Hornets top Troy in OT

By: Ed Weaver  /  February 4, 2015

A week after barely beating Troy, the Wellsboro Varsity Boys Basketball team needed overtime to beat Troy, 49-46 on Tuesday, February 3.

Wellsboro held a slim 8-6 lead after the first quarter and trailed 20-18 at the half. Wellsboro trailed 33-28 entering the fourth quarter, but outscored Troy 13-8 down the stretch.

With time running out in the fourth and the Hornets in their full-court press, Senior Kieron Smethers stole the ball away from the Trojans and went in for a layup. Troy was called for a blocking foul on the play, sending Smethers to the foul line where he hit both foul shots to force overtime.

In overtime, the Hornets outscored Troy 8-5 to pick up the season sweep and give head coach Todd Outman his 99th win with the Hornets.

Sophomore Brandon Lamphier had a career high 17 points to lead Wellsboro on the night and Smethers finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds giving him 603 for his career. Senior Michael Pietropola had 10 points, Freshman Quinn Henry had four, Senior Jake Mitchell scored three points and also had 14 rebounds, and Junior Dawson Prough rounded out the scoring with two points.

The Hornets fell 46-44 in the JV game, dropping them to 11-6 on the year. Freshman Collin Pietropola led the Hornets with 15 points.

With the win, the Varsity team improves to 15-4 (6-1 NTL Division 1). The team will be back in action on Wednesday, February 4 as they host Towanda.