ATHENS ROLLS OVER WILLIAMSON, 73-2

By: Tim Birney  /  February 5, 2021  /  Photo: David Alliger

ATHENS — Athens turned a close game into a rout with a second-quarter blitz on its way to a 73-27 win over Williamson here Friday night in NTL Large School Division boys basketball action.

Seven different Athens players put their names in the scorebook in the first quarter, led by five points from junior Nalen Carling, four points by senior Griffin Stein, and old-fashioned three-point play by junior J.J. Babcock, as the Wildcats built an 18-12 lead.

Babcock scored 10 points, including a 3-pointer and a conventional three-point play, in the second quarter, while junior Tucker Brown added seven points, including a trey, and juniors Shayne Reid and Troy Pritchard chipped in with four points apiece in a 28-4 run that extended the Wildcat lead to 46-16 at the intermission.

Athens added three points to its advantage in the third quarter, and sophomore Carson Smith buried a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to fuel a 15-2 game-closing run.

The Wildcats, now 8-3, opened the season with an 88-33 win over Williamson.

Babcock led a balanced Athens attack, which had 10 players score at least four points, with 13 points, five steals, three rebounds, and three assists, Brown had nine points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals, and junior Mason Lister had eight points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and one blocked shot.

Stein had eight points and three rebounds in the win, while Carling had seven points and four rebounds, Pritchard scored seven points, Reid had six points and three assists, Smith scored six points, senior James Benninger-Jones added five points, and sophomore Chris Mitchell chipped in with four points and one blocked shot.

Tristan Parker led Williamson with 11 points, and Jacob Schmitt added 10 points.

Athens returns to action Saturday night at unbeaten North Penn-Liberty.