NTL BOYS BASKETBALL: TOWANDA TOPS ATHENS, 53-42, TO WIN SHOWDOWN TITLE (12 PHOTOS) (February 14, 2026)

Valley Sports Report
MANSFIELD — Towanda took the early lead, fended off an Athens comeback bid in the second half, and pulled away late in a 53-42 win Saturday night in the championship game of the NTL Boys Basketball Showdown here at Mansfield University.

"To beat good teams you can't turn the ball over, and I think we did that a little too much tonight," said Athens coach Jim Lister.

"And, you have to make shots, and we just couldn't get them to fall tonight," he noted. "We took good shots, there were a lot of open shots, they just didn't fall tonight.

"We were right there all night. We were a 3-pointer from tying this game up ... we just couldn't get over the hump.

"It wasn't our night," added Lister. "Give credit to coach (Landon) Henry and Towanda, that's a good basketball team. They consistently play well, they deserved the title tonight."

Sophomore Boom Thompson canned a trio of 3-pointers, and scored 11 points in the first quarter to help the Knights to a 15-10 lead.

Towanda outscored Athens, 12-11, in the second quarter to take a 27-21 lead into the halftime intermission.

Freshman Aiden Briggs and senior Eli Hobday scored six points apiece, and senior James Friend added five points, including a 3-pointer, to keep the Wildcats close.

Junior Lucas Schultz scored seven points, including an old-fashioned three-point play, in the third quarter and Athens trimmed two points off the deficit to trail 36-32 heading into the final eight minutes.

Briggs and Schultz knocked down 3-pointers in the fourth quarter for the Wildcats, but Markel Garner scored nine of his 16 points in the final stanza and the Black Knight made 4 of 6 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Schultz led Athens with 14 points, while Briggs and Friend scored nine points apiece, and Hobday chipped in with six.

Athens, now 15-9, now awaits word on its opening-round opponent in the District 11-4, Class 5A playoffs.

"We've played some pretty good basketball in the second half of the season," said Lister. "We're just going to keep doing what we've been doing, and get prepared for Districts.

"It looks like we're sitting at the fifth seed in Class 5A, it will be the first-ever 5A game for Athens," he added. "We have a lot of work to do ... and we're going to have a long trip, so we'll have to make sure they're ready to play."

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOE CARREON.

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