IAC BOYS BASKETBALL: NEWARK VALLEY RIDES FAST START TO 55-37 WIN OVER GREENE IN SEASON-OPENER (2024-12-09)

Tioga County Sports Report
GREENE — Newark Valley jumped out to a 10-point first-quarter lead, and cruised to a season-opening 55-37 win over Greene here Monday in non-league boys basketball action.

Anthony Dougher scored 19 points, hauled down 13 rebounds, and blocked one shot, and Tim Wojtysiak had 19 points, six rebounds, and one blocked shot to lead the Cardinals, while Ashton Slavik added nine points on a trio of 3-pointers, with three rebounds, and three assists, and Austin Green hit a pair of 3-pointers for six points and had one blocked shot..

"We got big games out of Tim (Wojtysiak) and Anthony (Dougher) tonight, which is what we need out of them," said Newark Valley coach Scott Stratton. "But, we also got very good contributions from a cast of other players.

"Ashton (Slavik) and Austin (Green) built some confidence for themselves and us with their efficient shooting from behind the arc," he added. "We needed that from them tonight."

Wojtysiak scored seven points in the first quarter, and Dougher added five points, and Slavik connected on his first 3-pointer as the Cardinals raced out to a 15-5 lead.

Slavik hit two more 3-pointers in the second quarter, and Wojtysiak added five points as NV used a 15-10 spurt to extend its lead to 30-15 at the half.

"We knocked down shots, our defense forced them to cough the ball up, and we rode that momentum for the first half," said Stratton.

Green knocked down both of this 3-pointers in the third quarter, while Wojtysiak scored five points, including his second trey of the game, and Dougher added four points. The Cardinals used a 15-13 advantage in the stanza to take a 45-28 lead into the final eight minutes.

"There was a stretch in the third quarter where our ball movement got stale, and our shot selection was poor, but we made the proper adjustments, and the kids did a good job getting back to the game plan," said Stratton.

Dougher scored eight points in the fourth quarter as NV nailed down the win with a 10-9 advantage in the stanza.

Stratton was pleased with the season-opening win, but knows there are things to work on.

"Despite shooting a very efficient rate from the floor, it still felt like we missed too many close ones and lay-ups throughout the game," he said. "Still, I can’t complain a whole lot about the way we shot the ball tonight, except maybe from the free-throw line."

The Cardinals were 5 of 12 (41 percent) from the charity stripe, but shot 55 percent (21 of 38) from the field, including a 57-percent clip (8 of 14) from behind the 3-point arc.

Josh Benjamin added four rebounds and three assists for the Cardinals, and Carter Smith grabbed eight rebounds.

Newark Valley returns to action Wednesday when it hosts Groton.

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