Wildcats earn SHAC championship
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
MOWRYSTOWN – The night began with "Welcome to the Jungle" playing over the speakers at Whiteoak High School. By the end of the evening, "We Are the Champions" was being played in the gym, as the Whiteoak Wildcats defeated the Manchester Greyhounds, 66-58 to clinch the Southern Hills Athletic Conference Division II championship.
WHS gained the outright title with their win, along with an 80-68 loss by Fayetteville to the Peebles Indians Friday night, as the Wildcats gained a two-game lead in the SHAC with one conference game remaining.
"This is a group who last year struggled at times on some things, but they really put it together this year," Whiteoak head coach Tom Wessner said. "They put some goals out in front of them, and this was one of the goals, and they accomplished it.
"I think the big thing this year is defense. We've got seven guys who really enjoy defense. They get after it. They realize they can get the transition ... the easy baskets if they get up and play people. I'm just proud of the team."
The SHAC (previously the SHL) championship is the seventh in school history. WHS has now won a conference (or league) championship in '99, '01, '02, '03, '05, '06 and '13.
Whiteoak (9-3, 12-7) battled for the lead throughout the first half, fending off the barrage of 3-pointers by the Greyhounds in the first half, as they connected for over 60 percent from beyond the arc in the first two quarters.
"We weathered the storm," Wessner said of Manchester's 3-point shooting in the first half. "I don't think teams are going to shoot over 60 percent from the three-point line for the entire game."
The quarter which set the tone for the second half was the third, around the midway point, as the host Wildcats took a 38-37 lead off two points by Luke Taggert and from there never trailed for the remainder of the game, as they built a 56-38 lead at the conclusion of the third, taking a 20-1 run, which began with the two points by Taggert.
WHS outscored the Greyhounds, 22-7 in the third.
Taggert led WHS with 16 points. He was followed with 14 points by Gage Carraher and 13 points each from Doc Seip and Tyler Williams. Seip finished with double-double by adding 15 rebounds.
After Taggert's two points, Williams stole the ball on three straight occasions, all leading to points for the Wildcats in a span of less than one minute of game time, with Williams scoring twice on fast breaks for a 42-37 lead.[[In-content Ad]]
"Tyler has done a great job on the other teams' best scorer," Wessner said. "He chases them around, and (Friday) he realized if he just steps a little bit into their passing lane, they weren't paying attention, and he gets those steals. Those steals were big, and it really changes the momentum for us."
From there, Carraher sank a 3-pointer at the top of the key, followed by a jumper off an inbounds pass. MHS scored a free throw, and WHS ended the quarter with two free throws by Carraher, a free throw by Brent Davis, two free throws by Taggert and the quarter ended with a layup by Davis for a 16-point lead.
Manchester rallied at times in the fourth, cutting the WHS lead to within six points with 55.2 left in regulation after four straight points by Tyler Brummet.
MHS was led in scoring by Austin Hughes with 14 points.
In the opening two quarters, WHS led 18-15 at the conclusion of the first quarter, but it was Carraher who opened the game with a 3-pointer. Near the end of the first, Manchester's Phillip Thomas tied the score for the first time at 15, but Williams ended the quarter with a 3-pointer for WHS for a three-point lead.
For the game, both teams combined for 13 3-pointers, with nine in the first half.
Speaking of three-pointers, the first four buckets of the second frame were from beyond the arc, with Sean Frost of MHS making two, while teammate Cole Hensley made one. In between those was a trey from Carraher, which ultimately left MHS ahead 24-21 with 5:45 left in the quarter.
Frost finished with 12 points. Also in double figures for the Greyhounds was Braxton Gaffin with 10 points.
Manchester held on to the lead until there was 25 seconds left on the clock as he scored on a layup off a pass by Williams. WHS ended the second on an 8-0 run.
Also scoring points for WHS were Justin Emery and Davis with four points each, and Blake Trueblood with two.
The Wildcats will play again on Saturday, as they are scheduled to travel to face Cincinnati Christian. On Tuesday, Feb. 12, WHS will play at River Valley, and they will wrap up the regular season on Friday, Feb. 15 when they host SHAC foe North Adams.
On JV play, WHS defeated MHS, 41-20. Leading WHS was Jacob Burns with 11 points. Leading the Greyhounds was Jordan Franklin with nine.
WHS gained the outright title with their win, along with an 80-68 loss by Fayetteville to the Peebles Indians Friday night, as the Wildcats gained a two-game lead in the SHAC with one conference game remaining.
"This is a group who last year struggled at times on some things, but they really put it together this year," Whiteoak head coach Tom Wessner said. "They put some goals out in front of them, and this was one of the goals, and they accomplished it.
"I think the big thing this year is defense. We've got seven guys who really enjoy defense. They get after it. They realize they can get the transition ... the easy baskets if they get up and play people. I'm just proud of the team."
The SHAC (previously the SHL) championship is the seventh in school history. WHS has now won a conference (or league) championship in '99, '01, '02, '03, '05, '06 and '13.
Whiteoak (9-3, 12-7) battled for the lead throughout the first half, fending off the barrage of 3-pointers by the Greyhounds in the first half, as they connected for over 60 percent from beyond the arc in the first two quarters.
"We weathered the storm," Wessner said of Manchester's 3-point shooting in the first half. "I don't think teams are going to shoot over 60 percent from the three-point line for the entire game."
The quarter which set the tone for the second half was the third, around the midway point, as the host Wildcats took a 38-37 lead off two points by Luke Taggert and from there never trailed for the remainder of the game, as they built a 56-38 lead at the conclusion of the third, taking a 20-1 run, which began with the two points by Taggert.
WHS outscored the Greyhounds, 22-7 in the third.
Taggert led WHS with 16 points. He was followed with 14 points by Gage Carraher and 13 points each from Doc Seip and Tyler Williams. Seip finished with double-double by adding 15 rebounds.
After Taggert's two points, Williams stole the ball on three straight occasions, all leading to points for the Wildcats in a span of less than one minute of game time, with Williams scoring twice on fast breaks for a 42-37 lead.[[In-content Ad]]
"Tyler has done a great job on the other teams' best scorer," Wessner said. "He chases them around, and (Friday) he realized if he just steps a little bit into their passing lane, they weren't paying attention, and he gets those steals. Those steals were big, and it really changes the momentum for us."
From there, Carraher sank a 3-pointer at the top of the key, followed by a jumper off an inbounds pass. MHS scored a free throw, and WHS ended the quarter with two free throws by Carraher, a free throw by Brent Davis, two free throws by Taggert and the quarter ended with a layup by Davis for a 16-point lead.
Manchester rallied at times in the fourth, cutting the WHS lead to within six points with 55.2 left in regulation after four straight points by Tyler Brummet.
MHS was led in scoring by Austin Hughes with 14 points.
In the opening two quarters, WHS led 18-15 at the conclusion of the first quarter, but it was Carraher who opened the game with a 3-pointer. Near the end of the first, Manchester's Phillip Thomas tied the score for the first time at 15, but Williams ended the quarter with a 3-pointer for WHS for a three-point lead.
For the game, both teams combined for 13 3-pointers, with nine in the first half.
Speaking of three-pointers, the first four buckets of the second frame were from beyond the arc, with Sean Frost of MHS making two, while teammate Cole Hensley made one. In between those was a trey from Carraher, which ultimately left MHS ahead 24-21 with 5:45 left in the quarter.
Frost finished with 12 points. Also in double figures for the Greyhounds was Braxton Gaffin with 10 points.
Manchester held on to the lead until there was 25 seconds left on the clock as he scored on a layup off a pass by Williams. WHS ended the second on an 8-0 run.
Also scoring points for WHS were Justin Emery and Davis with four points each, and Blake Trueblood with two.
The Wildcats will play again on Saturday, as they are scheduled to travel to face Cincinnati Christian. On Tuesday, Feb. 12, WHS will play at River Valley, and they will wrap up the regular season on Friday, Feb. 15 when they host SHAC foe North Adams.
On JV play, WHS defeated MHS, 41-20. Leading WHS was Jacob Burns with 11 points. Leading the Greyhounds was Jordan Franklin with nine.