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DISTRICT 4 BOYS BASKETBALL: ATHENS KNOCKS OFF LEWISBURG, 62-58, IN CLASS AA QUARTERFINALS (18 PHOTOS) (2020-02-22)

Valley Sports Report
LEWISBURG - Fifth-seed Athens trailed by as many as nine points in the first quarter, but battled back to pull out a 62-58 win over fourth-seed Lewisburg here Friday night in the quarterfinals of the District 4, Class AAAA boys basketball playoffs.

"Since Christmas time, we've worked a lot on our body language, our culture, our toughness, and not re-acting to things we can't control," said Athens coach Bob Woodward. "I thought we did that the entire game tonight, even though we were down a bunch early.

"We just keep the fighting and battling," noted Woodward. "We went through a bunch of adversity throughout the game, just like this entire season has been for these guys.

"I'm proud of the boys," he added. "I thought we hustled and played hard. We beat a really tough opponent."

Lefty point guard Cam Michaels scored six points in the first quarter, including a 3-pointer, and also set up Ben Ciscum, who had 10 points in the opening stanza, for a pair of 3-pointers as the Green Dragons built a 20-12 lead.

Michaels hit another 3-pointer early in the second quarter, but the Wildcats, namely senior Damian Hudson and freshman Mason Lister, slowed him down for the remainder of the contest.

"Cam Michaels is awful tough," said Woodward. "From scouting him, I honestly didn't know how we were going to keep him from getting to the basket.

"He's so athletic, he can even go with his right hand," he noted. "And, he did that, and he got to the paint.

"We were fortunate enough to start forcing some jump shots with our defense, and we did a good job rebounding, and keeping them off the boards," added Woodward.

Sophomore J.J. Babcock scored five points in the second quarter, while sophomore Troy Pritchard had four points, and senior Damian Hudson added a 3-pointer as the Wildcats trimmed the deficit to 32-27 at the half.

Babcock scored six points in the third quarter, and Lister added five, including a 3-pointer, but 3-pointers by Michaels and Peter Lantz kept Lewisburg even, at 42-42, entering the final eight minutes.

Ciscum knocked down a pair of 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter to keep Lewisburg close, but Lane scored 12 points, and Lister added four as Athens took the lead for good early in the stanza.

Lane was fouled hard with 50 seconds remaining, and knocked down both free throws to give Athens a 60-56 lead. The Wildcats made it more difficult than it had to be with six missed free throws in the fourth quarter.

Lane added two more free throws to push the lead to 62-56, before Lewisburg scored at the buzzer to provide the final margin.

Lane led Athens with 19 points, three rebounds, and three steals, while Babcock had 15 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and one blocked shot, and Lister had 14 points, six rebounds, and three assists

Pritchard added eight points and seven boards in the win, and Hudson chipped in with six points, five rebounds, five assists, and two steals.

Woodward said it was a team effort.

"It was a toughness battle," he said. "We gave it everything we had. We were fortunate to really take care of the basketball at the end, and we were able to get some easy run-outs.

"I thought we played really well as a team," noted Woodward. "I don't know if this is the best we've played, but we played well, and showed some mental toughness.

"We shared the basketball with one another, and we hit some people for easy lay-ups," added Woodward. "Earlier in the year, that was uncharacteristic of us; we weren't doing that. These guys have totally bought in, and I'm proud of them."

Ciscum led Lewisburg with 21 points, including four 3-pointers, while Michaels had 13 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, and Nick Shedleski added 10 points.

Athens, now 18-6, will now play top-seed Montoursville (18-4), which beat eighth-seed Midd-West, 75-48, at a site, date, and time yet to be determined.

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IN PHOTO 1: Athens sophomore J.J. Babcock. ... PHOTOS COURTESY OF MATT PATTON.


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