West Leads Whitko Over No. 7 Southwood
January 14, 2017 at 7:36 a.m.
West Leads Whitko Over No. 7 Southwood
By Mark [email protected]
But after halftime of the Wildcats’ game with 2A No. 7 Southwood, West went inside and out, hitting five of six shots in the third quarter and leading Whitko to a 62-58 win in Three Rivers Conference boys basketball action Friday.
West had 11 points in the third quarter, and his move closer to the hoop ultimately resulted in a career-high 26 points.
“That’s something that people don’t know about his game; the kid can finish around the rim,” Whitko head coach Eli Henson said. “Our adjustment going in to the second half was to put him on the baseline. We saw how wide open it was in the first half, and we wanted to put someone who could extend the defense out to the corner, then go in and finish.
“River hit nine 2s tonight, and I’d bet six or seven were down low in the paint. It was great to see him score in a way he’s not really known for.”
After the Knights’ Matthew Nose hit a three to forge a 5-5 tie in the first quarter, Whitko led the rest of the way. But Southwood, coming off a loss to Oak Hill, wasn’t interested in going away easily.
Whitko got off to a lead late in the first quarter thanks to center Spencer Sroufe. The 6-foot-7 sophomore had 10 points, six rebounds and a block in the opening period, staking his team to a 20-15 lead.
Sroufe finished with a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds.
“(Sroufe) got that first dunk tonight, and when he does that he brings some excitement to us,” Henson said. “We knew they’d leave the middle wide open, and when we put him in the high post, he’s got the ability to drive on you. People saw that tonight, and he stepped up huge with 10 points right off the bat.”
Whitko’s biggest lead was seven points midway through the third quarter, and Southwood tied the game at 58 in the final minute. After Nate Walpole hit a pair of free throws, Nose tried a three from the left corner that circled the rim, hit the backboard and fell away. West was fouled in the ensuing scrum, and his two free throws with eight seconds left sealed the win.
Walpole hit four three-pointers and finished with 18 points on the night. But Whitko went 6 of 20 from beyond the arc, while Southwood hit 10 of 23 three-pointers.
“We love to shoot threes, and we’re a good three-point shooting team. We made just six tonight, and probably missed a lot, but we had a lot of good looks, too,” Henson said.
“But you lose games by falling in love with the three. You can win games with them, but you can dang sure lose them, too. And you gotta have an inside presence, and those guys stepped up.”
Southwood had four players in double figures; Carson Blair had 18 points, Nose had 15, Dallas Holmes 12 and Peyton Trexler 11.
After dropping five straight, including three multiple-overtime games, Whitko (7-5 overall, 3-1 TRC) has turned things around and won three consecutive games.
The victory Friday was especially sweet for the Wildcats.
“We’ve lost a lot of close games. Those kids needed that (win). We knew they were going to keep coming; they’re a good team and ranked seventh in the state for a reason. We knew they’d stay right with us the whole way, and it’s good for us to pull one out like that.
“We got lucky when (Nose) missed that three, in and out, but hey, we’ve had a lot of unlucky things happen to us. That was one that could have gone either way, and we pulled it out. Everybody that took the floor tonight played a key role in the win.”
Whitko will host Adams Central in a non-conference game Tuesday night.
WHITKO 62, SOUTHWOOD 58
S 15 12 13 18 – 58
W 20 10 14 18 – 62
Southwood – Jeffrey Finicle 0-3 0-0 0, Dallas Holmes 4-13 0-0 12, Peyton Trexler 5-11 0-0 11, Blake Martz 1-8 0-0 2, Carson Blair 7-14 0-1 18, Paul Farlow 0-0 0-0 0, Matthew Nose 5-12 4-6 15. Totals 22-61 4-7 58.
Whitko – Alex Bechtold 1-5 0-0 2, Colin Craig 1-0 0-2 2, Alex Robbins 0-3 0-0 0, Nate Walpole 5-15 4-4 18, River West 11-18 2-2 26, Spencer Sroufe 7-10 0-1 14. Totals 25-53 6-7 62.
Three-pointers – Southwood 10 (Holmes 4, Blair 4, Trexler, Nose), Whitko 6 (Walpole 4, West 2); Rebounds – Southwood 31 (Holmes 7, Nose 7); Whitko 32 (Sroufe 13); Turnovers – Southwood 12, Whitko 15; Fouls – southwood 12, Whitko 6; Fouled out – none; Records: Southwood 7-3 (2-1 TRC), Whitko 7-5 (3-1 TRC)
JV – Southwood 49, Whitko 33
Whitko – Micah Cokl 12, Clayton Ebbinghouse 6, Cade Bechtold 6, Cody Swick 4, Trae Arnold 3, Shad Ebbinghouse 2
But after halftime of the Wildcats’ game with 2A No. 7 Southwood, West went inside and out, hitting five of six shots in the third quarter and leading Whitko to a 62-58 win in Three Rivers Conference boys basketball action Friday.
West had 11 points in the third quarter, and his move closer to the hoop ultimately resulted in a career-high 26 points.
“That’s something that people don’t know about his game; the kid can finish around the rim,” Whitko head coach Eli Henson said. “Our adjustment going in to the second half was to put him on the baseline. We saw how wide open it was in the first half, and we wanted to put someone who could extend the defense out to the corner, then go in and finish.
“River hit nine 2s tonight, and I’d bet six or seven were down low in the paint. It was great to see him score in a way he’s not really known for.”
After the Knights’ Matthew Nose hit a three to forge a 5-5 tie in the first quarter, Whitko led the rest of the way. But Southwood, coming off a loss to Oak Hill, wasn’t interested in going away easily.
Whitko got off to a lead late in the first quarter thanks to center Spencer Sroufe. The 6-foot-7 sophomore had 10 points, six rebounds and a block in the opening period, staking his team to a 20-15 lead.
Sroufe finished with a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds.
“(Sroufe) got that first dunk tonight, and when he does that he brings some excitement to us,” Henson said. “We knew they’d leave the middle wide open, and when we put him in the high post, he’s got the ability to drive on you. People saw that tonight, and he stepped up huge with 10 points right off the bat.”
Whitko’s biggest lead was seven points midway through the third quarter, and Southwood tied the game at 58 in the final minute. After Nate Walpole hit a pair of free throws, Nose tried a three from the left corner that circled the rim, hit the backboard and fell away. West was fouled in the ensuing scrum, and his two free throws with eight seconds left sealed the win.
Walpole hit four three-pointers and finished with 18 points on the night. But Whitko went 6 of 20 from beyond the arc, while Southwood hit 10 of 23 three-pointers.
“We love to shoot threes, and we’re a good three-point shooting team. We made just six tonight, and probably missed a lot, but we had a lot of good looks, too,” Henson said.
“But you lose games by falling in love with the three. You can win games with them, but you can dang sure lose them, too. And you gotta have an inside presence, and those guys stepped up.”
Southwood had four players in double figures; Carson Blair had 18 points, Nose had 15, Dallas Holmes 12 and Peyton Trexler 11.
After dropping five straight, including three multiple-overtime games, Whitko (7-5 overall, 3-1 TRC) has turned things around and won three consecutive games.
The victory Friday was especially sweet for the Wildcats.
“We’ve lost a lot of close games. Those kids needed that (win). We knew they were going to keep coming; they’re a good team and ranked seventh in the state for a reason. We knew they’d stay right with us the whole way, and it’s good for us to pull one out like that.
“We got lucky when (Nose) missed that three, in and out, but hey, we’ve had a lot of unlucky things happen to us. That was one that could have gone either way, and we pulled it out. Everybody that took the floor tonight played a key role in the win.”
Whitko will host Adams Central in a non-conference game Tuesday night.
WHITKO 62, SOUTHWOOD 58
S 15 12 13 18 – 58
W 20 10 14 18 – 62
Southwood – Jeffrey Finicle 0-3 0-0 0, Dallas Holmes 4-13 0-0 12, Peyton Trexler 5-11 0-0 11, Blake Martz 1-8 0-0 2, Carson Blair 7-14 0-1 18, Paul Farlow 0-0 0-0 0, Matthew Nose 5-12 4-6 15. Totals 22-61 4-7 58.
Whitko – Alex Bechtold 1-5 0-0 2, Colin Craig 1-0 0-2 2, Alex Robbins 0-3 0-0 0, Nate Walpole 5-15 4-4 18, River West 11-18 2-2 26, Spencer Sroufe 7-10 0-1 14. Totals 25-53 6-7 62.
Three-pointers – Southwood 10 (Holmes 4, Blair 4, Trexler, Nose), Whitko 6 (Walpole 4, West 2); Rebounds – Southwood 31 (Holmes 7, Nose 7); Whitko 32 (Sroufe 13); Turnovers – Southwood 12, Whitko 15; Fouls – southwood 12, Whitko 6; Fouled out – none; Records: Southwood 7-3 (2-1 TRC), Whitko 7-5 (3-1 TRC)
JV – Southwood 49, Whitko 33
Whitko – Micah Cokl 12, Clayton Ebbinghouse 6, Cade Bechtold 6, Cody Swick 4, Trae Arnold 3, Shad Ebbinghouse 2
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