-period pin at 106.
After
the teams exchanged forfeits at 113 and 120 to make it 39-24, Athens
sophomore Mason Vanderpool forged a 14-2 major decision over Jackson
Swinehart at 126 pounds to close out the match.
Vanderpool scored
a takedown and two sets of near-fall points for a 7-0 lead after the
first period. He ran an arm bar for three near-fall points to take a
10-0 lead into the final two minutes.
After Swinehart recorded a
takedown early in the third period, Vanderpool reversed Swinehart to his
back for two near-fall points and a 14-2 major decision.
Athens finishes the dual season at 8-4, and returns to action Feb. 19 when it hosts the North Section Championships.
——————
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT 39, ATHENS 28
132: Bobby Gardner (SW) dec. Kaden Setzer (A), 9-8;
138: Sam Persun (SW) by forfeit;
145: Jacob Courtney (A) by fall over Gabe Harvey (SW), 5:12;
152: Landyn Gephart (SW) dec. Lucas Forbes (A), 7-4;
160: Karter Rude (A) by fall over Garrett Cooley (SW), 0:37;
172: Jonah White (SW) dec. Cameron Whitmarsh (A), 4-1;
189: Landon Lorson (SW) by fall over Colin Rosh (A), 0:42;
215: Ryan Casella (SW) by fall over Caleb Nason (A), 1:30;
285: Joshua Nittinger (A) by forfeit;
106: Kaden Shay (SW) by fall over Keaton Sinsabaugh (A). 1:42;
113: Gavin Bradley (A) by forfeit;
120: Kayvan Shams (SW) by forfeit;
126: Mason Vanderpool (A) major dec. Jackson Swinehart (SW), 14-2.
DIMOCK, Pa. — Junior Ethan Denlinger and freshman Ethan Hicks were
triple-winners to lead Athens to a 101-59 win over Elk Lake here
Tuesday afternoon in non-league swimming action, while the Lady Wildcats
dropped a 102-83 decision.
Junior Chris DeForest, and freshmen
Ronel Ankam and Carter Lewis were double-winners for the Wildcats, who
are 4-1 on the season.
Hicks won the 200-yard IM in a time of 2:26.86, and junior Travis Webster was third in 3:03.11.
Hicks also won the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 1:03.4, and freshman Pierce Oldroyd was third in 1:58.88.
Denlinger won the 500-yard freestyle in a time of 5:42.85.
Hicks, Denlinger, Ankam, and Lewis won the 400-yard freestyle relay in a time of 3:57.59.
Denlinger, DeForest, Ankam, and Gorman teamed to win the 200-yard freestyle relay in a time of 1:42.36.
Webster and Lewis, teamed with freshmen Josh Leonard and Treyvon Simpson to win the 200-yard medley relay in a time of 2:23.7.
DeForest won the 100-yard butterfly in a time of 58.47 seconds, and Leonard was third in 1:14.88
Denlinger was second in the 200-yard freestyle in a time of 2:01.66, and junior Joe Blood was third in 3:31.71.
DeForest finished second in the 50-yard freestyle in 23.67 seconds, and Ankam was third in 25.64 seconds
Lewis was second in the 1-meter diving completion with 112.2 points, and Simpson was third with 102.15.
Gorman (59.83 seconds) and freshman Aiden Oldroyd (1:12.77) finished second and third, respectively, in the 100-yard freestyle.
Gorman finished second in the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 1:23.43, and Webster was third in 1:29.16.
GIRLS
Elk Lake 102, Athens 83
Junior
Taegan Williams and Taylar Fisher, and senior Brooke Kopatz won four
events apiece, but Elk Lake used superior depth to pull out a 102-83
decision.
Williams won the 200-yard freestyle in a time of
2:08.56, and sophomore Grace Cobb was third in 2:26.46. Williams also
won the 100-yard freestyle in a time of 59.59 seconds.
Kopatz won the 200-yard IM in a time of 2:35.63. Kopatz also won the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 1:16.66.
Fisher won the 100-yard butterfly in a time of 1:10.17. Fisher also won the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 1:11.82.
Fisher,
Kpoatz, and Williams teamed with sophomore Emily Marshall to win the
200-yard freestyle relay in a time of 1:55.41. The same foursome won the
400-yard freestyle really in a time of 4:17.94.
Senior Hannah Walker finished third in the 50-yard freestyle in a time of 31.23 seconds, and
Cobb finished third in the 500-yard freestyle in 6:37.77
Freshman Abby Panek was third in the 1-meter diving competition with 166.5 points
Athens closes out the dual season next week against Towanda.
ATHENS —
Missed opportunities haunted Athens on Monday as their defense kept them
in the game against the league unbeaten Towanda, but they didn’t hit
the shots they needed to to get the win, falling, 43-32. to the Knights
in NTL Large School girls basketball action.
“First of all, I
thought we played much better defense this time than last time,” Athens
coach Brian Miller said, referencing his team’s 52-25 loss at Towanda
four days ago.
“To be honest with you, it was a blow out last
time, they smoked us down at their place,” noted Miller. “Today, we came
in and we wanted to prove ourselves that we were better than that team
that played down there, and I think we did.
“The foul shots, and
not just open lay-ups, open shots, you play against a team like Towanda
you’ve got to make big shots when you’re open, and we just didn’t. We
wanted to keep that game in the 40s, and, win that game, but we just
couldn’t get to the 40s offensively,” said Miller.
In the fourth
quarter, it was a 10-point game for nearly two minutes when the
Wildcats came up empty in three straight possessions. They created some
turnovers to cut it to 36-29 with just over two minutes to play, but two
more empty trips on the offensive end followed.
Towanda’s Eliza Fowler then hit an open 3-ball with 1:12 left on the clock, and that pretty much sealed it.
“We
got it to six, and then one of their role players made that big three
at the top of the key,” said Miller. “We need girls like that to step up
and make big shots in certain situations, and we just didn’t tonight.
“But,
kudos to Towanda, they’re the best team in the NTL, they’re a very good
team in District IV, so, we proved we could play with them for a lot of
minutes,” noted Miller. “We just needed to make some shots, make some
foul shots, and limits their easy baskets.”
Karlee Bartlow had 12
points to lead Athens, including two 3-balls, while Caydence Macik
added nine. Addy Wheeler finished with five, Olivia Bartlow had four,
and Natalee Watson rounded out their scorers with two.
The Wildcats finished 8-for-14 from the charity stripe, while also seeing a few uncontested lay-ups rim out.
Paige
Manchester and Porschia Bennett had 15 points apiece to lead Towanda,
with Gracie Schoonover netting six. Bella Hurley scoring four, and
Fowler hitting the dagger three.
The Knights opened an 8-0 lead
in the first half of the first quarter. Manchester opened with a 3-ball,
followed by a Hurley jumper off a Manchester pass. Bennett then went
1-of-2 from the line, followed by a coast-to-coast driving lay-up.
Macik
got the Wildcats on the scoreboard with a free throw, sparking a 5-0
run as that was followed by buckets from Olivia Bartlow and Wheeler,
cutting git to 8-5.
In the final minute, though, Bennett had the
final say, netting a lay-up, and going 1-of-2 from the free throw line
to put Towanda up 11-5 at the first horn.
She finished with six
in the quarter, then opened the second with a lay-up to make it 13-5.
Athens would counter with two free throws, but a Schoonover jumper off
an Aziza Ismailova assist began a 5-0 run for the Knights. Manchester
followed with a lay-up, while Bennett went 1-of-2 from the line to make
it 18-7.
Athens, though, didn’t let them get too far ahead, going
on a 6-0 spurt, as Karlee Bartlow began it with a free throw, and ended
it with a 3-ball, closing the gap to 18-13.
Schoonover had the final bucket for Towanda, bagging a jumper to make it 20-13 at the half.
The
Knights opened the third quarter with a 4-0 run as Schoonover had a
putback, followed by a Manchester steal and lay-up, making it 24-13.
Macik
ended the run with a bucket. Then came some free throws — Hurley went 1
of 2, Macik went 2-for-2 - followed by a Manchester 3-ball to put the
Knights up 28-17 midway through the third quarter.
Towanda went
to some high-low action as Schoonover found Bennett for a lay-up,
followed by Hurley getting another free throw, and it looked like the
Knights would run away again, gong up 31-17.
Karlee Bartlow,
though, got a steal and lay-up for the final score of the quarter to cut
it to 31-19 heading into the final eight minutes.
A Macik jumper
to start the fourth made it a 10-point game again. Manchester came back
with a 3-ball, but a Watson lay-up off a Macik assist kept Athens
within in shouting distance, at 34-23.
Manchester would get a put back, ballooning the lead to 13 points, but that’s as big as it would get.
On the other end, Karlee Bartlow banked in a 3-pointer, cutting it to 36-26, with 4:21 left to start a 6-0 Wildcat run.
After
scoring three points off two steals they cut it to 36-19 with just over
two minutes left to play, but that’s when Fowler hit the dagger.
Athens didn’t go away, though, at one point cutting it to nine points on an Olivia Bartlow lay-up with 50 seconds to play.
However, it was Towanda getting the final bucket — a Manchester lay-up off a Hurley pass — to end the game.
Going
forward Athens will try and lock up the second spot in the division to
make the NTL Showdown. They’re a game behind Troy, but get them at their
place next week.
“We have six games left, so we’re going to try
to win those six games,” said Miller. “Hopefully, try to make the
showdown, and probably go to Northeast and play, which will get us ready
for districts,
“Who knows, we could win at Northeast, and get
another good game, then try to get ready for districts, and focus on
that,” added Miller.
Regardless, he was glad to see the fight in his team on its home floor.
“I
told them, ‘be proud of the way you played tonight,’” he said. “If we
could have taken care of some little things, it could have been a
different game down the stretch.”
Athens, now 11-5, travels to Wellsboro Thursday.
BEDFORD, Pa. — Unbeaten senior Gavin Bradley bumped up a weight class
this weekend, and still ran the table to win the 120-pound crown at the
annual Thomas Chevrolet Tournament, while five of his teammates also
placed to help the Wildcats to a third-place finish in the team
standings.
Senior Karter Rude and junior Jake Courtney each
brought home second-place medals, while senior Kaden Setzer placed third
in his weight class, sophomore Josh Nittinger was sixth, and freshman
Caleb Nason was seventh.
PIAA powerhouse ran away with the team
title with 268 points, including five first-place finishes, while
Burrell was second with 146 points, and Athens tallied 143.5 points.
Beth-Center finished fourth with 138.5, and Northern Garrett was fifth
with 118.5 points.
Bradley, the state’s top-ranked 113-pounder, won via default over Chestnut Ridge’s Ryan Dull in the 120-pound semifinals.
In the finals, Bradley, the second seed, squared off with top-seeded Cooper Hornack of Burrell, and forged a 9-1 major decision.
Bradley hit a five-point move with 29 seconds remaining in the fist period, and led 5-0 after the first two minutes.
Bradley sealed the 120-pound title with a pair of takedowns in the second period.
At 138 pounds,
Courtney, the second seed, gave up a first-period takedown to
third-seeded Chad Weist of Tussey Mountain, and trailed 2-0 at the end
of the first two minutes.
Courtney started on the top in the second period, and rode Weist until turning him for a fall at 3:35.
In the finals, top-seeded Jacob Brenneman of Northern Garrett used a big second period in a 7-1 decision over Courtney.
Brenneman
recorded a takedown late in the first period and rode out the final 36
seconds to take a 2-0 lead into the second period, while he added an
escape off the whistle, and two takedowns.
Brenneman rode out the final two minutes to preserve the win.
At 152 pounds, Rude, the third seed, upended second-seeded Jack Moyer of Chestnut Ridge in the semifinals.
Rude
registered a pair of takedowns in the first period and led 4-1, but
Moyer closed the gap to 4-2 with a quick takedown to start the second
period.
Rude countered with an escape to start the third period,
but Moyer closed the gap to 5-4 with a takedown with 24 seconds
remaining.
After being cut loose, Rude scored a takedown with 13 seconds remaining to seal the 8-4 decision.
In the finals, top-seeded Tyler Berish of Beth-Center pulled out a hard-fought, 3-0, recision to win the 152-pound crown.
After
a scoreless first period, Berish scored an escape just eight seconds
into the second period, then added a takedown with 21 seconds left.
Bearish rode top for the entire third period to preserve the win.
At 132 pounds, Setzer, the third seed, opened his day with a 5-3 overtime loss to second-seeded Kyle McCollum of Beth-Center.
After
a scoreless first period, McCollum took a 1-0 lead with an escape
midway through the second period. Setzer registered a takedown with 29
seconds remaining, but McCollum reversed him 10 seconds later to take a
3-2 lead into the third period.
Setzer tied it up midway through the third period, and the two grapplers spent the final 47 seconds on their feet.
McCollum’s sudden-victory takedown came with 1 seconds remaining in the extra session.
In the consolation semifinals, Setzer build an 8-2 lead before pinning Somerset’s Logan Baker in 2:50.
Setzer
scored a takedown and led 2-1 after the first period, then hit a
five-point move midway through the second period to take a 7-0 lead.
After
a Baker escape, Setzer hit another big move, this time finishing off
the fall with just 10 seconds remaining in the second period.
In the third-place match, Setzer fought off his back to pin fourth-seeded Jaxon Matthews of Central in 3:25.
After
a scoreless first period, Matthews scored an escape with 1:33
remaining, then hit a five-point move, and had Setzer on his back at the
buzzer.
Setzer took Matthews directly to his back, and finished off the fall just 25 seconds into the third period.
At 285 pounds,
Nittinger, who was 3-1 Friday, scored a 4-1 decision over Milton’s Paul
Rohland in the “blood round,” then lost via fall to sixth-seeded Cooper
Lingenfelter in 3:42.
In the sixth-place match, NIttinger, the
13th seed, gave up a takedown with 12 seconds remaining in overtime in a
2-0 loss to fifth-seeded Karter Quick of Central Cambria.
At 215 pounds,
Nason, the ninth seed, forged an 11-2 major decision over Chestnut
Ridge’s Alex Crist in the “blood round,” then lost via second-round
fall to fifth-seeded Braxton Schwartz of Tri-Valley in the consolation
quarterfinals.
In the seventh-place match, Nason fought off his
back at the end of the second period, and scored a five-point move at
the end of the third period for a 9-7 win over Southern Huntingdon’s
Mitchell Hart.
At 189 pounds, senior Collin Rosh gave up a
five-point move in the final nine seconds in an 8-5 setback against
Chestnut Ridge’s Nick Presnell in the “blood round.”
ATHENS — Athens led by five points after the first quarter, but walked
into the halftime locker room down by 21 in a 69-38 loss to Dallas here
Saturday evening in non-league boys basketball action.
“Believe
it or not, these are the type of non-league games I want,” said Athens
coach Jim Lister. “This game will make us better, and we will be ready
for the final two weeks of our season.”
Senior Nalen Carling
knocked down a 3-pointer and scored five points in the first quarter,
and juniors Mason Lister and Chris Mitchell added four points apiece to
lead Athens to a 17-12 lead after the first eight minutes.
The next eight minutes was all Dallas.
Nick
Nocito canned four 3-pointers for 12 points in the stanza, while Austin
Finarelli pumped in 10 points, and Michael Cumbo canned a pair of
3-pointers to fuel a 32-point outburst that gave Dallas a 44-23 lead at
the halftime intermission.
Nocito scored seven more points in the
third quarter, including his fifth 3-pointer of the game, and Finarelli
added four points in a 19-7 run that extended the lead to 63-30 heading
into the final eight minutes.
Nocito led the Mountaineers with
21 points and five 3-pointers, while Finarelli added 17, and Cumbo
chipped in with 11, including a trio of 3-pointers.
Mitchell led
Athens with 10 points and three rebounds, while Carling scored seven
points, Lister added six points, three rebounds, three assists, and
three steals, and senior J.J. Babcock chipped in with seven rebounds,
three assists, and two blocked shots.
Athens, now 12-5, returns to action Wednesday at Towanda.