NTL BOYS' BASKETBALL: HOFFMAN NETS 23 BUT TOWANDA FALLS TO ATHENS (2021-02-25)

Northern Tier Sports Report
TOWANDA — A rough second quarter hurt Towanda in their 73-54 loss to Athens during NTL boys’ basketball action Thursday.

The game was tied after the opening frame, but a 20-9 second in favor of the Wildcats put them up by 11 at the half. After playing even in the third, Athens pulled away in the fourth.

Kolby Hoffman continued to have the hot hand for Towanda, netting 23 points, including five 3-pointers, to lead the Knights. Elias Shrawder finished with nine points as Teagan Irish scored seven. Dante Ottaviani netted six, Justin Schoonover had four, Octavious Chacona notched three and Logan Lambert finished with two.

Nalen Carling had the big night for Athens with 22 points, while Mason Lister and Troy Pritchard both notched 12. Chris Mitchell finished with 10 points as JJ Babcock scored eight. Tucker Brown netted four, Kasey Miller had three and John Smith came away with two.

Hoffman and Shrawder got Towanda going in the first quarter, combining for 13 of their 15 points, as Babcock had six points to lead Athens.

With the game tied at 15-15 Carling took over in the second quarter, scoring 13 points to help Athens take a 35-24 lead at the half. Irish had five points for Towanda to help them keep pace.

Hoffman came back in the third with a seven point effort, as Schoonover netted four, while for Athens Mitchell and Lister each had seven points. 

The Wildcats led 54-42 going into the final frame, where they out scored Towanda 19-12. Seven different Athens players scored during their team effort. Hoffman had two 3-pointers to pace Towanda, but they only got six points out of the rest of the roster.

The Knights lost the JV game 50-44 as Grady Flynn had 14 points and Owen Clark netted 11.

Towanda finishes up their season on the road as they travel to Sullivan County Friday, for an 8 p.m. start, and Wellsboro on Saturday, with a noon tip-off.