IAC BOYS BASKETBALL: NEWARK VALLEY RALLIES; TOPS GROTON, 54-50, IN OVERTIME (2024-12-11)

Tioga County Sports Report
NEWARK VALLEY — After a "sluggish" first half, Newark Valley rallied in the third quarter, and pulled out a hard-fought, 54-50 overtime win over Groton here Wednesday night in IAC boys basketball crossover action.

"It took a lot of heart to finish that game with a win," said Newark Valley coach Scott Stratton. "We were down eight at halftime, not playing well, moving sluggishly, getting out-hustled, and we found a way to dig down deep in the second half.

"Even though I told the guys at halftime that we weren’t going to get it all back at once, that they needed to grind it out defensively and get good offensive possessions, they turned up the energy and built a two-point lead by the end of the third quarter.
 
"The guys did a great job moving without the ball in the second half, and Tim (Wojtysiak) and Anthony (Dougher) took advantage of driving gaps to score at the basket," noted Stratton. "And, our movement without the ball gave them those opportunities. We got what we needed out of those guys and also got some great contributions from the rest of the guys.
 
"We really rode Ashton Slavik’s positivity and leadership throughout the game," added Stratton. "He was in everyone’s ear, reminding them of the jobs we needed to do to be successful, and he kept his composure down the stretch when the pressure was on. And, he knocked down two big threes for us."

Ashton Slavik's 3-pointer were Newark Valley's only points in the first quarter as the Red Hawks built a 9-3 lead.

The Cardinals started to find the range in the second quarter as Tim Wojtysiak knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and scored 10 points, but Groton used a 16-14 advantage in the stanza to take a 25-17 lead into the halftime intermission.

Wojtysiak canned two more 3-pointers in the third quarter, and Anthony Dougher pumped in 11 points to fuel a 21-11 run that put the Cardinals up 38-36 entering the final eight minutes.

Groton outscored NV, 10-8, in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 46-46 and force overtime.

In overtime, the Cardinals limited Groton to four points, and Wojtysiak scored four points in an 8-4 run.

Wojtysiak had 22 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and three steals, and Dougher had 17 points, eight rebounds, and three blocked shots.

Slavik added eight points and four assists in the win, while Austin Green chipped in with five points, eight rebounds, and three steals, and Carter Smith and Josh Benjamin grabbed four and three rebounds, respectively.

Newark Valley, now 2-0, returns to action Friday at Dryden.

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