Valley Sports ReportATHENS — The Athens junior high basketball teams both opened their season with big wins over Williamson and Cowanesque Valley.
Saturday
"A"
Athens 52, Williamson 4
Athens "A" raced out to a 25-0 halftime lead en route to a season-opening, 52-4, win over Williamson Saturday.
The junior Wildcats led 15-0 after the opening stanza, led by nine points from Ryan Hicks.
E.J. Glielmi tossed in six points to spark a 10-0 second-quarter run, and Evan Westerfield scored six points in a 14-2 run that extended the Athens lead to 39-2 entering the final stanza.
Gleilmi led Athens with 14 points, while Hicks scored 11, Westerfield had eight points, Graham Campbell added seven points, and Jacob Keene chipped in with six points.
"B"
Athens 55, Williamson 5
Athens "B" led 31-0 at the half on its way to a 53-5 win over Williamson Saturday.
Eli Leavenworth tossed in eight points in the first quarter to fuel an 18-0 blitz, and Brayden Thornton scored five points, including a 3-pointer, in the second quarter as Athens outscored Williamson, 13-0.
Parker Yale scored six points in the second half, and Bentley Thomas-Warfle, who canned a 3-pointer, and Kolbe Coe added four points apiece as eight different Wildcats found the scoring column in a 24-5 run.
Leavenworth led Athens with 12 points, while Yale scored 10, Coe had eight points, Thornton had seven, Thomas-Warfle added six points, and Hudson Gardner and Sam Schultz chipped in with four points apiece.
Wednesday
"A"
Athens 41, Cowanesque Valley 17
At Westfield, Athens "A" raced out to a 13-0 first-quarter lead, and stretched it lead to 20 points at the half en route to a 41-17 win over Cowanesque Valley Wednesday night.
Conner Cole scored five points and E.J. Glielmi added four points in a 13-0 first-quarter blitz.
Glielmi scored four more points in the second quarter to spark a 10-3 run that extended the Wildcats' 23-3 halftime lead.
CV outscored Athens, 11-8, in the third quarter, but the Wildcats closed the game with a 10-3 run.
Glielmi led Athens with 10 points, while Ryan Hicks and Jacob Keene scored eight points apiece, Cooper Bailey had six points, Cole added five points, and Casyn Rowe chipped in with four points.
"B"
Athens 45, CV 4
Athens "B" pulled away early on its way to a 45-4 win over CV Wednesday.
Eli Leavenworth scored eight points and Brayden Thornton knocked down a 3-point to fuel a 15-2 first-quarter run for the Wildcats, and Thornton scored four more points in a 14-0 second-quarter blitz that pushed the halftime lead to 29-2.
Hudson Gardner and Thornton scored four points apiece in the second half to help Athens outscored CV 16-2.
Leavenworth led Athens with 12 points, while Thornton scored 11 points, Gardner and Sam Schultz added six points apiece, and Ryder Owens and Parker Yale each chipped in with four points.
