BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports Report
TOWANDA — There might have been a few bumps in the road but on Monday Towanda finished what they set out to do - claim the NTL Large School boys’ hoops title - as they pulled away from NP-Mansfield, 53-41, Monday.
This is their first league title since the 2014-2015 season.
“I’m overwhelmed,” said Towanda coach Landon Henry. “I’m so proud of these guys. These guys have invested in this game of basketball, they’ve invested in each other, and, ultimately, when we wear the Towanda jersey, it means something to us.”
The Knights went 5-0 in NTL action to start the season - then went 3-3 in their next six - before going 5-0 to finish the season.
“There’s no such thing as a perfect season,” said Henry. “They’re very are to come by. Every opportunity is a learning opportunity, and I fee like those nights where you don’t have it, and you struggle, it just brings this group closer together. We didn’t take the easiest path to get here, but we were resilient. We trusted in one another, and ultimately, we came out with the goal that we had to begin the year.”
His players felt that mid season malaise helped them grow.
“Those are a blessing in disguise,” Towanda’s Darrius Farrell said about their losses in the middle of the season. “If we don’t take them, then we don’t work harder in practice.”
And that 3-pointer he hit to send the game into overtime against Athens, a game that won and proved to be the difference in the league, is looking larger and larger.
“In that moment I had no clue it was going to come down to the wire like this,” said Farrell. “Now that I think back on it before this game, I was like, ‘wow, that was a big shot.’”
This is the third NTL team title for point guard Boom Thompson, who won league champions in golf and cross-country during the fall.
“It feels great,” Thompson said about the title. “It’s a long season, and this was one of our goals in the beginning of the year, to win an NTL championship, and it’s how we planned it.”
The game was a microcosm of their season - a fast start, a little wavering in the middle, and then a strong finish.
Towanda led the Tigers 22-10 after one, then watched them cut the lead to 41-35 early in the fourth.
From that moment on they out scored NPM 12-6 to secure the win.
“I’m just very happy with the way we started tonight,” Henry said. “I didn’t like we came out with nerves. I feel like we came out, and treated it like just another game, and, ultimately, you know that’s what we have to do moving forward. We’re going to continue to play in bigger and bigger games like tonight, and these guys have earned that opportunity to play in front of a fun atmosphere like tonight.”
Lucas Vincent and Thompson had 12 points each to lead the Knights, as Markell Garner netted 11.
Farrell scored seven, Keegan Stroud had four, Landon Clark netted three, with Josh Maye, and Graham Welles getting two points each.
Andy Hermansen had 19 points to lead NP-Mansfield, with Jason Harer adding nine.
Colton Pellett, and Patrick Youmans had four points apiece, Layne Cummings need three, and Keaton Manikowski notched two.
Vincent came out on fire for Towanda, scoring the team’s first six points, while Farrell and Thompson had a 3-ball for an 11-0 lead halfway through the frame.
NPM on the scoreboard with a pair of Pellett free throws, and the teams traded buckets the rest of the quarter to a 12-point difference at the first horn.
Clark opened the second quarter with a 3-ball for a 25-10 lead, with Harer coming back with a lay-up.
The Knights then scored five straight for a 30-12 lead, their largest of the game.
NPM would rally the second half of the quarter, out scoring Towanda 9-2 to make it a 32-21 game at the half.
A Farrell 3-ball opened the third quarter, then after a Youmans bucket Thompson had a jumper for a 37-23 score.
NPM then went on an 8-0 run to make it 37-31 halfway through the third.
Towanda out scored them 4-2 the second half of the quarter behind buckets from Thompson and Garner for a 41-33 lead.
A Manikowski put back made it a 6-point game, but a 3-pointer from Vincent, followed by a bucket out of Farrell saw Towanda extend the lead to double digits again with 4:50 to play.
Harer would made it a 9-point deficit on a lay-up, but 7-0 spurt from the Knights over the course of a minute sealed the win.
“We always said we were going to be solid our senior year,” Farrell said after the game.
The last time they claimed the NTL title Towanda had a dynamic point guard in Noah Huff, now they have a new one in the sophomore Thompson.
“We set this goal early last season,” Thompson said. “This is right where you want to be. Just because I’m a sophomore doesn’t mean anything, really. We’re all family, we’re going to miss Landon and Darrius next year, but I’ll be a junior, and we’re going to have a lot of seniors, so hopefully that means more success next year.”
They still have unfinished business this year as they host NP-Liberty on Thursday at 7 p.m. for the first round of the NTL Showcase.
A win there takes them to Mansfield University for the Showdown final with either NEB or Athens on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.
In order to get that far they know they have to clean up a few things, including the defensive glass.
“Every team is getting their way offensively,” said Thompson. “They’re shooting the ball, and they’re getting it back at too a high a rate, so we’re going to try to get better rebounding defensively.”
And, of course, they have districts starting next week.
“I want them to enjoy this, but we have bigger goals than just winning the league title,” said Henry. “So we’re looking forward to a little bit more basketball.”
— —
PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING
