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Whiteoak tops Peebles, 62-53

Lead Summary
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By Colin Ryan
The Highland County Press


MOWRYSTOWN – The Whiteoak Wildcats improved to 2-1 on the season with a 62-53 victory over the Peebles Indians Friday, Dec. 7.

The Wildcats were led by junior Hunter Ruckel with 24 points, and senior Zach Rand, who had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Junior Weston Browning and sophomore Oakley Burba led the Indians with 19 and 10 points, respectively.

“The first league win in front of a good crowd felt good,” WHS Coach Blake Kibler said.

The first basket of the game was scored by Browning of the Indians with a break-away, two-point basket.

Ruckel responded with one of his own on the next possession. Rand scored the next five points for Whiteoak, his total for the quarter.

Brayden Yeager scored four points for the Wildcats in the quarter, including two on an offensive rebound and put-back, and Ruckel finished with four points in the period.

Browning finished the first quarter with three points, Burba with seven and Gage Crothers with two.

Browning scored 10 points in the second quarter. Burba added two more points to keep the game close.

Alex Camp nailed a long two-point basket and sank two free throws in two attempts. Easton Wesley came off the bench for the Indians and provided solid defense, blocking back-to-back shots by the Wildcats.

The Wildcats opened the second quarter with three baskets on three assists. Atlee Carr scored five points and Yeager scored two off assists by Yeager and Traeten Hamilton for Carr’s baskets and Ryan Roberts for Yeager’s.

For Ruckel, who went 2-of-3 from beyond the 3-point line, the first of his two 3-pointers in the quarter came at the 4:58 mark, the second at 2:43. The rest of the points in the quarter came from the charity stripe, one by Hamilton, one by Logan Cummings and one by Rand.

The Whiteoak defense came out strong after the half, only allowing six points in the third quarter. Camp scored for the Indians at the 7:35 mark on their first possession of the quarter.

Their next basket came at 4:20 with a free-throw by Burba. They scored at the 1:18 mark with a three made by Dawson Mills. Crothers took two charges in the quarter, forcing two turnovers by the Wildcats.

Whiteoak’s Deavin Cumberland scored all eight of his points in the game in the third quarter.

Ruckel added four more points to his total on the night, including two that came with an assist for Rand, who went 2-of-2 from the free-throw line in the quarter. Carr and Ruckel each had a steal in the quarter, and Hamilton took a charge to force another turnover.

Peebles scored 18 points in the fourth period, as Dylan Shulaw came in off the bench and scored on a pair of field goals.

Browning and Mills each nailed two 3-point baskets in the quarter, three of which were made on three straight possessions in the last 1:36 of the game. Peebles closed to within five points of the Wildcats at the 1:21 mark. Browning went 2-of-2 from the free-throw line late in the quarter, with just over eight seconds left to play.

Ruckel, however, scored 10 points for Whiteoak in the final quarter, six of which came from the free-throw line, where he went 6-of-6. Rand and Yeager each went 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Hamilton added one of his own.

Excellent free-throw shooting kept the Wildcats ahead as the final seconds ticked away, giving them a 62-53 victory.

Whiteoak will host Fairfield on Dec. 14.

Score by quarters

PHS – 12 17 06 18 – 53
WHS –13 16 14 19 – 62

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