Hornets Cruise Past South Williamsport Thanks To Big 1st Quarter

By: Ed Weaver / December 28, 2023

A 29-point 1st quarter led Wellsboro to a 59-35 non-league win over South Williamsport on Wednesday, December 27.

"We wanted to set the tone early with energy," head coach Ron Doughtie said. "That has been missing in some games that we haven't played up to our expectations. The team pressured the ball early and looked to get out and score in transition and that helped us get out to an early lead. Ian Hoose knocked down some early shots too that helped us jump out to a nice lead."

The Hornets came out firing early on, hitting 12 shots from the floor and three foul shots. Hoose and fellow senior Hayes Campbell accounted for 25 of Wellsboro's 29 points in the quarter, with Campbell scoring 14 and Hoose adding all 11 of his points. Wellsboro led 29-5 after the opening quarter, then put up back-to-back 13-point quarters in the 2nd and 3rd to secure the victory.

Campbell led all scorers with 20 points, his third 20-plus point game of the season, and also pulled down 7 boards. Sophomore Luke Rothermel added 9 points, junior Lucas Cuneo, sophomore Jonathan Carl, and senior Caden Smith all added 5 points apiece, and sophomores Aaron Kirk and Marek Mascho chipped in two points. Smith made 3 assists and blocked a shot, Mascho grabbed 4 rebounds, Hoose made 5 steals and grabbed 3 rebounds, and Kirk also made 5 steals.

Jordan Baier (14) and Radley Knapp (12) led the Mounties.

In the JV game Wellsboro rolled to a 47-17 win, their sixth straight. Carl finished with 13 points and Cuneo added 11 to lead Wellsboro.

The Hornets improve to 4-3 overall on the year. Next up for the team is their highly-anticipated showdown with rival North Penn-Mansfield for the Margaret (Peg) Berguson Memorial Trophy on January 5, 2024. North Penn-Mansfield currently leads the series 5-4.