North (5-4, 1-0) expected Williamsport (1-6, 0-1) to come out with a patient offense and the Wildcats were true, passing up several open shooting opportunities in the early moments before scoring on their first shot with 3:58 left on a runner by David Warrenfeltz.
The Wildcats knew they had to be patient, especially since they were playing without the services of 6-foot-5 center Corey Broadwater, who sprained an ankle in practice on Saturday.
"We wanted to be patient and North knew we would be patient, but there were some times when we passed up too many open shots," said Wildcats coach Scott Mowbray.
"We practiced the last two days expecting them to be very patient," Hubs coach Tim McNamee said. "And with their big guy out we had an inside advantage with Tyrell (Wilson)."
A 3-pointer by Dee Mency at the end of the first quarter gave the Hubs a 15-7 lead before Williamsport got the deficit down to 22-17 on two buckets by Philip Jordan.
Gantt went long distance at the outset of the third period with a pair of treys as the Hubs extended their margin to 37-21 with 5:17 to play in the third quarter.
"Quielan had better shot selection and we did for the most part as a team," McNamee said. "When a team works the ball like Williamsport did tonight you have to be patient yourself on offense and defense. They definitely missed Broadwater."
That left the inside to Wilson, who scored 10 points and had five rebounds, but was played fairly well defensively by Ryan Lee.
"He (Wilson) was a factor inside and Jordan actually played pretty good defense on Gantt," said Mowbray.
North is considered to be the Antietam favorite with its returning experience.
"We haven't won it the last two years because of South, but I guess this year there is a little target on our back," said McNamee. "We've got to be ready to play each game."
