Knights hold off late rally by Green Hornets
TOWANDA - The Towanda Black Knights' 10-point fourth quarter lead was nearly gone.
The Wellsboro Green Hornets had reduced that deficit to just two points with under a minute to play in the game.
The Black Knights' Noah Huff drove the lane and the ball popped free, right into the hands of Joel Miller.
Miller, who had played just one minute in the game up until that point, grabbed the ball and sank the shot, giving the Black Knights a four-point lead as they went on to win, 50-47.
"I didn't even think I would get it," Miller said. "I thought Noah was going to take it strong to the hoop and the ball slipped out and I just shot the ball. I didn't even have time to think about the shot. I was just happy it went in."
It was just a minute earlier that things were starting to look bleak for the Black Knights.
Towanda had built a 10-point advantage in the fourth quarter, but the Green Hornets were slowly fighting back.
They got to within five and a then the Black Knights got called for a loose ball foul. The foul gave Wellsboro two free throws. Towanda also got called for a technical foul on the play and Mason Roof, who led Towanda in the game with 17 points, fouled out in the sequence.
"I was just speechless," Miller said of entering the game at that point. "When coach said 'Joel go in for Mason and be smart,' I didn't know what to think. I just wanted to be all over my man defensively and not let him score."
Wellsboro hit three free throws in the possession to cut the deficit to two, but Towanda wasn't about to go away.
With Matt Reese fouled out of the game for Wellsboro, Casey Huff knew that the ball was going to be in the hands of Jordan Jackson and he took it upon himself to defend him.
"I told Nolyn (Chaffee), I'll take Jackson," Huff said. "He's their biggest player and I thought I could stop him. He still scored some. He's a great athlete and a great player and he got them back into the game. But, I wanted to try and stop him."
While Jackson did help spark the Green Hornets comeback, Huff held him to four points in the fourth quarter and on the final possession he didn't give Jackson a good look on a tying shot.
After Miller's basket the Green Hornets scored to cut the deficit back to two, but Towanda got a perfect full-court pass to Casey Huff for a layup.
"It was a perfect throw by Nolyn," Huff said. "If he throws it short he's (Jackson) stealing it and taking it on the fast break."
Down four after Huff's basket the Green Hornets got one-of-two free throws from Sam Mitchell to cut the deficit to three and on the second shot the ball went out of bounds off Towanda.
Wellsboro got an open look on their first shot of the possession, but the ball rimmed out and the Green Hornets got two more contested shots before the buzzer sounded.
"This was a great win, a statement win," Casey Huff said. "This shows we are in it for districts. We can compete with anyone."
Along with the 17 from Roof, Towanda got 14 from Casey Huff and seven from Noah Huff. David Rodenheizer had four points for Towanda and Chaffee finished with three points.
Miller and Robbie Abrams had two points each and Jake Serrano-McEwen finished with one point.
Casey Huff had four rebounds and four steals, Roof also had four boards and four steals and Rodenheizer had three rebounds and two steals.
Noah Huff had two rebounds and two assists and Abrams had three boards.
Wellsboro got 13 each from Reese and Jackson and Dylan Prough finished with 10 points in the game.
Brandon Pierce and Mike Pietropola had three points each for the Green Hornets and Joey Doganiero finished with two points, while Mitchell had one point.
Towanda won the JV game 44-35. Tristen James led Towanda with 22 points and Dylan Bates had 12 for the Black Knights and Pietropola led the Green Hornets with 21.
To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here.
Comments in violation of the rules will be denied, and repeat violators will be banned. Please help police the community by flagging offensive comments for our moderators to review. By posting a comment, you agree to our full terms and conditions. Click here to read terms and conditions.
Copyright ©2012 The Daily Review | 116 Main Street | Towanda, PA 18848 | 1-800-253-3662
Privacy Policy | Opinion Posting Policy | About our ads | Questions or comments? Contact Us
