NTL BOYS BASKETBALL: WYALUSING PULLS OUT, 45-41, WIN OVER SAYRE (20 PHOTOS) (2021-01-15)

By TIM BIRNEY
Northern Tier Sports Report
SAYRE — Wyalusing let a 10-point lead slip through its fingers in the final 3 1/2 minutes of the third quarter, but scored the first four points of the fourth quarter and pulled out a 45-41 win over Sayre here Friday night in NTL boys basketball action.

Playing in their first game, the Rams used a run late in the second quarter to take an 11-point lead into the halftime locker room. Wyalusing coach Brent Keyes believes fatigue may have been a factor in the second half.

“The guys were telling me they were good, but they had to be a little gassed,” he said. “The mask thing … and the fact it’s our first game.

“We’ve only been practicing five days … we’re getting there, but I’m sure we’ll be in better shape at the end of the year,” he added.

One big key in the game was the Rams seemingly getting to every loose ball.

“We certainly preach 50-50 balls, and playing really hard, trying to out-compete the other team,” said Keyes. “I thought Sayre played really hard, but I thought our guys did, too. I’m really proud of our effort.”

Keyes was also pleased with his team’s defense.

“Credit Sayre, (coach) Devin (Shaw) is doing a great job over here,” said Keyes. ’They played hard. We use to question that a little bit, but those guys played really hard.

“They have some guys who have really improved, I was really impressed with (Dom) Fabbri,” he noted. “They really go through (Matt) Lane, but I thought we did a good job on him tonight.

“We were able to stop (Lane) in transition, which is big, and we got on their shooters,” added Keyes. “We didn’t know what to expect, being our first game, but this was a good team win.”

Abram Bennett converted an old-fashioned three-point play just 90 seconds into the contest to give the Rams a 7-6 lead, helping to overcome a pair of early 3-pointers by Sayre’s Lucas Horton.

Sayre’s last lead of the game came at 12-11 early in the second quarter, but a Gradyen Cobb free throw, and a bucket by Mitchell Burke gave the Rams a 14-12 lead with 5:01 left in the first half.

Dom Fabbri knocked down a 17-foot jumper for the Redskins to tie the game at 14-14 with 4:15 left in the first half, but they would not make another field goal in the first half.

A jumper by Burke from close range would trigger a 13-1 Ram blitz that included by 3-pointers Cobb and Bennett, sandwiched around a conventional three-point play by Blake Morningstar to make it 27-15 with 50 seconds remaining in the first half.

A free throw by Sayre’s Zach Garrity rounded out the scoring in the first 16 minutes.

Sayre’s Zach Moore canned a 3-pointer to open the second-half scoring, and the teams would trade points until Lucas Milne would score on a putback on the offensive glass — his only bucket of the game — with 3:21 remaining in the third quarter to give the Rams a 32-22 lead.

Fabbri then drained a 17-foot jumper to trigger a 10-0 third-quarter closing run that tied the game at 32-32 entering the final eight minutes.

After forcing a Sayre turnover in the opening moments of the fourth quarter, the Rams scored on a driving lay-up by Kashawn Cameron — his only bucket of the game — to take a 34-32 lead.

After missing a breakaway lay-up, Wyalusing registered another steal, and missed another fast-break lay-up, but Isaiah Way was on the spot for an offensive rebound and putback to make it 36-32 with 6:14 left in the game.

The teams again traded buckets, with Way scoring all three of Wyalusing’s 2-pointers, until Fabbri’s 3-pointer with 2:19 left in the game, trimmed the Redskin deficit to 42-41.

After a timeout, the Rams ran nearly two minutes off the clock before the Redskins sent Mitchell Burke to the line with 36 seconds remaining. He made 1 of 2 free throws to up the lead to 43-41.

Sayre held the ball looking for the last shot, but turned the ball over with 3.2 seconds remaining. Bennett, who was 5-for-5 from the line in the game, made two free throws with 2.6 seconds left to seal the victory.

Bennett led Wyalusing with 10 points, while Burke and Way added eight points apiece, and Grayden Cobb chipped in with seven.

Fabbri led all scorers with 17 points, while Horton scored nine, Young added six points, and Lane chipped in with four.

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IN PHOTO 1: Wyalusing’s Mitchell Burke. … PHOTOS BY DAVID ALLIGER — TRAVELING PORTRAITS.