Valley Sports ReportATHENS — Athens posted a pair of vastly different wins here Monday and Tuesday to win the junior varsity boys basketball CHOP Out Hunger Holiday Tournament title.
The Wildcats rolled to a 56-19 win over Tioga Monday, then rallied for a 56-45 win over Candor Tuesday in the title game.
Championship Game
Athens 56, Candor 45
Candor led by five points heading into the fourth quarter of a back-and-forth contest, but Athens closed the game with a 23-7 blitz to secure a 56-45 win Tuesday afternoon.
The Coyotes led 14-10 after the first quarter, but the Wildcats used a 15-8 run, fueled by five points from Aiden Vanderpool, four points from Hunter Brennan, and a 3-pointer by Griffin Smith, to rally for a 25-24 halftime lead.
Candor out scored Athens, 14-8, in the third quarter to take a 38-33 lead into the fourth quarter.
In the closing stanza, Vanderpool scored seven points, while Eli Wayman scored six points, and Dom Robbins and Avery Gorsline each added four points in the Wildcats' 23-7 game-closing blitz.
Vanderpool led Athens with 14 points, while Robbins scored 11 points, Wyaman had eight points, Kade Rowe and Gorsline each added six points, and Iziah Bailey and Brennan scored four points apiece.
Opening Round
Athens 56, Tioga 19
Athens outscored Tioga 35-5 over the middle two quarters to blow open a two-point game in a 56-19 win over Tioga Monday afternoon.
Five different Wildcats scored, including Hunter Brennan, who had four points, and Aiden Vanderpool, who canned a 3-pointer, to help them to a 13-11 lead after the opening stanza.
Iziah Bailey and Brayden Westbrook scored four points apiece in the second quarter to lead a 14-2 run that gave the Wildcats a 27-13 lead at the half.
Vanderpool scored nine points in the third quarter, and Griffin Smith and Chris Moore each knocked down 3-pointers to fuel a 21-3 blitz that extended the Athens lead to 48-16 entering the closing stanza.
Vanderpool led a balanced Athens offense with 12 points, while Smith scored nine points on a trio of 3-pointers, Brennan had six points, Moore added five points, and Dom Robbins, Bailey, Joe Schuler, and Westbrook chipped in with four points apiece.
