Wildcats unable to fend off Green Devils in 4th quarter

A jam-packed Whiteoak crowd bore witness to a hard-fought Southern Hills Athletic Conference game by the host Wildcats and the North Adams Green Devils Friday night.

After playing three closely contested quarters, the Green Devils pulled away in the final eight minutes to torch the Wildcats for a conference victory by a score of 57-40, keeping their second-place spot in Div. II of the SHAC.

Whiteoak (2-10, 4-14) won the opening tip, but it was short-lived, because the North Adams defense forced a turnover and took possession.

At the 6:50 mark, the game’s first basket was made, as North Adams’ Isaiah Anderson drained a short jump-shot to give the Green Devils (9-3, 12-7) an early lead.

Whiteoak head coach Jeremy McGraw called a timeout with 4:25 left in the first after a 6-0 run by the Green Devils to start the game.

Shortly thereafter, Whiteoak’s Chase Carraher drained two 3-pointers to get his team back into the game. Carraher led the Wildcats with a team-high 12 points.

Trever Yeager sank a layup for the Wildcats, who finished the quarter with a 10-8 lead.

Patrick England and Justin Knechtly aided North Adams in the second quarter by combining for four three-point baskets, along with solid defense by England and Anderson. England totaled six 3-pointers in the game.

On the other side, the Wildcats’ defense kept them in the lead, scoring four points off turnovers forced by Carraher and Jacob Burns. Teammate Kyle Marler helped the Wildcats with three points of his own, as he finished the game with 11 points.

When halftime arrived, the Wildcats led the nail biter, 23-22.

The second half became the Brandon Gingerich show. Playing like a man possessed, the 6-5 Green Devil was a one-man wrecking machine on defense and an offensive threat to be reckoned with.

Early in the third, Gingerich took a charge. At the 5:00 mark, Gingerich sank a layup with the assist going to teammate Cole Meade. Late in the third, Gingerich forced two Whiteoak turnovers and blocked a shot at the end of the quarter, leaving the score 32-29 in favor of the Green Devils. Gingerich totaled nine points, all coming in the second half.

Whiteoak’s Trevor Martin, Dylan Ison and Carraher scored the Wildcats’ six points in the third.

Brandon Ashbaugh was the first to score in the fourth quarter for the Wildcats, with a two-point basket. Gingerich and Trey Meade answered Ashbaugh’s basket by each adding one of their own. Meade’s basket came off a no-look pass from Anderson.

Gingerich swatted a pass by Whiteoak out of bounds to keep North Adams in the lead with 2:47 left in the final quarter. Meade, Anderson and Gingerich were all fouled in the final minutes of the quarter, combining for nine points from the free-throw line. Whiteoak’s Cody McClure sank two free throws of his own.

North Adams’ Christian Barnes and Ashbaugh scored the final baskets of the game. Ashbaugh was the third Wildcat player to finish in double digits, scoring 10 points on the night.

Rounding out the scoring for the Wildcats were McClure with three points and Burns and Yeager with two points apiece.

Trey Meade led the Green Devils with a game-high 19 points, followed by England with 18 points.