BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports Report
TOWANDA — It felt good to be home for Towanda, who pulled away from Sullivan County for a 59-29 win during non-league boys’ basketball action Saturday.
“We have a ton of respect for them, they’re well coached, they’re disciplined, their guys have bought into everything that they’re trying to do; they’re very tough, and they present a big challenge,” said Towanda coach Landon Henry. “I felt like our guys just stayed the course of that game. Ultimately, we kept trusting and leaning on one another. We found a way to string some buckets together down the stretch there, but the score definitely did not indicate what a challenge Sullivan presents to us.”
The Griffins came in undefeated with wins over Troy and Meadowbrook Christian so far this season, but couldn’t solve the Black Knight defense.
Towanda held Sullivan to just four points in the first quarter, then handcuffed them for two points as they pulled away in the fourth.
The Black Knight guards hounded Sullivan’s ball handlers while Markell Garner did a good job protecting the rim, including two blocks in the opening frame. And, at times, the Griffins just couldn’t put it through the hoop.
“We’ve been trying to experiment with things here in the first half of our season before we get into league play,” remarked Henry. “I feel like we’ve done a nice job of guarding teams in the back court, tonight we wanted to put an emphasis on really being disciplined in the front court, and trying to keep it simple. Keep it simple, and keep them out of the paint, and go rebound that thing together. If we get a couple stops, hopefully it leads to some rhythm offensively, which it didn’t early on.”
Points were hard to come by in the first quarter as it was just 9-4 at the first horn. Things opened up in the second as the two teams traded blows, with Towanda taking a 25-19 lead into the locker rooms.
The Griffins rallied early in the third, cutting it to 25-24 at one point, but the Knights went on a 12-3 run through the rest of the frame to take a 37-27 going into the fourth.
In the final frame the Knights racked up 22 points to secure the win.
Towanda’s Darrius Farrell netted 20 to lead all scorers, and carried their offense in the first quarter with five of his team’s nine points.
“Darrius made some key shots early to get us going,” said Henry. “We expect that of him as a senior, as a guy that works really hard on his game. He cares a lot about basketball, he’s a really good teammate, so it’s nice when you see guys making an impact in a game when they work so hard to do just that.”
Boom Thompson, and Landon Clark, had nine points each, with Thompson handing out five assists, and Clark three.
Garner netted six points, as Josh Maye, and Lucas Vincent had four points apiece. Graham Welles added three points to go with four assists, as Hudson Stevens, and Keegan Stroud had two points each to round out Towanda’s nine scorers.
Cayden Smithkors led Sullivan with 11 points, and five boards, as Colin King added five points.
Tucker Blasi, and Lucas King both scored four, Ryan Murray notched three, and Jaiden Moore rounded out the scorers with two.
The Knights jumped out to a 6-0 lead as Farrell had four of the points. A Colin King bucket got Sullivan on the scoreboard for a 6-2 score.
A Farrell free throw, followed by a Garner lay-up extended the lead to 9-2, but a second Colin King basket made it a 5-point game at the first horn.
Towanda extended the lead to 14-4 behind a Welles 3-ball, and a Farrell bucket, but the Griffins came back with a a 6-0 run of their own.
Lucas King hit a 3-pointer, along with a free throw, book ending a Blasi jumper, to make it 14-10.
A Farrell 3-ball ended that run, but a Moore put back at the other end kept the Griffins in contact.
Back to back buckets from Clark saw Towanda extend their lead to 21-12, and they made it double digits as Clark hit Garner for another bucket.
Sullivan swung things back to their side with a 7-0 spurt, with five of those points coming from Smithkors to make it a 4-point game.
Clark would find Vincent for a bucket late to make it a 6-point difference at the half.
The Griffins came out of the locker rooms fighting as they went 3-for-4 from the line to start things, followed by Smithkors scoring off a Colin King assist to make it a 1-point game.
Farrell ended the run with a 3-ball off a Thompson helper, then Stroud scored for a 30-24 contest.
Blasi would make it 30-26 on a lay-up, but the Knights followed with a 7-0 run, kick started by a Maye bucket.
Thompson would hit a 3-ball, then Vincent scored for a 37-26 ball game. Murray would hit a free throw late for the 10-point difference.
The Knights opened the fourth with an 8-0 run, kick started by Farrell’s put back.
Thompson then went on a 6-0 run by himself to extend the lead to 45-27.
Smithkors stopped the bleeding with a jumper, but it was the last points Sullivan scored in the game.
Towanda would end things on a 14-0 run to get the mercy rule.
Sullivan won the JV game 49-43 as Landon Bahr, and Calen Sweigart had 11 points each.
The Griffins (6-1) will look to rebound as they host Lourdes on Tuesday with a 1 p.m. JV start.
For Towanda (8-1) they’re off until January 6 when they travel to Troy for a big divisional match-up.
“We’re just going to focus on becoming a better and better basketball team every day,” said Henry. “It’s nice to get away from hoops over the holidays, spend it with family. We encourage our guys to do that, but we’re looking to carry some momentum into league play here. Overall, we’re excited for league play, it’s an opportunity to go make a name for ourselves.”
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PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING
