Wildcats build 2-game lead in SHAC
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
MOWRYSTOWN — The road to the Whiteoak Wildcats' first league title since the '06 season got a little bit smoother Tuesday evening, as they added to their Southern Hills Athletic Conference lead by defeating the Fayetteville Rockets, 65-49.
Though the Wildcats (10-6 overall) didn't trail from the 6:12 mark in the first frame, it wasn't that easy of a win for WHS, as they held off several runs by the visiting Rockets but all in all improved their SHAC record to 7-2 in the conference, while the Rockets drop to 6-4. The Fairfield Lions are now tied with the Rockets for second place in Division II of the SHAC with an identical 6-4 conference mark after defeating Ripley, 63-58 Tuesday.
WHS now has four SHAC games remaining, three at home.
"We're used to it being the other way," WHS head coach Tom Wessner said. "We're used to the opponent being up on us in double figures, where we keep clawing back, so it's nice to be on the other end of that.
"Fayetteville has been playing very good basketball and scoring a lot of points, so I thought defensively, we did a pretty good job."
On Tuesday, in front of their home crowd, the Wildcats jumped out to a early lead with the first points of the game scored by Gage Carraher, who led all scorers with a game-high 24 points, followed by a 3-pointer by the Rockets.
The 4-3 lead by Fayetteville proved to be their lone lead of the game, as WHS answered with an 8-0 run with combined points by Tyler Williams and Luke Taggert as each player scored four points in the run, giving the host Wildcats a 10-3 lead.
WHS, who outscored the Rockets 17-0 in the paint during the first frame, added four more points by Taggert and Doc Seip, as they took a 14-6 advantage with 3:15 left in the first.
"It's nice having Doc to throw the ball to (in the paint)," Wessner said. "We knew they were going to have trouble matching up inside, and we knew their guards like to pressure.
"Not only did we throw it inside, but we got some back door cuts, which allowed us to get to the paint a little more (Tuesday)."
Seip ended the game with 13 points, while Taggert and Williams each scored 10 points in the SHAC win.
The first frame ended with WHS leading 21-8 as they went on a 7-2 run to end the quarter with points from the senior trio of Seip, Carraher and Taggert.[[In-content Ad]]
In the second frame, not everything went as smoothly as it did in the first half for the Wildcats, but they did end the frame with a 32-19 advantage, including a layup at the buzzer by Brent Davis.
As for the rest of the second, Fayetteville went on a 7-2 run to open the frame, including a 3-pointer by Toby Lykins with 4:09 on the clock, cutting the WHS lead to 23-15.
Later in the second, Carraher made the Wildcats' lone 3-pointer with 34 seconds left on the clock, extending the WHS lead to 30-17.
The toughest quarter for WHS was the third, but it was the best for the Rockets as they outscored WHS, 21-14, making it a six-point game headed into the fourth at 46-40. In the third for the Rockets, five players added points, including Max Iles with a 3-pointer.
"The third was so up and down," Wessner said. "We played well at times, but Fayetteville came back and did some nice things. It seemed like there were four or five different runs in that quarter, which we aren't used to. We are used to one or two runs in the whole game."
A jumper by Lykins, who was a co-leader in scoring for Fayetteville with 12 points, made it a four-point game with 4:53 left in the third. Also scoring 12 points for FHS was DJ Iles.
But after that basket, WHS went on an 8-0 run constructed by Seip and Carraher, taking a 59-47 lead with 3:55 on the clock.
WHS ended the game with a 6-1 run to secure the win.
Wessner spoke about the maturity of his squad, as they did hold on to the lead for most of the game.
"We have seven seniors on the team, and three seniors that have seen extensive varsity time since their sophomore year, so that's really helping us out," Wessner said. "At this stage, bumps and bruises … all of those things, we are doing a better job of playing through all of that."
The Wildcats will hit the road in SHAC play on Friday, as they will face Peebles.
Though the Wildcats (10-6 overall) didn't trail from the 6:12 mark in the first frame, it wasn't that easy of a win for WHS, as they held off several runs by the visiting Rockets but all in all improved their SHAC record to 7-2 in the conference, while the Rockets drop to 6-4. The Fairfield Lions are now tied with the Rockets for second place in Division II of the SHAC with an identical 6-4 conference mark after defeating Ripley, 63-58 Tuesday.
WHS now has four SHAC games remaining, three at home.
"We're used to it being the other way," WHS head coach Tom Wessner said. "We're used to the opponent being up on us in double figures, where we keep clawing back, so it's nice to be on the other end of that.
"Fayetteville has been playing very good basketball and scoring a lot of points, so I thought defensively, we did a pretty good job."
On Tuesday, in front of their home crowd, the Wildcats jumped out to a early lead with the first points of the game scored by Gage Carraher, who led all scorers with a game-high 24 points, followed by a 3-pointer by the Rockets.
The 4-3 lead by Fayetteville proved to be their lone lead of the game, as WHS answered with an 8-0 run with combined points by Tyler Williams and Luke Taggert as each player scored four points in the run, giving the host Wildcats a 10-3 lead.
WHS, who outscored the Rockets 17-0 in the paint during the first frame, added four more points by Taggert and Doc Seip, as they took a 14-6 advantage with 3:15 left in the first.
"It's nice having Doc to throw the ball to (in the paint)," Wessner said. "We knew they were going to have trouble matching up inside, and we knew their guards like to pressure.
"Not only did we throw it inside, but we got some back door cuts, which allowed us to get to the paint a little more (Tuesday)."
Seip ended the game with 13 points, while Taggert and Williams each scored 10 points in the SHAC win.
The first frame ended with WHS leading 21-8 as they went on a 7-2 run to end the quarter with points from the senior trio of Seip, Carraher and Taggert.[[In-content Ad]]
In the second frame, not everything went as smoothly as it did in the first half for the Wildcats, but they did end the frame with a 32-19 advantage, including a layup at the buzzer by Brent Davis.
As for the rest of the second, Fayetteville went on a 7-2 run to open the frame, including a 3-pointer by Toby Lykins with 4:09 on the clock, cutting the WHS lead to 23-15.
Later in the second, Carraher made the Wildcats' lone 3-pointer with 34 seconds left on the clock, extending the WHS lead to 30-17.
The toughest quarter for WHS was the third, but it was the best for the Rockets as they outscored WHS, 21-14, making it a six-point game headed into the fourth at 46-40. In the third for the Rockets, five players added points, including Max Iles with a 3-pointer.
"The third was so up and down," Wessner said. "We played well at times, but Fayetteville came back and did some nice things. It seemed like there were four or five different runs in that quarter, which we aren't used to. We are used to one or two runs in the whole game."
A jumper by Lykins, who was a co-leader in scoring for Fayetteville with 12 points, made it a four-point game with 4:53 left in the third. Also scoring 12 points for FHS was DJ Iles.
But after that basket, WHS went on an 8-0 run constructed by Seip and Carraher, taking a 59-47 lead with 3:55 on the clock.
WHS ended the game with a 6-1 run to secure the win.
Wessner spoke about the maturity of his squad, as they did hold on to the lead for most of the game.
"We have seven seniors on the team, and three seniors that have seen extensive varsity time since their sophomore year, so that's really helping us out," Wessner said. "At this stage, bumps and bruises … all of those things, we are doing a better job of playing through all of that."
The Wildcats will hit the road in SHAC play on Friday, as they will face Peebles.