BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports Report
TOWANDA — In just one shot Towanda’s Darrius Farrell went from having a nightmare of a game to a dream come true. In the dying seconds of the fourth quarter Farrell hit a 3-pointer to send the Knights to overtime against Athens, where they pulled out a 54-49 win against the Wildcats during NTL boys hoops action Friday.
“Honestly, I didn’t shoot good at all all game,” said Farrell. “But for one to go in, and to be the big time shot…I can’t even explain it it’s so crazy.”
He battled foul trouble the whole game, and had four fouls on him when he hit the shot.
“I tried staying positive but it was getting a little hard,” remarked Farrell. “I was getting frustrated and stuff, but we got it done.”
The win keeps the Knights in a tie for first place in the NTL Large School Division alongside NP-Mansfield, while Athens falls into a tie for second with Troy - just one game behind.
It was a defensive slugfest at times that saw Athens jump out early and lead most of the way. However, the Knights never let them get too far ahead, and hit some big shots down the stretch of the fourth quarter, then carried that momentum into overtime.
“They’re playing really good basketball right now,” Towanda coach said about Athens, who beat Towanda up their place earlier in the season. “What a resilient group effort by our team tonight. I’m so happy for our guys.”
This is the second straight OT game for Towanda, who lost to NEB in extra time on Wednesday.
Graham Welles had 15 points to lead Towanda, as Farrell finished with nine.
Boom Thompson, and Markell Garner netted eight points each, with Lucas Vincent adding seven. Landon Clark scored three, with Josh Maye, and Keegan Stroud adding two points apiece.
Lucas Schultz led Athens with 20 points - 11 in the fourth quarter and overtime - as James Friend netted 12.
Adam Kemp had six, Aiden Briggs notched five, as Eli Hobday, Gage Mar, and Nick Grazul scored two points apiece.
It was 6-0 Athens halfway through the first quarter as they got two lay-ups from Friend, and one out of Schultz.
A pair of Farrell free throws got Towanda on the scoreboard at the 3;30 mark of the quarter, followed by a runner from Welles to make it 6-4.
An old fashion 3-point play out of Schultz pushed the lead to 9-4, but Towanda ended on a 4-2 run behind two free throws from Stroud, and a jumper at the first quarter buzzer by Farrell, which turned out to be a preview of things to come.
Briggs hit a 3-ball to start the second quarter, only for Thompson to get it back with a deep shot of his own.
After a Schultz free throw Vincent went on a 6-0 run by himself to give Towanda a 17-15 lead.
The Wildcats, though, finished the quarter strong, going on a 8-3 run led by two buckets from Kemp.
Welles’ three were the only points from Towanda during that span as they found themselves down 23-20 as the two teams headed to the locker rooms.
Athens jumped out in a half court 3-2 trapping zone to start the second half, and it yielded two turnovers and a 6-0 run to go up 29-20.
A Garner put back ended that spurt, followed by a Schultz free throw to make it an 8-point game.
The Knights would rally after that, going on a 10-0 run to take a 32-30 lead behind 3-balls from Thompson and Welles while Garner hit a pair of free throws, and Thompson found Welles for a lay-up.
“We went on that run, and I just told our guys continue to trust, continue to get stops,” said Henry. “The shots are eventually going to fall, and our guys just continued to stay with the game. I feel like, at times, we didn’t have momentum on our side, the game was slipping away from us, but ultimately we just kept putting pressure, and kept consistent in our efforts to defend.”
The Wildcats would retake the lead on a 4-0 spurt thanks to a put back from Friend, while Mar hit a lay-up at the buzzer for a 34-32 Athens lead going into the fourth.
The Wildcats made it 36-32 off a Schultz steal and lay-up, but Thompson found Maye for a bucket at the other end.
A Schultz free throw made it a 3-point game, but a Clark 3-ball tied it up at 37-all with 5:03 to play.
Schultz gave Athens the lead with a driving lay-up, followed by Friend scoring off a Hobday assist at the three minute mark to put the Wildcats up 41-37.
A Garner bucket made it 41-39 with just over two minutes to play, then Thompson found Garner for a lay-up with 38 seconds to go for a 41-all contest.
Schultz was then fouled, with the officials calling it an intentional foul. He made both and Athens got the ball game, up 43-41 with 31 seconds left.
Towanda would force a turnover, but would see a go ahead three come up short at the other end.
They fouled Schultz, who made 1-of-2 for a 44-41 lead with 10.6 seconds left.
Thompson brought the ball down court, then handed it off to Farrell on the win, who rose up and buried his 3-ball - nothing but net - as the time ticked off.
“We talked about having a genuine trust in each other, and that right there was just a simple concept that we run all the time in transition, and we hit it,” Henry said. “Darrius had a huge shot, and it’s an extremely thing for him to do considering he was in foul trouble for a large part of tonight, and not in the game for minutes on minutes. I’m so happy for him. That’s a senior play right there, a very, very resilient effort.”
Five seconds into the overtime Vincent went to the free throw line, where he went 1-for-2 to put Towanda up 45-44.
After trading empty possessions Farrell hit a lay-up for a 47-44 game with 1:55 left.
Athens would come up empty on their ensuing possession, then found Thompson, who made both freebies for a 49-44 lead with 1:23 on the clock.
“We were just in this situation two nights ago over at Northeast, and the different is we didn’t realize that was a tie game to start overtime,” Henry said. “We felt like we ratcheted up on defense, just sat in our base five, man to man, and we kept them out of the paint, and just guarded, and just made things tough on them. And at the other end made some really tough baskets. Darrius had a nice attack off the dribble, and finished over the front of the rim.”
The Wildcats would score with 46 seconds left to make it 49-46, then sent Welles to the free throw line, where he swished both for a 51-46 lead.
After another Athens miss Welles was sent to the free throw line twice, going 3-for-4, to extend the lead to 54-46.
A Schultz 3-ball with 13 seconds left gave the Wildcats one last hope, but it would be their final points.
Towanda (14-4) will host Wyalusing on Monday.
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PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING
