Whiteoak wins against Bethel-Tate; falls to Fayetteville in recent games

In their two most recent games on Friday (Dec. 19) and Saturday (Dec. 20), the Whiteoak Wildcats boys basketball team went 1-1 by defeating the Bethel-Tate Tigers and falling to the Fayetteville Rockets. 

The game played on Friday, Dec. 19 saw the Wildcats fall to the host Rockets by just two points at 63-61 at Fayetteville High School. 

Whiteoak trailed by just two points in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference game at 14-12 when the first quarter came to a close, Whiteoak came back and won the second frame at 17-12 for a halftime lead of 29-27. 

The Wildcats won the third-quarter battle as well at 13-12 for a 42-39 advantage over Fayetteville, but the game went into overtime when the fourth frame ended as Fayetteville scored 16 points and the Wildcats scored 12 points for a 54-54 score. 

In overtime, the Rockets were able to defend their home court, outscoring the Wildcats 9-7 as they defeated Whiteoak by two points. 

The Wildcats had six players reach the scoring column, led by Christopher Wessner with 17 points. Wessner made five two-point buckets, plus added two 3-pointers and he was 1-of-2 from the free-throw line. Other totals for Wessner included four rebounds, two assists and one steal. 

Sawyer Blair finished with 13 points by making two two-pointers, two 3-pointers, and he went 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. Blair also had three rebounds, one assist and four steals. 

Scoring nine points was Carson Hart with one 3-pointer and he went 6-of-8 in his free-throw attempts. Hart also added 10 rebounds (four offensive) and one assist. 

Jason Gaskins also added nine points for Whiteoak’s scoring totals, making two 3-pointers, one two-point basket, and he was 1-of-1 from the free-throw line. Gaskins also collected one rebound. 

Brady Brandenburg totaled seven points with two two-point baskets, and he was 3-of-4 in his free-throw attempts. Brandenburg also had six rebounds (five offensive) with five assists. Lucas Pollard finished with six points off three baskets, along with two rebounds and a steal. 

Whiteoak as a team finished with 13 two-point baskets, seven 3-pointers and were 14-of-19 from the free-throw line. They also collected team totals that consisted of 26 rebounds (13 offensive), nine assists, six steals and they had 10 turnovers. 

Fayetteville was led by Brody Feldhaus with 17 points (three 3-pointers) along with eight rebounds and one assist. Charlie Coffman totaled 16 points with three rebounds and a steal. Fayetteville also had double-figure scoring from Jack South with 13 points, along with seven rebounds and three assists. 

Other Rocket scoring included Keaton Strong (4), Korbin Strong (4), Keegan Craycraft (7) and Jake Rosselot (2). 

The Rockets also had team totals of 19 two-point baskets, five 3-pointers, and they were 10-of-12 from the free-throw line. The rest of Fayetteville’s team totals were 27 rebounds (10 offensive), 12 assists and three steals.

Fayetteville now stands at 6-1 overall and 4-0 in the Division II SHAC standings. 

BOX SCORE
WHS    12 17 13 12 (07)  — 61
FHS      14 12 12 16 (09) — 63

The Whiteoak Wildcats were back at home the following evening, gaining a non-conference win over the Bethel-Tate Tigers 76-50 on Saturday, Dec. 20. 

Whiteoak won the first frame at 17-12, then broke away with a 22-13 second frame for a halftime lead of 39-25. 

In the second half the Wildcats outscored Bethel-Tate 17-13 in the third and 20-12 in the fourth quarter. 

The Wildcats had two 20-plus point efforts in the win, led by Brady Brandenburg with 23 points as he made nine two-point baskets (he was 9-of-11 from the field), and he was also 5-of-8 from the free-throw line. Brandenburg also collected eight rebounds (six offensive). 

Sawyer Blair finished with 21 points by making six two-point baskets, and three 3-pointers. He also grabbed five rebounds, two assists and had a steal. 

Christopher Wessner ended the game with 15 points as he had two 3-pointers, three two-point baskets, six rebounds, three assists and one steal. 

Carson Hart finished the game with six points off two two-point baskets, and he was 2-of-3 from the free-throw line. Hart also added five rebounds to his overall totals for the game.

Whiteoak had five points scored by Lucas Pollard, including a 3-pointer and two-point basket, plus he totaled seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. 

Scoring four points for WHS was Conner Dickey with a 3-pointer and he was 1-of-2 from the free-throw line, plus Dickey also had one rebound. Evan Richmond reached the scoring column with two points, plus he had one rebound. WHS also saw Jason Gaskins collect six reboiunds, one steal and two assists. Jonah Michael had one rebound. 

After the two games, Whiteoak now stands at 1-3 in the SHAC Div. II standings and 2-4 overall. Bethel-Tate falls to 0-7 overall this season. 

Next for Whiteoak is an away non-conference game on Tuesday, Dec. 30 at Northwest High School against the Northwest Mohawks (5-3) in McDermott. 

BOX SCORE
BTHS    12 13 13 12 — 50
WHS      17 22 17 20 — 76