Reese's 3 sinks Octorara

By: Ed Weaver  /  January 6, 2013

Senior Guard Matt Reese hit a 3-point shot as time expired to give the Hornets a 65-64 victory over visiting Octorara Saturday afternoon.

"I thought we had a few more seconds left on the clock then we actually did, but I heard coach yell 'shoot it, shoot it', so I just turned and found the rim and threw it up, and it went in," said Reese.

The Hornets trailed 64-62 in the final seconds of the fourth quarter when Sophomore Kieron Smethers took a 3-point shot in the final seconds, but came up short. The Hornets got the offensive rebound and kicked it back to Reese who launched the winning shot over two defenders.

Octorara, a Class AAA team from the Philadelphia area, brought more a lot of intensity and a vey fast-paced game compared to what most NTL teams are used to.

"The flow of the game was faster paced than what we're used to," continued Reese. "Coming off of Friday night's physical game with North Penn, a few of us were beat up and tired, but that's no excuse. We just didn't play as well defensively as we're used to, and their quickness was a part of that."

"We are fortunate enough to be able to play a team like this that has a bunch of athletes and is probably the quickest team we will see," said head coach Todd Outman. "Our kids were tough as nails down the stretch today."

Senior Jordan Jackson led the team with 16 points and 9 rebounds. Sophomore Michael Pietropola also contributed 13 points from the bench. Roudning out the scoring were Junior Joey Doganiero with 10 points, Reese with 9 points and 10 assists, Junior Dylan Prough with 10 points and 7 rebounds, and Smethers with 7 points and 12 rebounds.

In the JV game earlier in the day, the Hornets held on for a 41-39 win over Galeton to improve their record to 6-3. Freshman Dawson Prough led the team with 22 points, while Sophomore Nick Marple contributed 7 points.

With the win, the Varsity team improves to 10-1 (1-0 NTL West) on the season. The team will return to NTL action when they host Liberty on Monday, January 7.