NTL BOYS BASKETBALL: ATHENS TOPS NORTH PENN-LIBERTY, 70-59 (23 PHOTOS) (2023-12-13)

Valley Sports Report
ATHENS - Athens knocked down a trio of 3-pointers in the first minute of the third quarter to extend its lead to 15 points on its way to a 70-59 win over North Penn-Liberty here Wednesday night in NTL boys basketball action.

NP-L led 6-5 midway through the first quarter, but junior Peter Jones’ putback on the offensive boards gave the Wildcats the lead for good.

Consecutive buckets by senior Conner Mosher gave Athens at 13-8 lead with 2 minutes remaining in the first quarter.

NP-L closed the gap to 15-13, but senior Korey Miller’s 3-pointer in the closing seconds gave Athens an 18-13 lead at the end of the first eight minutes.

Back-to-back buckets by Mosher gave Athens its biggest lead of the first half, at 34-23, with 1 minutes remaining, but the Mountaineers closed the half with a 5-0 spurt to close the gap to 34-28.

Junior Jase Babcock drained back-to-back 3-pointers in the opening 30 seconds of the second half, and senior Nicholas Jacob also connected from behind the arc to give the Wildcats a 43-28 advantage with 7 minutes left in the third quarter.

NP-L broke the run with a bucket, but Jacob followed with another 3-pointer, and Mosher scored on an offensive rebound to give the Wildcats the biggest lead of the game, at 48-30, with 5:45 remaining in the third quarter.

The Mountaineers, however, closed the quarter with a 17-2 blitz to close the gap to 50-47 heading into the final eight minutes.

Babcock drained a 3-pointer in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter to stem the tide, and Athens maintained a four- to six-point lead until the final 90 seconds when it closed the game with a 5-0 spurt.

Mosher and Miller had double-doubles to lead the Wildcats. Mosher had 21 point, including a pair of 3-pointers, 12 rebounds, three assists, three steals, and one blocked shot, and Miller had 10 points, including two 3-pointers, 10 assists, and four rebounds.

Babcock, who was 7 of 9 from the field, added 18 points, including four 3-pointers, four rebounds, four assists, and two blocked shots, while sophomore Nick Grazul had seven points, four rebounds, three assists, and three steals, Nicholas Jacob had six points on a pair of 3-pointers, and senior Davin Spencer added six points.

Louis Mercantino led NP-L with a game-high 27 points.

Athens, now 4-1, returns to action Friday at Wellsboro.

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IN PHOTO 1: Athens senior Conner Mosher. … PHOTOS BY BRANDON CLAYPOOL.

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