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NTL BOYS' BASKETBALL: TROY PULLS AWAY FROM TOWANDA IN WIN (2021-01-20)

By BOB BAKER
Northern Tier Sports Report
TOWANDA – At halftime of Wednesday’s boys basketball game, the Troy Trojans didn’t spend the latter part of the intermission warming up. Instead, they gathered underneath their basket and talked – figuring out their second-half strategy against Towanda.

Even though the host Black Knights trailed by 12, they had, somewhat, taken the visiting Trojans out of their game by slowing down the pace and getting Troy away from its normal offense. After all, the fast-paced Trojans were averaging a league-best 72 points in their opening three wins.


However, they were ready for another gear during the next eight minutes of play. Enter Ty Barrett and Mason Imbt.


Barrett turned things up a notch offensively as he netted 12 of his game-high 23 points in the stanza, and Imbt took charge of the “paint” – dominating the glass, and scoring eight second-half points as Troy put together a 59-32 win – its fourth consecutive victory of the early going.


“Our halftime message was just learning how to give a constant effort,” noted Troy coach Steve Renzi. “We are just getting into basketball shape, both physically and mentally. You just can’t take possessions off; every one is important.”


Leading 24-12 at the break, Troy saw the Knights cut the gap to 10 as Kolby Hoffman traded a pair of baskets with Jake Dietrick and Imbt. That’s when Barrett took over with eight consecutive points – highlighted by a pair of long 3-pointers. He and his teammates would settle into a 36-16 lead with 3:07 lead in the quarter.


Barrett’s sharp shooting caught the attention of Towanda coach Ryan Napp.


“I knew how good of a player he is, but this is the first time I have seen him play live. He’s so patient on offense. Good scorers know how to get their points.”


Troy continued to build on its advantage following a Dante Ottaviani 3-pointers for the Knights. Barrett added two more free throws. Imbt scored a basket in the paint before Barrett closed out the stanza for a 42-19 lead.


The Trojans closed out the game with a 17-13 fourth period to complete a 15-point, second-half advantage.


Towanda’s attempt to slow down the pace of the game resulted in just a 14-6 Troy upper-hand in the first quarter. After just a 10-6 Troy run in the second, the Knights found themselves trailing only 24-12 at the break.


“Troy has the best offense in the division and we were trying to stay in the game as long as we could,” recalled Napp on his team’s first-half patience offensively. “We wanted to spread them out defensively, hopefully getting some open three’s or some drives to the basket.


“We wanted to control the tempo of the game,” added Napp.


Towanda did take a very early 4-2 lead before Ethan VanNoy, Devin Selleck and Owen Williams combined for five unanswered points and Troy never trailed the rest of the way.


Imbt’s nine rebounds paced the Trojans’ 36-20 advantage on the boards. VanNoy and Dietrick both pulled down seven rebounds, and Barrett had five. Troy also won the turnover advantage – committing just 11 mistakes on the evening, compared to 21 by the Knights.


Hoffman paced the Towanda scorers with 13 points and Nate Parker added seven.


The Knights, now 1-2 on the season, also shot just 11 of 21 from the free throw line. Troy was 13 of 20 from the charity stripe.


Troy returns to action Friday at Canton, while Towanda hosts Cowanesque Valley Saturday.


CUTLINE: Troy’s Ty Barrett goes up for a lay-up against Towanda…PHOTOS BY MATT PATTON.




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