NTL BOYS' BASKETBALL: TOWANDA HOLDS OFF LATE WYALUSING CHARGE TO PULL OUT ROAD WIN (January 15, 2026)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
WYALUSING — It was a bounce back game for Towanda, as they held off a late Wyalusing charge to win 56-43 during NTL boys’ hoops action Thursday.

Black Knight coach Landon Henry was glad to see his team respond after their first league loss against NP-Mansfield on Tuesday.

“Anytime you have a set back it allows you to reflect as individuals, and as a collective,” Henry said. “So we want that to be something that brings us closer together, and for us to grow from. It was a hard fought win against Wyalusing, credit to them, they’re playing really good basketball right now. They’re playing tough, they play together, and we’ve got a lot of respect for their program, and what Coach Keyes does.”

Towanda led by 10 at the half only for Wyalusing to cut it to three points with 6:23 to play.

The Knights responded with an 11-0 run to extend the lead to 50-36.

The Rams would get the deficit down to eight points with 2:37 on the clock, but Towanda’s defense held them scoreless the rest of the way.

“I thought our guys did a great job to get it back to three,” Keyes said. “But then we didn’t have the energy to get it to the finish line. They came down, and we made things a little too easy for them; a couple possession in a row they got a couple easy buckets. All of a sudden that three to eight in a second. We kept it right at eight but we just didn’t have enough after that.”

Markell Garner returned to the line-up to lead Towanda with 13 points, as Boom Thompson netted 12, and Darrius Farrell added 10.

Josh Maye had eight points off the bench for the Knights, with Lucas Vincent scoring five.

Landon Clark added four, with Keegan Stroud, and Graham Welles each netting two.

Wyalusing’s Tyler Caplan had 20 to lead all scorers, with Shay Gartland scoring eight.

Aidan Neiley, and Jared VandeMark both notched four, Parker Cunningham scored three, with Noah Kilmer, and Myles Kershner getting two points each.

It was a back and forth start with Caplan, and Thompson leading the way for their respective teams.

Thompson, and Caplan would have nine points each in the opening frame, thought it was Kilmer getting the game’s first points with a put back.

Thompson came back with a steal, and lay-up to tie up the game at two, then hit a 3-ball for a 5-2 lead.

Caplan hit an old fashion three point play to make it a 5-5 score.

Thompson answered with his third straight bucket, a lay-up, but back to back baskets from Caplan off feeds from Kilmer, and Kershner, put the Rams up 9-7.

The second half of the quarter saw Towanda go small, and they used their quickness to their advantage, going on a 9-2 run.

May hit a free throw, followed by a lay-up to put the Knights up 10-9.

Farrell got his first point off a lay-up for a 3-point lead.

Caplan would get a lay-up to make it 12-11, but back to back buckets from Thompson, and Welles put the Knights up 16-11 after one.

Caplan started the second quarter off with a runner, but Garner answered with a put back.

A VandeMark jumper cut it to 18-15, but Towanda then finished the half on a 11-2 run to take the 10-point lead at the half.

Farrell started things off with a free throw, followed by a Clark steal and lay-up.

A Garner bucket made it 23-15.

Caplan would score to end the run, but a Stroud basket pushed the lead back to eighth.

Then, with time winding down, Farrell hit Garner for another lay-up for the 27-17 halftime lead.

The Rams would chip away in the third, but not before Towanda opened the second half with a 5-0 run off a Garner put back, and Farrell 3-ball to extend their lead to 15 points.

A Cunningham 3-pointer made it 12 points again, but Clark came back with a lay-up off a Thompson assist.

The Rams would control the second half of the quarter as they went on a 9-3 run starting with a Kershner bucket.

A Neiley basket made it a 10-point game, though May scored to push the lead back to 12.

Gartland bagged a 3-ball, followed by a Caplan lay-up to make it 36-29.

A Vincent free throw to end the frame pushed Towanda’s lead back to eight.

A Caplan put back to start the third cut the deficit to six points.

Garner answered with a lay-up, but the Rams would get a VandeMark bucket, followed by an old fashion 3-point play from Gartland to cut the lead to 39-36 with 6:23 on the clock.

Over the next two minutes Towanda went on their 11-0 run, sparked by a Garner bucket.

Vincent had a lay-up, followed by a Farrell basket to make it a nine point game.

May had an And-1 off a Thompson assist to make it 48-36, then Farrell finished things off for a 14-point lead with 4:25 remaining.

Gartland hit a jumper to end the run, though Garner came back with a free throw.

The Rams would go on a 5-0 run in over a minute - three points from Caplan, two from Neiley - to make it 51-43 with 2:37 remaining.

However, a Farrell lay-up at the other end pushed the lead back to 10 points.

The Rams then came up empty in their final four offensive possessions as Towanda went 3-for-6 from the charity stripe to seal the game.

“We had a really off shooting night,” said Keyes. “My initial reflection on the game is we got really good shots in the third quarter, we won the quarter by two, and made absolutely nothing. You get a couple of those to drop, the game gets a little tighter, and it’s an entirely different game. They’re tough, give Landon credit, and their kids credit, they’re athletic, they play really good defense, and they make some of those shots a little quicker, a little tougher, but for the most part I was pretty happy.”

As for Towanda Henry believes his team can keep improving.

“These last two games I think I see some of our guys second guessing themselves,” he said. “I want guys to trust their instincts, trust themselves, and, at the end of the day, go play basketball. You know what your strengths are, and execute. I feel like we’re a little hesitant when we see a zone, I don’t think we think we can still do the things that are our strengths. We learned a lot tonight about our group, and this is something that we can grow from.”

Wyalusing (4-7) travels to East Juniata on Saturday while Towanda (11-2) is at Athens.

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PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING

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