Wildcats gain home win off late points against CNE

MOWRYSTOWN — This time, the Whiteoak Wildcats came away as the victors in a close non-conference game, and they did so by scoring clutch points with very little time on the clock and then coming back on the other side of the court with defense to force a turnover.

The Wildcats (1-1) lost their lead with 2:00 left in the fourth frame, but instead of being flustered on the court, the young Wildcats came back with a vengeance, using a play where they took advantage when the opponent Clermont Northeastern went one way, and the Wildcats sneaked up with a two-point basket by senior Brandon Ashbaugh to take a 57-56 lead with 25 seconds left in regulation.

From there, the Rockets of CNE called a timeout, and when play resumed, the Wildcats eventually forced one final turnover with 4.2 seconds on the clock, leading to Trevor Martin making two free throws and sealing a 59-56 non-conference victory.

This was not only the first victory of the season for the Wildcats, but it was their first win since Feb. 6, when they gained their lone win last season against North Adams. It was also the Wildcats’ first win at home since February 2013.

Following the win, fans and students waited for the Wildcats to exit their locker room to a standing ovation with cheers and high-fives, and for head coach Jeremy McGraw, he was there to greet every player following the victory as they walked down the hallway to the admiration of their supporters.

“They battled extremely hard (Tuesday), and that’s the thing, we compete every day in practice for when we get into a situation like this,” McGraw told The Highland County Press. “We were able to turn the corner and win this game. Unfortunately, we didn’t win the close one against Felicity to start the season, but I think this is really going to help us, because we really needed a win like that.”

Looking back at the fourth quarter and the aforementioned timeout after taking the lead, McGraw spoke about what he said to his team before they returned to the court.

“I told them if we go down there and make a stop, the game is over,” he said. “We preach all day long that when we score, we have to get back on defense and make a stop, and we did that.”

McGraw also spoke about the go-ahead play perfected by Ashbaugh and his teammates to regain the lead by one point with 25 seconds on the clock.

“We executed that same play earlier in the game, and we went back to it thinking they are going to be gambling and trying to get a stop, and we thought we could bait them in with the double screen on the back side,” McGraw said. “I knew they were going to key in on Ashbaugh, so we wanted to bait them on the ball fake to the outside … and we executed that perfectly, and he made a great shot.

“I can’t say enough about our seniors and our program. They are tremendous leaders for us. They do great things on and off the floor. Brandon, not only with his offensive game, but we ask him to do so much with rebounding and his defense.”

Ashbaugh led the Wildcats with 24 points on the night, along with four rebounds and three steals.

Two other seniors McGraw spoke highly of were Kyle Marler and Jacob Burns due to their performances against the Rockets.

Marler played 14 minutes, and in those minutes, he totaled eight points, two offensive rebounds and two assists. Burns was given a shoutout for his defensive play by guarding CNE’s top player.

“Kyle’s offensive boards in the third quarter when we lost some energy … he got some offensive boards and did great things for us,” McGraw said. “Burns, we wanted him to stay on [CNE leading scorer Nick Ernst], and he did an excellent, excellent job on him. I can’t say enough about those seniors, and I’m just proud of this team. This was a heck of a bounce-back win after losing a close one to Felicity.”

Looking back at the path to the win on Tuesday night at their home gym, the Wildcats were tied after the first frame at 12-12, though at one point in the first frame they led by a 12-8 score, gaining that lead off a 3-pointer from sophomore Chase Carraher with 1:20 left on the first-quarter clock. WHS even began the game with a 3-pointer with Burns sinking the shot with 7:37 on the clock.

At the conclusion of the second frame, the Wildcats led by a 31-25 score, but it was the Rockets who tied the score at 21 with 2:27 left in the second, then again at 23 and later at 25-25 with 1:25 left in the opening half.

The Wildcats responded with a 7-0 run to end the quarter with points from Ashbaugh off a free throw and five consecutive points by Martin, including a three-point play with 33 seconds left in the quarter. Martin totaled 10 points.

CNE came out strong in the third quarter with two consecutive 3-pointers by Kody Boyd and Nick Ernst, who led CNE with 18 points, including four 3-pointers in the game.

Whiteoak answered with six straight points from Marler, off rebounds that turned into layups, for a 37-31 Wildcat advantage with 4:52 left in the third. Marler finished the game with six points, two rebounds and two assists.

As the quarter continued, the Rockets didn’t let up, tying the score at 40-40 off a layup as the scoreboard read 1:09 in the third. CNE took the lead at 43-42 in the final seconds of the quarter with a 3-pointer from Ernst, his third such connection from beyond the arc in the quarter.

The fourth quarter began with WHS regaining the lead at 44-43, the first of a total of five times, as the fifth time was the aforementioned go-ahead, game-winning shot from Ashbaugh. The fourth saw the score tied at 46, 49 and 51 points as the last time came with 2:03 left in regulation.

After regaining the lead for good with 25 seconds on the clock, WHS added a little extra cushion to their lead with two free throws from Martin to seal the three-point win.

The Wildcats won the JV and freshman games against CNE, giving WHS the sweep for the night.

WHS is back in action at home this Friday night when they host the Peebles Indians in Southern Hills Athletic Conference play.