Hornet basketball overpowers Troy, 73-41

By: Ed Weaver  /  February 1, 2014

The Wellsboro Varsity boys basketball team had four players in double figures as they cruised to a 73-41 victory over the Troy Trojans Friday night in Wellsboro.

The Hornets got on the board within seconds of the game started and scored with ease the entire game to pick up the NTL Division 1 victory. Senior Dylan Prough and Junior Kieron Smethers played tough, physical basketball in the paint the whole game while Junior Michael Pietropola was on fire from the outside.

The older Prough had a game-high 18 points and 7 rebounds. Many of Prough's points came on second-chance shots. Pietropola scored 15 points and Smethers had 12 and 13 rebounds for the double-double.

"Tonight was Dylan and Kieron's night," said head coach Todd Outman. "We always try to get the ball inside and play inside out but it doesn't always happen. They did a lot of good things in setting good screens and creating good shot opportunities and that was more evident tonight with the touches they got."

The Hornets opened the game with 22 points in the first quarter to Troy's seven and maintained a 37-22 lead going into the half. The third quarter was much like the first as Wellsboro scored another 21 points to blow the game open. The Hornets added 15 points in the final frame to seal the win.

Senior Joey Doganiero was the fourth Hornet in double figures with 10 points on the night, Sophomore Dawson Prough added 7, Junior Jake Mitchell had 6, Freshman Brandon Lamphier pitched in three, and Junior Nick Marple added two.

The win keeps the Hornets two games back of division leading Towanda, and improves them to 14-5 (6-2 NTL Division 1) on the year. The Hornets have three remaining regular season games on the schedule before District IV playoffs begin.

"There's still a lot of things that we need to improve on and fix them before Districts because it is very solid this year," continued Outman. "Two of the teams in Districts are ranked in the Top 5 in the state and we'll probably face one of them in the first game. We still have a long way to go and get better every night and keep working hard."

In the J.V. game, the Hornets won 37-34 to snap a three-game losing streak to pick up their fourth win of the season. Sophomore Nick Tremper led the team with 15 points and Freshman Jacob Singer added 11.

The team will be back in action on Tuesday, February 4 as they host Wyalusing.