No doubt, Harris is a versatile threat and quality player. But so is Akers. And he proved it yet again Monday in a hard-fought backyard brawl game against visiting Montoursville.

Akers scored a game-high 16 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and played excellent interior defense as South held off a furious Montoursville rally and won, 47-39. The Mounties (13-8) closed the game on an 8-0 run after Montoursville tied it at 39 and, not surprisingly, the 6-foot Akers contributed a key play there, scoring off an offensive rebound.

“I try to do that. I’m not too much of an outside player, so I try to get big, set heavy screens, box out and do whatever I can,” Akers said before being engulfed by happy students and friends. “I try to be big on defense, too.”

He so often does.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent South Williamsport's Aaron Akers (32) reaches for a deflected ball during a high school boy's basketball game against Montoursville on Monday at South Williamsport. South won 47-39.

Akers might not be the tallest forward, but he always plays big and has been instrumental to South winning nine of its last 10 games. He and Harris set the tone with six quick points to open the game, and both produced double-doubles. Akers’ putback during the game-clinching 8-0 run made it 43-39 and he was part of a stingy defense which begrudgingly surrendered points.

It was the latest strong performance South’s blue collar senior has produced. He and Harris are forming a strong inside duo and with guards Lee Habalar, Ben Manning, Alex Neidig and Caden Harris all capable of strong games, too, the pieces have fallen into place during the season’s second half.

“Aaron has that in him. Aaron does a really good job on the boards when teams are focusing on trying to keep Marquan off the boards,” South coach Joe Simon said. “Aaron crashes very well and will give you some putbacks and defensively he crashes really well, too.”

Akers also has developed a quality shot from the elbow, and he showcased his whole arsenal against Montoursville. On a night when Habalar, a 1,000-point scorer, was contained, Akers playing big was the ultimate difference in the game. He and Harris effectively cut off Montoursville’s inside game and the Warriors missed all 18 3-point attempts.

Despite all that, Montoursville never backed down and seemed on the verge of winning midway through the fourth quarter. The Warriors trailed by 11 at halftime but a 6-0 run tied the game at 39 with four minutes remaining. Just when it seemed like South was in trouble, it collected itself and played some of its best basketball.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent South Williamsport's Lee Habalar (10) looks for a shot around Montoursville's Tanner Menne (23) during a high school boy's basketball game on Monday at South Williamsport. South won 47-39.

Habalar ignited the rally with a baseline jumper. Akers followed with his putback and Habalar added a free throw. Harris had a key block during that stretch and capped the surge with a putback while finishing with 11 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks and three steals.

“Paul (assistant coach Paul McGinn) and I were talking about calling a timeout when they tied it and I said, ‘Let’s see how they handle it,’ because that’s what we’re going to need down the stretch,” Simon said. “I’m glad they handled it and stopped the run and battled back. We ended on an 8-0 run, so it was a good response to them playing hard.”

“After they tied it, I was kind of shocked because we had been up a lot and they came back quick,” Akers said. “We just stayed calm and pushed hard.”

Montoursville pushed hard throughout the second half but again was hurt by a slow start. The Warriors have produced strong fourth quarters in four of their last five games, outscoring the opponent in those four contests. They won just two of those four, though, despite scoring 38 fourth quarter points in a 72-66 loss against Mifflinburg.

Bottle up those fourth quarter comeback efforts and Montoursville could be dangerous as it closes the regular season at St. John Neumann before preparing for the District 4 Class AAAA playoffs where it likely will be playing at the top seed in the quarterfinals.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent South Williamsport's Caden Harris (0) works around a Montoursville defender during a high school boy's basketball game on Monday at South Williamsport. South won 47-39.

“The first three quarters we don’t play with that desperation. If we would play the whole game with desperation we’d be better off,” Montoursville coach Mark Mussina said. “They (South) came out in the first quarter and dumped it down and scored six quick points. They compete and they scrap but we need to do it for four quarters.”

Montoursville started working its way back in the third quarter, twice cutting that 26-15 halftime deficit to four. Wyatt Fry scored six of his seven points during that quarter and added seven rebounds. South went up six early in the fourth, but Montoursville again came charging back.

Bryce Eberhart (10 points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals) ignited a 6-0 run by converting a steal and layup. He then found Tanner Menne inside to make it a two-point game before Quinn Ranck made one of his three steals and connected with Ranck for the game-tying layup which made it, 39-39 with four minutes remaining.

From there, South took control and did not allow another point.

“It’s awesome,” Akers said. “At the beginning of the season, I feel like we’d lose a lot of close games and never close out a game strong. These past few games we’ve been playing well with a lead.”

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent South Williamsport's Marquan Harris moves the ball past Montoursville's Mathew Conklin (44) during a high school boy's basketball game on Monday at South Williamsport. South won 47-39.

“We told them at halftime this wasn’t over yet,” Simon said. “We told them they were going to come out and battle and they did that, but our guys responded well.”

Menne continued his strong recent play, scoring eight points and grabbing seven rebounds. He was particularly strong in the first half, scoring 40 percent of Montoursville’s points. Take those away and Montoursville would have been looking at a Mount Everest like climb trying to get back in the game.

“Tanner played really well,” Mussina said. “Today was probably the most solid game he played. We just didn’t give him any help.”

MONTOURSVILLE (39)

Quinn Ranck 3 1-1 7, Bryce Eberhart 4 2-2 10, Tanner Menne 4 0-0 8, Shea Ulmer 1 0-0 2, Gavin Cott 1 0-0 2, Matthew Conklin 0 1-2 1, Wyatt Fry 3 1-4 7, Chase Snyder 1 0-0 2, Nason Tran 0 0-2 0. Totals 17 5-11 39.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montoursville's Wyatt Fry (25) lines up a shot during a high school boy's basketball game against South Williamsport on Monday at South Williamsport. South won 47-39.

SOUTH (47)

Lee Habalar 2 1-4 5, Marquan Harris 5 1-3 11, Aaron Akers 8 0-0 16, Ben Manning 3 2-2 8, Alex Neidig 0 3-4 3, Caden Harris 1 2-2 4, Radley Knapp 0 0-0 0, Dylan Scheller 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 9-14 47.

Montoursville 5 10 15 9-39

South 12 14 10 11-47

Records: South 13-8. Montoursville 7-14.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent South Williamsport's Marquan Harris (1) reaches for a rebound over the head of Montoursville's Shea Ulmer (21) during a high school boy's basketball game on Monday at South Williamsport. South won 47-39.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montoursville's Gavin Cott (15) blocks a shot by South Williamsport's Alex Neidig during a high school boy's basketball game on Monday at South Williamsport. South won 47-39.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent South Williamsport's Aaron Akers (32) looks to pass around Montoursville's Tanner Menne (23) during a high school boy's basketball game on Monday at South Williamsport. South won 47-39.