Hornets complete season sweep of Wyalusing
By: Ed Weaver | NTL Sports | January 26, 2017
The Wellsboro Varsity Boys Basketball team knocked off Wyalusing 64-51 to complete the season sweep on Wednesday, January 25.
The Hornets scored an early 5 points, but looked rusty in their first game in the past 5 days due to poor weather. Wellsboro did manage to outscore Wyalusing 16-13 after the first, thanks to 6 points from junior Quinn Henry and 4 points each from senior Brandon Lamphier and junior Dalton Prough.
Unlike last game, Wellsboro had trouble pulling away from Wyalusing in the second quarter. The Rams shot very well in their home gym and matched Wellsboro's 15 points to maintain their three point deficit, 38-31, at halftime.
"Tonight was a big road win for us," said assistant coach Chase Kriner. "Last year, we came over to Wyalusing and were not able to come away with a win. We talked about some adjustments at halftime and also how important winning road games are and not wanting to let this one slip away. We came out great in the third quarter with being aggressive and we made open shots. Those first few minutes of the third quarter got us the win. We will continue to work on dribble penetration defense and cutting down on turnovers in practice."
However, the second half belong to the Hornets.
Wellsboro outscored Wyalusing 33-23 and was keyed early in the third by three huge three-points shots from senior Alden Weiner. The Hornets scored 17 points after the halftime break, and were up double-digits at one point, by the Rams fought back and cut the Hornets' lead to 6 by the end of the quarter.
Wellsboro closed out the game scoring 16 points to Wyalusing's 9, mainly from the foul line. The Hornets went 10-for-14 down the stretch, and finished 11-for-15 for the game.
Prough led four Hornets in double figures with 12 points on the night. Weiner finished with 11, and Lamphier and senior Jacob Singer both finished with 10. Singer also hit his 100th career three-pointer. Sophomore Brandyn Tuttle finished with 8 points and 6 rebounds off the bench, junior Collin Pietropola scored 7, and Henry had 6.
Prough added 6 rebounds and 4 assists to his point total, Singer had 4 rebounds, Lamphier added 2 assists, Weiner had 2 rebounds, and Pietropola finished with 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 blocked shot.
The Hornets also won the JV game, 48-21. Tuttle led all scorers with 24 points and freshman Billy Lechler added 6 for Coach Kriner's 130th career win.
The win improves the Hornets' record to 14-3 (11- NTL Large School Division). The Hornets are a game back of rival North Penn-Mansfield in the league, and currently a game ahead of Loyalsock (13-4) in District IV AAA standings. Wellsboro will be back in action on Friday as they host Towanda for Senior Night.
Ed Weaver is the owner of Circle W Sports in Wellsboro, PA, is the Sports Director for The Home Page Network and the creator of WellsboroAthletics.com and WellsboroFootball.com. You can follow him on Twitter or friend him on Facebook.
