Wildcats dominate Western Latham in sectional semifinal
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LUCASVILLE — The postseason is a new season for the Whiteoak Wildcats, and how their regular-season slate ended doesn't matter anymore. All that matters is winning on a game-by-game basis, and that is what the Wildcats did Tuesday at Valley High School in Lucasville.
The Wildcats (7-14) not only broke a five-game losing streak that ended their regular season on a low note, but they won in dominating fashion, controlling the second half against the Western Latham Indians, en route to a 70-41 victory.
WHS, a No. 7 seed, advances to a sectional final game on Wednesday, Feb. 29 when they will face No. 2-seeded South Webster at 8 p.m. at VHS. The winner will advance to the district tournament at the Ohio University Convocation Center in Athens, on March 6.
"While we were disappointed with how our regular season went, this is a new season. That's what we've focused on this week," Whiteoak head coach Tom Wessner said. "We are 1-0 right now, and in a sectional championship game, which is where we wanted to be all along.
"We need to try to move on from here and see how it goes. We are going to get back to work, watch some tapes, work on some things and hopefully put a good game plan together this week."
WHS was led by four junior players who scored in double figures, with Gage Carraher leading with 19 points, followed by Doc Seip with 18, Zach Docter with 13 and Luke Taggert with 11.
Also adding to the overall scoring for the Wildcats was Blake Trublood, Tyler Williams, Nick Wardlow and Graham Douglas, all with two points apiece. Jason Jones added one point.
Tuesday's Division IV SE District sectional semifinal game wasn't up to the pace the Wildcats are accustomed to, as the slower-paced first half by Western (3-18) made for low scoring. The pace didn't affect the Wildcat defense, as they led 11-2 after the first frame.
By the time the second frame ended, the Wildcats led 26-16, with 12 of the 16 Western points coming from the free-throw line in the first half.
[[In-content Ad]]The third quarter was the difference maker for WHS, outscoring the Indians 17-8.
"We were leaving too many gaps, leaving too many guys open in the first half, and I felt we were fouling way too much," Wessner said. "We switched to a zone, just to stay between them and the basket and to move our feet in a smaller space … and luckily it worked out."
As for the Wildcat first-half scoring, they opened the game with eight straight points by Docter, Seip, Carraher and Taggert. Taggert made it an 8-0 score with 1:36 left in the quarter. Following two free throws by the Indians, Carraher made the score 11-2 with six seconds left in the quarter with a 3-pointer.
The second quarter was also in Whiteoak's advantage at 15-14, but again, their defense held the Indians to two field goal baskets. The final 10 points of the half by Western came at the free-throw line.
A majority of the WHS points in the second frame came from Docter, as the junior scored seven points in the quarter. Three of those points came via the 3-ball, a wide-open shot right in front of the Indians' bench, putting the Wildcats ahead 20-10 with 2:01 remaining in the opening half.
Following a free throw by the Indians, Docter sank a put-back basket. Later in the quarter, Carraher powered his way to the hoop for an 11-point Wildcat lead.
"The first half started off in a way that wasn't our style," Wessner said. "They had us playing a game that we didn't want to play, so we just made some adjustments offensively. We made sure we got the ball to the right people, with Gage and Doc shooting the ball so well.
"We also needed to get to the free-throw line more, and I thought we did a much better job of that in the second half."
In the third, WHS outscored the Indians 17-8, with Carraher opening the quarter with two free throws, as both teams combined to take 52 free throws on the night. WHS finished 16-of-25 from the charity stripe, and Western was 19-of-27.
Taggert followed up the free throws by Carraher with a layup at the 5:09 mark of the third, and Docter equaled that feat with transition points, putting WHS ahead by 16 points (32-16) with 4:37 left on the clock.
WHS ended the third on an 11-8 run with points from Seip and Taggert, including a three-point play by Taggert with 36.5 left on the clock, as WHS took a 43-24 advantage.
In the fourth, WHS had scoring from Jones, Docter, Williams, Wardlow, Seip, Douglas, Taggert and Carraher. The eight players worked together for a 27-point fourth quarter.
Seip made the score 47-29 when he scored on a layup basket, with the assist by Wes Stratton, leaving 6:26 on the clock.
Leading the Indians in scoring were Nick Shawks with 14 points and Colton Lightle with 13. The Indians finish the season at 3-18 overall.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
WL 02 14 08 17 — 41
WHS 11 15 17 27 — 70
INDIVIDUAL STATS
WHS (70)
W.Stratton 0 (0) 0-2 0
B.Trublood 1 (0) 0-1 2
J.Jones 0 (0) 1-2 1
Z.Docter 3 (1) 4-6 13
T.Williams 1 (0) 0-0 2
N.Wardlow 1 (0) 0-0 2
D.Seip 8 (0) 2-5 18
G.Douglas 0 (0) 2-2 2
L.Taggert 5 (0) 1-1 11
G.Carraher 5 (1) 6-6 19
TOTALS: 24 (2) 16-25 70
WL (41)
C.Ross 0 (0) 2-2 2
B.Knauff 0 (0) 2-2 2
C.Grooms 0 (0) 1-2 1
C.Lightle 0 (2) 7-10 13
C.Fite 0 (0) 2-2 2
E.Riggs 1 (0) 0-0 2
N.Shawks 5 (0) 4-7 14
B.Brewster 2 (0) 1-2 5
TOTALS: 8 (2) 19-27 41
The Wildcats (7-14) not only broke a five-game losing streak that ended their regular season on a low note, but they won in dominating fashion, controlling the second half against the Western Latham Indians, en route to a 70-41 victory.
WHS, a No. 7 seed, advances to a sectional final game on Wednesday, Feb. 29 when they will face No. 2-seeded South Webster at 8 p.m. at VHS. The winner will advance to the district tournament at the Ohio University Convocation Center in Athens, on March 6.
"While we were disappointed with how our regular season went, this is a new season. That's what we've focused on this week," Whiteoak head coach Tom Wessner said. "We are 1-0 right now, and in a sectional championship game, which is where we wanted to be all along.
"We need to try to move on from here and see how it goes. We are going to get back to work, watch some tapes, work on some things and hopefully put a good game plan together this week."
WHS was led by four junior players who scored in double figures, with Gage Carraher leading with 19 points, followed by Doc Seip with 18, Zach Docter with 13 and Luke Taggert with 11.
Also adding to the overall scoring for the Wildcats was Blake Trublood, Tyler Williams, Nick Wardlow and Graham Douglas, all with two points apiece. Jason Jones added one point.
Tuesday's Division IV SE District sectional semifinal game wasn't up to the pace the Wildcats are accustomed to, as the slower-paced first half by Western (3-18) made for low scoring. The pace didn't affect the Wildcat defense, as they led 11-2 after the first frame.
By the time the second frame ended, the Wildcats led 26-16, with 12 of the 16 Western points coming from the free-throw line in the first half.
[[In-content Ad]]The third quarter was the difference maker for WHS, outscoring the Indians 17-8.
"We were leaving too many gaps, leaving too many guys open in the first half, and I felt we were fouling way too much," Wessner said. "We switched to a zone, just to stay between them and the basket and to move our feet in a smaller space … and luckily it worked out."
As for the Wildcat first-half scoring, they opened the game with eight straight points by Docter, Seip, Carraher and Taggert. Taggert made it an 8-0 score with 1:36 left in the quarter. Following two free throws by the Indians, Carraher made the score 11-2 with six seconds left in the quarter with a 3-pointer.
The second quarter was also in Whiteoak's advantage at 15-14, but again, their defense held the Indians to two field goal baskets. The final 10 points of the half by Western came at the free-throw line.
A majority of the WHS points in the second frame came from Docter, as the junior scored seven points in the quarter. Three of those points came via the 3-ball, a wide-open shot right in front of the Indians' bench, putting the Wildcats ahead 20-10 with 2:01 remaining in the opening half.
Following a free throw by the Indians, Docter sank a put-back basket. Later in the quarter, Carraher powered his way to the hoop for an 11-point Wildcat lead.
"The first half started off in a way that wasn't our style," Wessner said. "They had us playing a game that we didn't want to play, so we just made some adjustments offensively. We made sure we got the ball to the right people, with Gage and Doc shooting the ball so well.
"We also needed to get to the free-throw line more, and I thought we did a much better job of that in the second half."
In the third, WHS outscored the Indians 17-8, with Carraher opening the quarter with two free throws, as both teams combined to take 52 free throws on the night. WHS finished 16-of-25 from the charity stripe, and Western was 19-of-27.
Taggert followed up the free throws by Carraher with a layup at the 5:09 mark of the third, and Docter equaled that feat with transition points, putting WHS ahead by 16 points (32-16) with 4:37 left on the clock.
WHS ended the third on an 11-8 run with points from Seip and Taggert, including a three-point play by Taggert with 36.5 left on the clock, as WHS took a 43-24 advantage.
In the fourth, WHS had scoring from Jones, Docter, Williams, Wardlow, Seip, Douglas, Taggert and Carraher. The eight players worked together for a 27-point fourth quarter.
Seip made the score 47-29 when he scored on a layup basket, with the assist by Wes Stratton, leaving 6:26 on the clock.
Leading the Indians in scoring were Nick Shawks with 14 points and Colton Lightle with 13. The Indians finish the season at 3-18 overall.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
WL 02 14 08 17 — 41
WHS 11 15 17 27 — 70
INDIVIDUAL STATS
WHS (70)
W.Stratton 0 (0) 0-2 0
B.Trublood 1 (0) 0-1 2
J.Jones 0 (0) 1-2 1
Z.Docter 3 (1) 4-6 13
T.Williams 1 (0) 0-0 2
N.Wardlow 1 (0) 0-0 2
D.Seip 8 (0) 2-5 18
G.Douglas 0 (0) 2-2 2
L.Taggert 5 (0) 1-1 11
G.Carraher 5 (1) 6-6 19
TOTALS: 24 (2) 16-25 70
WL (41)
C.Ross 0 (0) 2-2 2
B.Knauff 0 (0) 2-2 2
C.Grooms 0 (0) 1-2 1
C.Lightle 0 (2) 7-10 13
C.Fite 0 (0) 2-2 2
E.Riggs 1 (0) 0-0 2
N.Shawks 5 (0) 4-7 14
B.Brewster 2 (0) 1-2 5
TOTALS: 8 (2) 19-27 41