NTL BOYS BASKETBALL: FAST START PROPELS ATHENS TO 82-43 ROUT OF WILLIAMSON (15 PHOTOS) (2019-12-11)
Valley Sports ReportATHENS "” Athens raced out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter, and cruised to a season-opening 82-43 win over Williamson here Wednesday night in NTL boys basketball action.
Seniors Brady Smith and Aaron Lane knocked down 3-pointers in the first 1 1/2 minutes to give Athens an early 6-2 lead.
Smith canned another 3-pointer to make it 9-4 to trigger a 15-4 blitz to end the quarter that gave the Wildcats a 21-8 lead.
Williamson's Kolby Allen, who scored a game-high 30 points, scored seven straight points to trim the Athens lead to 21-15 at the start of the second quarter, but the Wildcats ratcheted up the defensive pressure, and got consecutive buckets in transition by sophomore Tucker Brown, Lane, and Babcock to push the lead back to 27-15.
Babcock ended up with 13 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers that pushed the Athens lead to 18, in the second quarter, and Brown added six points as Athens pushed its lead to 45-27 at the half.
Lane scored seven points in the third quarter, and senior Keegan Rude scored all six of his points as the Wildcats used a 17-6 blitz to extend its lead to 62-33 heading into the final eight minutes.
Lane led Athens with 26 points, including four 3-pointers, six rebonds, and four assists, while Babcock had 23 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals, and Smith scored nine points on a trio of 3-pointers.
Brown had eight points, five rebounds, five assists, and two blocked shots in the win, while Rude added six points and eight rebounds, sophomore Troy Pritchard chipped in with four points and five boards, senior Damian Hudson dished out four assists, and freshman Mason Lister recorded three steals.
The Wildcats knocked down 10 3-pointers in the win, and had 21 assists as a team on 32 made field goals.
Athens returns to action Friday at North Penn-Liberty.
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IN PHOTO 1: Waverly's J.J. Babcock. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
