Sports
Athens Outlasts N-Y In Instant Classic
By: Eli Burris
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The Athens Bulldogs were able to survive a scare tonight from the rival Nelsonville-York Buckeyes in a very physical, overtime thriller, winning 64-63. The Bulldogs were able to sweep the two-game season series with the Buckeyes in front of a packed home crowd at McAfee Gymnasium and come one step closer to a TVC-Ohio crown.
The Buckeyes had a chance to win the game in the final seconds of both regulation and overtime. Sophomore point guard, Emmitt Reed, missed a highly contested layup at the end of regulation and had the ball stolen from him at halfcourt by Ryan Leuhrman at the end of overtime.
The Bulldogs had four players that scored in double figures tonight, lead by freshman guard Ibi Watson who contributed 18 points to the winning effort.
Sophomore forward, Ryan Leuhrman, had a standout defensive game with four blocks and a late steal in the final seconds of overtime that sealed the victory.
Despite all of this young talent, a senior stepped up for Athens tonight. Sawyer Summers scored 10 points off the bench, shooting 3-of-7 from 3-point range.
N-Y was lead by Reed, who came very close to an impressive double-double, finishing with 20 points and nine rebounds. The Buckeyes played very aggressive defense tonight, holding the high-scoring Joe Burrow to only 12 points after averaging 26 points in earlier games this week.
Free throws and fouls also played in integral part in the game as Athens came away 20-of-32 from the charity stripe while N-Y only converted on 6-of 13 free throws.
Both Athens and N-Y will turn right around and play again Saturday night. The Bulldogs will host Marietta, while the Buckeyes travel to Southern.