BOYS BASKETBALL: THIRD-QUARTER RUN PROPELS WAVERLY PAST ATHENS, 48-36, IN OPENING ROUND OF VALLEY CHRISTMAS TOURNAMENT (24 PHOTOS) (2024-12-26)
By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportATHENS — After a defensive struggle in the first half, Waverly knocked down a trio of 3-pointers in an 11-0 run to start the second half on its way to a 48-36 win over Athens here Thursday night in the opening round of the Valley Christmas Boys Basketball Tournament.
Junior Hogan Shaw knocked down a 3-pointer and scored five points in the first quarter to help Waverly to an 11-9 lead.
The Wildcats outscored the Wolverines, 7-6, in the second quarter to close the gap to 17-16 at the half.
"We just missed a lot of shots around the rim," said Waverly coach Lou Judson. "And credit Jase (Babcock), a lot of it was him and his length.
"I thought we were a little too soft around the rim for my liking. We had a size advantage inside I thought we could have taken more advantage of, but we struggled to score around the rim tonight.
"We made a nice run in the third quarter, and hit some big 3s to get the lead up to 15 or 16 points, then held on from there," noted Judson.
"We're going to have to play much better against Sayre on their home floor Saturday night," Judson added.
"Our effort is there, I keep saying that, but our kids play hard," said Athens coach Jim Lister. "We held (Waverly) to 17 points in the first half, which is good. The problem is we only scored 16.
"It's been a struggle, it was my fear coming into the season.
"We don't trust the offense ... then when we do run it and have open looks, we don't take the shots. And, when we do get good looks, we don't make them," noted Lister. "We're in an uphill battle right now because nothing we're doing is working right now.
"I say all the time, 'you have to play defense, you have to make lay-ups, and you have to make your foul shots to win games.' We really didn't do any of that tonight.
"We're playing defense, and we're playing hard, but we're struggling with the rest of the game," added Lister. "Until we find a way to fix that, we're going to struggle to win games, and our schedule doesn't get any easier."
Judson also attributed his team's slow start to its youth and inexperience.
"We're inexperienced and we go through lulls," said Judson. "We get a little sloppy and careless with the basketball.
"I think our defense was solid all game long," he noted. "We didn't have too many defensive lapses, and we have to hang our hat on that because that's who we are.
"A lot of these guys have never played in the Valley Christmas Tournament before, and to get a W on someone else's floor is not easy," added Judson. "I'm pleased, but I know we have to play better."
After a slow start to the third quarter, Hogan Shaw canned a 3-pointer with 6:39 remaining in the third quarter, and junior Porter Daddona knocked down a 15-foot jumper a minute later to make it 22-16.
With 5:01 remaining, Ben Shaw drained a 3-pointer from the corner off an in-bounds play to make it 25-16, and less than 30 seconds later, Hogan Shaw penetrated into the lane, and pitched it out to junior Ronin Ault, who connected on a 3-pointer to make it 28-16.
After a pair of free throws by junior Nick Grazul ended Waverly's run, Hogan Shaw knocked down another 3-pointer that ignited a 6-0 spurt — that included a bucket in the low blocks by Daddona and a free throw by Ben Shaw — to make it 34-18 with 1:55 remaining in the third quarter.
Junior Adam Kemp scored back-to-back buckets, and Babcock made a pair of free throws to close the gap to 34-24, but senior Fletcher Good scored on a putback of his own miss with 0.2 seconds remaining to give the Wolverines a 36-24 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
After a pair of free throws by Babcock to start the quarter trimmed the deficit to 36-26, Waverly went on an 8-0 run, which included a 3-pointer by Good and a jumper by Hogan Shaw, to take its biggest lead of the game, at 44-26, with 5:59 remaining.
Hogan Shaw led Waverly with 17 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, four rebounds, four assists, four steals, and one blocked shot, while Daddona had nine points and six rebounds, and Good had seven points and seven boards.
Ault had seven points, four rebounds, and three assists in the win, and Ben Shaw added four points and five rebounds.
Kemp led Athens with 13 points, while Babcock had nine points and 10 rebounds, Grazul added seven points, and sophomore Lukas Schultz chipped in with four points.
Athens takes on Tioga in the consolation game Friday at 6 p.m., while Waverly squares off with Sayre Saturday at 8 p.m. in the championship game. Both games are at Sayre High School.
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IN PHOTO 1: Waverly's Hogan Shaw shoots over Athens' Gage Marmor. IN TOP PHOTO: Waverly's Fletcher Good grabs a rebound against Athens' James Friend (12) and Nick Grazul (5). ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
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