NTL BOYS' BASKETBALL: WYALUSING RALLIES PAST ATHENS (2022-01-22)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
WYALUSING — The last two years Wyalusing has been frustrated by Athens. Two years ago they were in the league hunt, but lost to the Wildcats twice; then, last year, they fell in the final seconds to the Wildcats on the road.

All that frustration was released on Friday, as Wyalusing rallied to beat Athens 66-61 in NTL boys’ basketball action.

“We had one stolen from us up there last year,” said Wyalusing coach Brent Keyes. 

Athens came out hot, scoring 22 first quarter points, and ultimately taking a 38-30 lead at the half.

“They played really well,” Keyes said about Athens. “That’s the best I’ve seen them shoot on film all year. I mean, they’re obviously great basketball players, and they made a bunch of shots. The first quarter, it didn’t matter what we were doing, the second quarter, it was a little better defensively, but not much.”

That’s when Wyalusing went to a zone, holding the Wildcats to nine points in the third frame to cut it to a 47-44 contest.

“We mixed it up a little bit, kind of got them out of their game,” said Keyes. “We pressed a little bit, but, you know, we weren’t really trying to turn them over every time, just trying to make them play against a set defense, and that turned out to be a good adjustment for us.”

Blake Morningstar, Grady Cobb, and Isaiah Way scored 62 of the team’s 66 points.

Morningstar had 22 points, seven boards, and four steals, Cobb netted 21 points, to go with four steals and two assists. Way finished with 19 points, six rebounds, and three steals.

Kashawn Cameron had three points, and four rebounds, as Abram Bennett had one point, and two assists. Nolan Oswald also chipped in with two blocks off the bench.

Morningstar hit the go ahead bucket in the fourth over the out stretched arms of Mason Lister on the baseline, making it 58-56. The Rams never trailed after that.

“That was crazy,” Morningstar said. “It definitely wasn’t the plan going into that possession, but I kind of exhausted all of my options looking for other guys. I then hit a little Dirk fade-away.”

‘Great, great shot’ was how Keyes described it for them.

Lister had the hot hand for Athens with 19 points to go with eight points, five assists, and two blocks, as Nalen Carling added 13 points, six boards, and two assists.

Babcock finished with 11 points, five rebounds, and six assists, while Troy Pritchard added eight points, and seven boards.

Tucker Brown had six points, while Chris Mitchell rounded things out with four points, and five rebounds.

Blake Morningstar, Grady Cobb, and Isaiah Way scored 62 of the team’s 66 points.

Morningstar had 22 points, seven boards, and four steals, Cobb netted 21 points, to go with four steals and two assists. Way finished with 19 points, six rebounds, and three steals.

Kashawn Cameron had three points, and four rebounds, as Abram Bennett had one point, and two assists. Nolan Oswald also chipped in with two blocks off the bench.

Athens jumped out quickly, hitting three 3-pointers in the first quarter as part of nine field goals for the Wildcats to take a 22-16 lead. 

It was a team effort for Athens as Lister had six points to lead the Wildcats, while Babock and Carling had five points a piece, with Pritchard scoring four.

Cobb kept Wyalusing in it, netting 11 points himself, including three 3-balls, as Wyalusing had four bombs in the quarter.

Athens kept up the pressure in the second quarter, out scoring Wyalusing 16-14, as five different Wildcats hit field goals, mostly in the paint.

Morningstar kept Wyalusing in the game, netting 11 of his team’s point, including a 3-pointer, while Cobb hit a three, to keep it an 8-point deficit at the half.

“I feel like, early in the first half, I was just rushing my shots,” Morningstar said. “I was catching the ball in good position, and just getting it up too quick.”

Then, in the second half, the Rams held Athens to just nine points in the third quarter, as Morningstar scored five, to cut it to 47-44 after three.

To open the fourth Way opened with a lay-up plus the foul to tie it up at 47-47.

Lister then came back with a 3-ball, followed by Way hitting a bucket to cut it to 50-49. That was followed by a Cobb lay-up to put the Rams up 51-50 with 4:14 left to go in the game.

Carling then bagged a 3-pointer to go back up 53-51. A Lister free throw would make it 53-51 with 3:24 left to play.

However, a Morningstar assist to Way cut it to 54-53, then another Way three point play followed, putting the Rams back up 56-54 with 2:40 left to play.

Lister then scored to tie things up, but back to back Morningstar baskets - including the fade-away - made it 60-56.

Babcock would come back with a lay-up to cut it to 60-58 with 1:03 left, but on Wyalusing’s next possession they were pressing the Rams, but were called for a foul on Cobb.

That’s when Babcock was hit with a tech, putting Cobb on the line for four free throws. He made three to put the Rams up 63-58.

Wyalusing would leave the door open for Athens, though, as they went on to miss four straight free throws down the stretch, the streak ending on a Bennett hit to push the lead to 64-58.

Brown hit a 3-ball with two seconds to play to cut it to 64-61, but they couldn’t get the steal they needed. Way was fouled, hit both free throws, and ended the game.

“It’s a huge win for us, and were ready to keep rolling,” said Morningstar.

The win helps them in the NTL Division-II standings, as Canton, who beat them last week, lost to Athens back in December. Cross-over games count, so this win gives the Rams some breathing room on top of the standings.

Keyes likes how his team has responded after hitting some adversity the past few weeks.

“We were in a different place last week,” he said. “I mean, literally, in the last nine days. We’ve grown a lot. I know I talked to you guys after the Canton game, I got into them. I got into them heavy in practice Thursday, got into them before our Sayre game. We played with consistent energy since - we’re not perfect - but we’re playing with better energy for 32 minutes.”

They’ll need that as they travel to NP-Mansfield on Tuesday, and host Wellsboro next Thursday.

PHOTO CAPTION: Wyalusing’s Blake Morningstar celebrates the win over Athens…PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING