MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent South Williamsport's Andrew Walker (1) chases down a lose ball on a steal in the third quarter of a basketball game against Hughesville earlier this season.

South Williamsport does not feature any Division I recruits or high fliers. Really, it does not possess much height all.

But the Mounties can play. And when they play as hard; as intense as they did last week, lots of good things happen. That’s a message coach Joe Simon and his staff have tried drilling into the players’ heads the last few years and it appears it is being heard.

South (10-4) has won five straight games and routed three opponents last week, the most impressive coming in a 61-18 win at Hughesville. Yes, the Spartans do not have the best record (5-11), but they play in the rugged HAC-III and South still delivered them their worst loss this year, holding them to fewer points than their leading scorer was producing entering that contest.

“We’ve been preaching for years that we might not be super high on talent but we have the right pieces,” Simon said after the Hughesville win. “If we just put together the right energy and the right effort, we can compete with anybody.”

It certainly looked that way at Hughesville. This was a game which South won, 76-68 last year, but it dominated the rematch from the start. South owned the glass, brilliantly moved the ball and played suffocating defense.

Every Mountie made an impact as five players functioned as one. South did not just outplay Hughesville. It outworked it and embracing that intensity is what it believes could continue carrying it as it tries winning a Mid-Penn championship and making postseason noise.

“Their coach (Cam St. James) and I were talking about the different conferences we play in and how that plays out for both of us if we make the playoffs,” Simon said. “But if we play like there, I think we can compete with pretty much anybody in the Triple A bracket.”

Again, to make that reality South must not just replicate the effort it showed at Hughesville, but build upon it since the district field is so deep.

Still, this is a team which has made massive strides this season. Chance Quimby, who scored a career-high 20 points at Hughesville and Levi Butler are the lone starters back from last year’s team. Andrew Walter, who had a season-high 19 points in an 86-23 win at Northwest, is the team’s lone senior, so there is both excitement about the present and future.

Players who started the season so green are ripening and South is becoming a well-rounded team with a lot of different threats in multiple areas. Drivng that home, five players scored in double figures last week and Jaymes Carpenter, out earlier this season with an injury, produced a double-double against Benton.

The Mounties are one game behind Muncy in the Mid-Penn West standings after the Indians won a close game earlier this season but host the two-time defending champions Friday.

South also is fighting for a higher playoff seed, knowing it will have to win a lot of games to chase down a first round home contest. Those, though, are the long-term goals. The short-term is much simpler.

“In our last couple games, whether we’re on the low end of a game ending or a high end, I want my guys to keep playing,” Simon said. “Over the years we lacked being instilled in us that desire to come out and compete for 32 minutes. Whether we sub at the end of the game or not, I still want our guys doing what we’re preaching and (at Hughesville), we did that for all 32 minutes.”

Keep doing that and South believes it can get exactly where it wants to go.

NO KIDDING

As Jersey Shore coach Jon Boob looked for a point guard spark before his debut last season, he gave Landon Lathan a try. What he saw blew him away and Lathan has played there ever since.

More surprising than seeing how good his projected two-guard was at running the offense was Lathan’s response when Boob asked him how often he had played that prior to his junior year.

“Never.”

Call him the accidental point guard, but Lathan also is an excellent one. He proved it again last Wednesday when he dealt nine assists in a last-second 59-56 loss against Shikellamy.

“We put Landon on it and it was like watching a movie where you put somebody in the perfect position for something and you just see it,” Boob said. “I get it because he’s a good shooter, but it’s unbelievable that the kid never played point guard before.”

Lathan has been at the heart of the team’s turnaround the last two years. Jersey Shore (8-7) made an 11-win improvement a year ago and is a few plays from having 10 wins this season. But the stretch run is what matters most and Jersey Shore having a steady leader like Lathan sure provides a lift.

“He’s been phenomenal. He’s our leader,” Boob said. “He’s the one guy everyone listens to and trusts and he controls the basketball really well.”

Lathan has mastered the floor general offense so well that coaches have to push him to be more of a scorer now. His ability to distribute sometimes has defenses backing away because they are looking for him to pass. Meshing the scoring and facilitating is the next step but Lathan making such an impact at point guard has been at the heart of this program’s resurgence.

“He’s our quarterback,” Boob said. “If I could play him all 32 minutes, I would.”

PUTBACKS

St. John Neumann entered Monday’s game at Wellsboro, which ended after press time, riding a five-game winning streak and produced its most impressive win Saturday, downing Sullivan County, 51-44. The Knights (8-6) handed Sullivan its first Mid-Penn loss, rallied from a seven-point third quarter deficit and snapped its six-game winning streak. Jahki Brister (16 points, 14 rebounds) took charge in the fourth quarter and all the role players excelled. Daiton Thompson scored 59 combined points in two previous wins last week against Montgomery and Millville … speaking of explosive scorers, Montgomery’s Parker Bennett erupted for a career-high 42 points in Saturday’s 75-60 win against Millville. He added 12 rebounds and topped 40 points for the second time in a week … North Penn-Liberty (8-5) won three games last week and has started 6-0 in league play as it tries repeating as NTL-II champions. Luke Kreger had 24 points and nine rebounds in Saturday’s 61-48 win against Cowanesque Valley and Conner Lewis (11 rebounds) grabbed at least nine boards for an eighth straight game. CV’s Ashtyn Burdick scored a career-high 21 points … North Penn-Mansfield produced a super win last Tuesday, defeating Towanda, 56-47 and giving it its first league loss. Andy Hermansen scored a career-high 24 points. Jason Harer collected his eighth double-double in Saturday’s 45-42 loss against Troy and pulled down a career-high 21 rebounds … Wellsboro earned a big win, defeating defending District 4 Class AAA champion Troy, 68-63. Colin Feltcher scored a career-high 24 points and Luke Rothermel a season-best 21.

Dr. Masse’s top 5 rankings:

1. Warrior Run (14-1): Warrior Run features an offense which can quickly score, but the main ingredient for its success has been ferocious defense. Playing that again Saturday night helped Warrior Run take first place in the HAC-III, winning a hard-fought 42-36 contest against rival Southern Columbia. The Defenders finished the first half of league play 5-0, holding all five opponents to fewer than 40 points. That streak actually stretches six games overall and the Defenders have won seven straight. Ethan Balzer grabbed 10 rebounds against Southern after producing a double-double against Muncy and James Keifer generated 14 points with five steals in a win against Hughesville.

2. Lewisburg (10-4): Like Warrior Run, Lewisburg went undefeated through its first-half league campaign, capping that five-game HAC-II stretch with a 61-43 win at Central Columbia. The Dragons also defeated two-time defending District 4 Class AAAA champion Danville for the first time since 2023 and continue receiving strong contributions throughout the rotation. At least three players reached double figures in both wins, four doing so against Central. That includes Jaylen Walker who has been one of the area’s top reserves who had 11 points.

3. Loyalsock (11-4): After a one-year hiatus, Loyalsock is playoff-bound again, producing impressive wins at rival Montoursville and Bloomsburg. The Lancers already have made a five-win improvement and remain in the hunt to host a first-round playoff game. Loyalsock avenged a previous defeat against Montoursville as Braydon Cioffi scored a career-high 24 points and Saoj Jones a career-best 17, hitting three clutch second-half 3-pointers to squash Montoursville rallies. Brecken Gusick went for 17 points in the Bloomsburg win and Loyalsock cut a 13-point second half deficit to one in Wednesday’s 57-50 loss against Southern.

4. Montoursville (11-5): Following a torrid first half run in which it won 10 of 11 games, Montoursville has hit a bump in the road, dropping three of four. The first three were by 16 combined points, but Mount Carmel thumped the Warriors, 69-51 Saturday, denting the team’s HAC-II title hopes. Still, the Warriors are part of a crowded four-team field fighting for District 4 Class AAAA’s top seed, so it’s about looking ahead now. Sophomore Isaac Erlandson is having a big breakout season and scored 22 points in a win against Milton and at Mount Carmel.

5. Sullivan County (12-3): Despite Saturday’s loss against Neumann, Sullivan retains the fifth spot based on wins against Muncy and South. The Griffins opened their week with wins against Canton and Bucktail and are in first place in both the Mid-Penn East Division and District 4 Class A. Sullivan moved the ball well against Neumann and six players scored by early in the second quarter. Lucas King scored 23 points against Canton and Colin King pulled down 12 boards at Neumann. Dom Marotti scored 12 points off the bench at Bucktail and Jaiden Moore grabbed 10 rebounds against Canton.

Players of the Week

Evan McTish, North Penn-Liberty and Aiden McKee, Warrior Run: McTish is building off last year’s breakthrough season and playing some of his best high school basketball while helping the Mounties surge. McTish averaged 21.7 points and 11 rebounds in three wins last week. He matched a career-high with 26 points and 14 rebounds against CV and twice produced double-doubles. McKee came up with two massive blocks in the final minute against Southern when it was a one-possession game. That capped a week in which the all-state center averaged 18.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game. McKee battled injury throughout the first half of the season but continues providing a big impact on both ends and has nine double-doubles.

Game of the Week

Muncy at South Williamsport: We mentioned earlier that Muncy holds a slim lead on South in the Mid-Penn. That is just part of what makes Friday’s game exciting. These rivals also have played four consecutive, thrilling back-and-forth games. The home team has won each time, rallying in the fourth quarter to do so three times. South won in overtime a year ago on its home court and Muncy held off a Mountie comeback, taking the first game last December, 49-44, so expect another intense battle.

–Masse may be reached at cmasse@sungazette.com. Follow him on Twitter at @docmasse