Towanda took a 14-8 lead after a quarter of play before upping their lead to 27-20 at the break. 

Connor Lewis and Evan McTish scored back-to-back to start the third quarter and cut the Knights’ lead to 27-24, but Towanda got a pair of 3-pointers sandwiched around a Luke Kreger baseline drive and a breakaway bucket by the Black Knights gave the hosts a 35-26 advantage.

The teams traded baskets to 39-28 before Liberty scored six unanswered .. on two Kreger buckets and one by McTish .. to make it 39-34 but Towanda got a three as the third quarter clock ran out and the Knights led 42-34 as they went to the fourth.

After trading scores to a 56-48 Towanda lead, NPL got a Lewis three with 50 seconds left in the game to pull to within five at 56-51, but the Knights hit a pair of free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Lewis and Kreger scored 17 points each with Lewis adding 10 rebounds for the double-double and three steals.

McTish scored eight points and had 11 boards while Sudan Benner had seven points and Brody Grinnell had two points and added three assists and three steals. 

While never satisfied with a loss, NPL Head Coach Bear Mattison is thankful for the tune-up before the Mounties’ look to defend their District IV Class A title. 

“It’s always good to play a challenging team before going into playoffs,” says Mattison, “It gets us used to playing at the speed that you need to bring to districts.”

Mattison is optimistic about the Mounties upcoming run, while also using Thursday’s loss as a learning experience. 

“We do need to be more aggressive on the boards and trying to get steals,” says Mattison of Liberty’s normally stout defensive play, “I feel like if we play a little more aggressive, we have a good shot at repeating in Single A.” 

The Mounties (14-9) will be the No. 2 seed for the Class A playoffs, behind top-seeded Sullivan County (19-3) and ahead of No. 3 seed Meadowbrook (12-5) and No. 4 Lourdes Regional (10-12).