Whiteoak battles back from 13-point deficit to defeat rival Lynchburg-Clay
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
MOWRYSTOWN — The “never say quit” attitude of the Whiteoak Wildcats was on full display Friday night as they hosted their Southern Hills Athletic Conference rival Lynchburg-Clay. At one point of the game, in the second quarter, the Wildcats trailed by as many as 13 points.
Hanging strong against a quality Lynchburg-Clay squad, the Wildcats gradually chipped away at the lead of the Mustangs, eventually making it a four-point deficit at halftime, then taking the lead by a single point by the time the third quarter ended.
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In the fourth, the Wildcats had the lead twice, the Mustangs held the lead once and the score was tied twice. Whiteoak’s Trever Yeager was clutch at the free-throw line with 12.8 left in the fourth, breaking the tied 54-54 score. Following a timeout with 4.6 seconds on the clock, the Mustangs had one last chance to tie or to win the game. They had a good look at the basket on a 3-pointer attempt, but it was off, allowing the Wildcats to gain a 56-54 SHAC win over their Highland County counterpart.
“Kudos to Matt (Carson), he had his team ready for us,” Whiteoak head coach Blake Kibler said. “That’s a tough matchup because (Eric) McLaughlin is a special player, and he hit a couple big shots down the stretch against us, but our kids never lost faith. We keep stressing ‘winners win,’ and we found a way to win.
“We hit some big free throws down the stretch, and we just keep finding ways to win.”
Kibler spoke about the final sequence of events with the Wildcats defending the final shot of the game.
“We were trying to overplay McLaughlin because Pierson and McLaughlin were our top two priorities the whole game, and we couldn’t let Pierson get hot,” Kibler said. “They got a decent look at at the end, but it didn’t fall for them.”
Whiteoak (9-9) has won their past two games this week, also defeating the Fairfield Lions, 64-55 to get to the .500 mark overall and 5-7 in the Division II conference standings, third place in the SHAC. The loss sends LC to 5-5 in the SHAC (fourth place in the Div. I SHAC standings) and 8-7 overall.
The win by the Wildcats was the first time the Wildcats have defeated the Mustangs since Jan. 4, 2013 at Whiteoak by a 67-57 score.
Lynchburg-Clay coach Matt Carson also spoke about the SHAC game.
“Congratulations to Coach Kibler and his program. That is a big win for them, and they’ll use that for momentum going forward for their tournament seeding,” Carson said. “It was a back-and-forth affair, and we knew that is what it would be. We got them down by 13 in the second quarter, and we had a chance to put a foot on the gas and we didn’t do that.
“Credit our kids, we made some stops when we had to. Eric hit some big shots, and I told the coaches at the end I always believe we have a chance with him out on the floor every single night. We did some things tonight that have been uncharacteristic of us all year … we hit 10-of-18 from the free-throw line, and we normally don’t do that. If we hit two or three somewhere, it maybe changes the complexion of the ball game a little bit. Again, both teams played hard, and we had our chances, but I want to tip my hat to a good, well-played ball game by two county rivals.”
LC was the first to score in the game with Noble Walker scoring two points on a layup, only to see Yeager — who totaled 18 points in the win — equal the feat with a layup of his own, followed by two converted free throws by Zach Rand at the 4:20 mark of the first, as he finished the game with 11 points.
In fact, free throws were of great importance in the game, as the Wildcats were 14-of-22 (64 percent) and the Mustangs were 10-of-18 for (56 percent).
As the first frame continued, LC had points from Damin Pierson and Eric McLaughlin (six points in the first) to lead 11-10 after eight minutes. To get that score, McLaughlin scored the final points of the first off a 3-pointer at the 1:31 mark, making the shot from the corner of the court. The remainder of Whiteoak’s points in the first frame were from Charley Skinner and Michael Crowe.
The Mustangs build up their lead in a big way in the early stages of the second quarter with Pierson adding two points with a bucket in the paint, but WHS answered quickly with a layup of their own by Yeager to make it a on-point game yet again. The Mustangs had an answer in their intensity in the paint with a rebound and put back bucket by Raymond Conner, and then they showed ability to shoot from long range with a 3-pointer by Chris Young with 5:07 on the scoreboard for an 18-12 score and forcing the Wildcats to call a timeout.
Whiteoak scored following the timeout with a layup by Yeager, only to see the Mustangs go on a 6-0 scoring run in a span of 34 seconds with a 3-pointer by Walker, a free throw make by McLaughlin and two more points from Walker, this time from the free-throw line. McLaughlin led the Mustangs with 23 points.
The Wildcats answered with two points from Stephen Ross, but there were the Mustangs waiting in the wings with another 3-pointer by Walker at the 2:10 mark and a jumper by Pierson for a 29-16 lead. Pierson totaled nine points in the loss.
Having what was the largest deficit of the game to overcome, the Wildcats — as they have done so on more than one occasion this season — didn’t get flustered, and as Coach Kibler said, “saw the glass half full, not half empty.” Whiteoak went on an 11-0 run from the 1:59 mark of the second to the 53.6 mark, making the deficit just two points at 29-27.
“Our kids just keep playing,” Kibler said. “They never get down. In the huddles and at the half in the locker room, we try to stay positive with them. We are a coaching staff that believes in ‘the glass is half full’ type of mentality, instead of panicking.”
Whiteoak’s comeback began with two points from the free-throw line by Rand, followed by a steal and layup by Traeten Hamilton. The Wildcats forced a turnover, then capitalized with two points from Ross and a free throw by Yeager. Ross finished the game with eight points.
The run continued with a steal and layup from Hamilton (who totaled eight overall points), then a put-back by Rand made it the aforementioned 29-27 score with 53.6 remaining in the opening half. Pierson added two free throws at the end of the second frame for the halftime score of 31-27.
The third frame was in favor of the Wildcats outscoring the Mustangs, 13-8 with points from Yeager, Crowe, Ross and Rand. Crowe made it a three-point game with a 3-pointer at the 5:10 mark, and by the time the quarter had ended, it was Crowe who sank two free throws with 9.9 on the clock for the 40-39 Wildcats lead going into the fourth frame, finishing the game with seven total points.
The final quarter of play was intense, to say the least, as WHS won the frame at 16-15. In the fourth, LC had four 3-pointers with three from McLaughlin and one by Walker — who totaled 13 points for the game — as they were the two lone LC players to score points in the fourth. McLaughlin scored 12 points in the final frame, tying the score three times in the quarter at 42, 51 and 54. After McLaughlin tied the score at 54, that’s when Yeager made the two final free throws that sealed the win for Whiteoak with 12.8 left in regulation.
Being 9-9 after 18 games, Kibler answered if this is where he thought his team would be at this point of the season after inheriting a program that had one SHAC win and won four games overall last season.
“We always want to win a sectional, and going to the Convo is always at the top of the list, but competing and having a winning season was right there too,” Kibler said. “I came back for a purpose, and it was to get this program going back in the right direction, and it is going there. The kids have responded beautifully.”
Next for the Mustangs is a SHAC makeup road game on Saturday, Feb. 3 at West Union. The Wildcats will play again Saturday at Northwest.
Hanging strong against a quality Lynchburg-Clay squad, the Wildcats gradually chipped away at the lead of the Mustangs, eventually making it a four-point deficit at halftime, then taking the lead by a single point by the time the third quarter ended.
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In the fourth, the Wildcats had the lead twice, the Mustangs held the lead once and the score was tied twice. Whiteoak’s Trever Yeager was clutch at the free-throw line with 12.8 left in the fourth, breaking the tied 54-54 score. Following a timeout with 4.6 seconds on the clock, the Mustangs had one last chance to tie or to win the game. They had a good look at the basket on a 3-pointer attempt, but it was off, allowing the Wildcats to gain a 56-54 SHAC win over their Highland County counterpart.
“Kudos to Matt (Carson), he had his team ready for us,” Whiteoak head coach Blake Kibler said. “That’s a tough matchup because (Eric) McLaughlin is a special player, and he hit a couple big shots down the stretch against us, but our kids never lost faith. We keep stressing ‘winners win,’ and we found a way to win.
“We hit some big free throws down the stretch, and we just keep finding ways to win.”
Kibler spoke about the final sequence of events with the Wildcats defending the final shot of the game.
“We were trying to overplay McLaughlin because Pierson and McLaughlin were our top two priorities the whole game, and we couldn’t let Pierson get hot,” Kibler said. “They got a decent look at at the end, but it didn’t fall for them.”
Whiteoak (9-9) has won their past two games this week, also defeating the Fairfield Lions, 64-55 to get to the .500 mark overall and 5-7 in the Division II conference standings, third place in the SHAC. The loss sends LC to 5-5 in the SHAC (fourth place in the Div. I SHAC standings) and 8-7 overall.
The win by the Wildcats was the first time the Wildcats have defeated the Mustangs since Jan. 4, 2013 at Whiteoak by a 67-57 score.
Lynchburg-Clay coach Matt Carson also spoke about the SHAC game.
“Congratulations to Coach Kibler and his program. That is a big win for them, and they’ll use that for momentum going forward for their tournament seeding,” Carson said. “It was a back-and-forth affair, and we knew that is what it would be. We got them down by 13 in the second quarter, and we had a chance to put a foot on the gas and we didn’t do that.
“Credit our kids, we made some stops when we had to. Eric hit some big shots, and I told the coaches at the end I always believe we have a chance with him out on the floor every single night. We did some things tonight that have been uncharacteristic of us all year … we hit 10-of-18 from the free-throw line, and we normally don’t do that. If we hit two or three somewhere, it maybe changes the complexion of the ball game a little bit. Again, both teams played hard, and we had our chances, but I want to tip my hat to a good, well-played ball game by two county rivals.”
LC was the first to score in the game with Noble Walker scoring two points on a layup, only to see Yeager — who totaled 18 points in the win — equal the feat with a layup of his own, followed by two converted free throws by Zach Rand at the 4:20 mark of the first, as he finished the game with 11 points.
In fact, free throws were of great importance in the game, as the Wildcats were 14-of-22 (64 percent) and the Mustangs were 10-of-18 for (56 percent).
As the first frame continued, LC had points from Damin Pierson and Eric McLaughlin (six points in the first) to lead 11-10 after eight minutes. To get that score, McLaughlin scored the final points of the first off a 3-pointer at the 1:31 mark, making the shot from the corner of the court. The remainder of Whiteoak’s points in the first frame were from Charley Skinner and Michael Crowe.
The Mustangs build up their lead in a big way in the early stages of the second quarter with Pierson adding two points with a bucket in the paint, but WHS answered quickly with a layup of their own by Yeager to make it a on-point game yet again. The Mustangs had an answer in their intensity in the paint with a rebound and put back bucket by Raymond Conner, and then they showed ability to shoot from long range with a 3-pointer by Chris Young with 5:07 on the scoreboard for an 18-12 score and forcing the Wildcats to call a timeout.
Whiteoak scored following the timeout with a layup by Yeager, only to see the Mustangs go on a 6-0 scoring run in a span of 34 seconds with a 3-pointer by Walker, a free throw make by McLaughlin and two more points from Walker, this time from the free-throw line. McLaughlin led the Mustangs with 23 points.
The Wildcats answered with two points from Stephen Ross, but there were the Mustangs waiting in the wings with another 3-pointer by Walker at the 2:10 mark and a jumper by Pierson for a 29-16 lead. Pierson totaled nine points in the loss.
Having what was the largest deficit of the game to overcome, the Wildcats — as they have done so on more than one occasion this season — didn’t get flustered, and as Coach Kibler said, “saw the glass half full, not half empty.” Whiteoak went on an 11-0 run from the 1:59 mark of the second to the 53.6 mark, making the deficit just two points at 29-27.
“Our kids just keep playing,” Kibler said. “They never get down. In the huddles and at the half in the locker room, we try to stay positive with them. We are a coaching staff that believes in ‘the glass is half full’ type of mentality, instead of panicking.”
Whiteoak’s comeback began with two points from the free-throw line by Rand, followed by a steal and layup by Traeten Hamilton. The Wildcats forced a turnover, then capitalized with two points from Ross and a free throw by Yeager. Ross finished the game with eight points.
The run continued with a steal and layup from Hamilton (who totaled eight overall points), then a put-back by Rand made it the aforementioned 29-27 score with 53.6 remaining in the opening half. Pierson added two free throws at the end of the second frame for the halftime score of 31-27.
The third frame was in favor of the Wildcats outscoring the Mustangs, 13-8 with points from Yeager, Crowe, Ross and Rand. Crowe made it a three-point game with a 3-pointer at the 5:10 mark, and by the time the quarter had ended, it was Crowe who sank two free throws with 9.9 on the clock for the 40-39 Wildcats lead going into the fourth frame, finishing the game with seven total points.
The final quarter of play was intense, to say the least, as WHS won the frame at 16-15. In the fourth, LC had four 3-pointers with three from McLaughlin and one by Walker — who totaled 13 points for the game — as they were the two lone LC players to score points in the fourth. McLaughlin scored 12 points in the final frame, tying the score three times in the quarter at 42, 51 and 54. After McLaughlin tied the score at 54, that’s when Yeager made the two final free throws that sealed the win for Whiteoak with 12.8 left in regulation.
Being 9-9 after 18 games, Kibler answered if this is where he thought his team would be at this point of the season after inheriting a program that had one SHAC win and won four games overall last season.
“We always want to win a sectional, and going to the Convo is always at the top of the list, but competing and having a winning season was right there too,” Kibler said. “I came back for a purpose, and it was to get this program going back in the right direction, and it is going there. The kids have responded beautifully.”
Next for the Mustangs is a SHAC makeup road game on Saturday, Feb. 3 at West Union. The Wildcats will play again Saturday at Northwest.