Whiteoak Wildcats propel past Manchester in season opener
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
MOWRYSTOWN — For the first time this season, both the Whiteoak Wildcats and Manchester Greyhounds stepped onto the court for a regular-season game. The game had numerous lead changes and close moments, but once the final buzzer sounded, it was the Wildcats who earned the Southern Hills Athletic Conference win by a 65-61 score.
The home win for the Wildcats was not without nail-biting moments in the final frame as Manchester never regained the lead, though they did cut the WHS lead down to as low as two points with just over two minutes left in regulation.
“The team played through a little bit of tough times,” WHS head coach Ryan Barnett said. “We had a slow go, came out flat, but I think in the third quarter we got back into the game, and when it mattered, defensively the kids locked it down and got some key deflections. It was kind of ugly, but a win is a win.”
Getting to that point of the game had its beginnings where Manchester led 14-13 at the conclusion of the first frame, where that quarter alone had six lead changes in the final 3:00 of the frame.
In that quarter, Whiteoak took their first lead by a 6-5 score with a layup in the paint from Bradley Ashbaugh, and later another lead WHS regained came when Landon Barnett scored two points for an 8-7 advantage. Barnett finished the game with 22 points (seven rebounds), while Ashbaugh ended the game with 14 points (five rebounds).
“Landon played really well. He defended against a kid he was outsized by, and Luken (Roades) came into the game and gave us some good minutes. Carson Emery played well, and Nick (Bailey) also played well.
“Hogan Walker also came in and played well. He’s undersized, and I’m expecting him to guard guys who are 6-4, 6-5, and he boxed out and he did an excellent job.”
With 1:40 left in the opening frame, Ashbaugh sank a 3-pointer for a WHS lead of 11-9, only to be answered with a 3-pointer by Manchester’s Isaiah Scott with 1:26 on the clock for a Manchester 12-11 lead. The Greyhounds added another two points to their first-quarter total, and Whiteoak scored the final two points of the frame with a basket by Nick Bailey, as Bailey finished the game with a total of eight points.
Scott led all scorers with 32 points for Manchester in the game, including 16 in the fourth frame.
Bailey scored six of the 13 points by WHS in the first frame, while Ashbaugh totaled five points in the first, and Barnett had two points.
Manchester built a 20-13 lead to start the second frame with points by Brayden Young, Ryland Wykoff and Scott.
WHS came back with a basket as Barnett drove to the hoop, followed by a three-point play from Hogan Walker for a 20-18 deficit for WHS with 4:31 on the scoreboard. WHS eventually tied the score at 21 after a free throw by Carson Emery, and later the score was tied again by WHS with a jumper at the 1:12 mark from Ashbaugh for a 23-23 score. Emery ended the game with 10 points.
Manchester regained the lead with 16 seconds left in the opening half when Scott scored two points in the paint, but WHS ended the frame with a three-point play by Barnett for the halftime lead of 26-25 in favor of the home team Wildcats.
By the time the third frame came to a close, it was Whiteoak leading by 13 points at 50-37, though the score was tied at 32 with 5:17 left in the quarter. From that point on, the Wildcats went on a 18-5 run for the remainder of the third frame.
After Ashbaugh tied the score at 32 and Manchester scored four straight points, the Whiteoak push to build a lead began with a 3-pointer from Barnett, and at the 2:50 mark, two free throws were made by Emery.
Next was Walker taking the ball full court for two points, and then at the 1:58 mark of the third Barnett added two more points to the WHS side of the scoreboard for a 41-36 lead.
Next came a layup from Luken Roades as he went the length of the court as well for the Wildcats, and Bailey added a layup as he drove to the hoop for a 45-36 advantage. One point was then scored by Manchester with 1:10 left in the frame, and the final five points of the third came from Whiteoak’s Walker, Barnett and Bryce Bailey for the 50-37 advantage.
Manchester chipped away at the WHS lead, getting to within seven points of tying the score with 5:19 left in regulation as the score went to 55-48 for WHS. MHS continued to add to their score, as they got to a 59-57 score following a layup from Wykoff with the assist on an underhand pass by Kyle Reaves.
WHS responded with two points by Ashbaugh, and then the WHS lead went back to two points after a layup by Scott with 2:07 left in the game. Though they struggled with their free-throw shooting all evening, Emery came through at the end with two converted free throws at the 1:01 mark, and after MHS made it a 63-61 score, WHS held strong and made another free throw, this one from Barnett.
Manchester was forced to foul again, and Emery sank the final free throw of the game, sealing the WHS win at four points.
“We’ve had one scrimmage, and this was our first game, and it was good to see the boys get out and gain the lead, but what I didn’t like was giving it up,” Barnett said. “We need to tighten up some things, and we will do that with practice.”
Next for Whiteoak is an away game on Saturday, Dec. 5 as they will be facing Williamsburg in a makeup game from last Saturday. From there, the Wildcats are scheduled to host the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs on Tuesday, Dec. 8 as the game will now be played on the regular scheduled date due to reductions in COVID-19 quarantine restrictions.
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The home win for the Wildcats was not without nail-biting moments in the final frame as Manchester never regained the lead, though they did cut the WHS lead down to as low as two points with just over two minutes left in regulation.
“The team played through a little bit of tough times,” WHS head coach Ryan Barnett said. “We had a slow go, came out flat, but I think in the third quarter we got back into the game, and when it mattered, defensively the kids locked it down and got some key deflections. It was kind of ugly, but a win is a win.”
Getting to that point of the game had its beginnings where Manchester led 14-13 at the conclusion of the first frame, where that quarter alone had six lead changes in the final 3:00 of the frame.
In that quarter, Whiteoak took their first lead by a 6-5 score with a layup in the paint from Bradley Ashbaugh, and later another lead WHS regained came when Landon Barnett scored two points for an 8-7 advantage. Barnett finished the game with 22 points (seven rebounds), while Ashbaugh ended the game with 14 points (five rebounds).
“Landon played really well. He defended against a kid he was outsized by, and Luken (Roades) came into the game and gave us some good minutes. Carson Emery played well, and Nick (Bailey) also played well.
“Hogan Walker also came in and played well. He’s undersized, and I’m expecting him to guard guys who are 6-4, 6-5, and he boxed out and he did an excellent job.”
With 1:40 left in the opening frame, Ashbaugh sank a 3-pointer for a WHS lead of 11-9, only to be answered with a 3-pointer by Manchester’s Isaiah Scott with 1:26 on the clock for a Manchester 12-11 lead. The Greyhounds added another two points to their first-quarter total, and Whiteoak scored the final two points of the frame with a basket by Nick Bailey, as Bailey finished the game with a total of eight points.
Scott led all scorers with 32 points for Manchester in the game, including 16 in the fourth frame.
Bailey scored six of the 13 points by WHS in the first frame, while Ashbaugh totaled five points in the first, and Barnett had two points.
Manchester built a 20-13 lead to start the second frame with points by Brayden Young, Ryland Wykoff and Scott.
WHS came back with a basket as Barnett drove to the hoop, followed by a three-point play from Hogan Walker for a 20-18 deficit for WHS with 4:31 on the scoreboard. WHS eventually tied the score at 21 after a free throw by Carson Emery, and later the score was tied again by WHS with a jumper at the 1:12 mark from Ashbaugh for a 23-23 score. Emery ended the game with 10 points.
Manchester regained the lead with 16 seconds left in the opening half when Scott scored two points in the paint, but WHS ended the frame with a three-point play by Barnett for the halftime lead of 26-25 in favor of the home team Wildcats.
By the time the third frame came to a close, it was Whiteoak leading by 13 points at 50-37, though the score was tied at 32 with 5:17 left in the quarter. From that point on, the Wildcats went on a 18-5 run for the remainder of the third frame.
After Ashbaugh tied the score at 32 and Manchester scored four straight points, the Whiteoak push to build a lead began with a 3-pointer from Barnett, and at the 2:50 mark, two free throws were made by Emery.
Next was Walker taking the ball full court for two points, and then at the 1:58 mark of the third Barnett added two more points to the WHS side of the scoreboard for a 41-36 lead.
Next came a layup from Luken Roades as he went the length of the court as well for the Wildcats, and Bailey added a layup as he drove to the hoop for a 45-36 advantage. One point was then scored by Manchester with 1:10 left in the frame, and the final five points of the third came from Whiteoak’s Walker, Barnett and Bryce Bailey for the 50-37 advantage.
Manchester chipped away at the WHS lead, getting to within seven points of tying the score with 5:19 left in regulation as the score went to 55-48 for WHS. MHS continued to add to their score, as they got to a 59-57 score following a layup from Wykoff with the assist on an underhand pass by Kyle Reaves.
WHS responded with two points by Ashbaugh, and then the WHS lead went back to two points after a layup by Scott with 2:07 left in the game. Though they struggled with their free-throw shooting all evening, Emery came through at the end with two converted free throws at the 1:01 mark, and after MHS made it a 63-61 score, WHS held strong and made another free throw, this one from Barnett.
Manchester was forced to foul again, and Emery sank the final free throw of the game, sealing the WHS win at four points.
“We’ve had one scrimmage, and this was our first game, and it was good to see the boys get out and gain the lead, but what I didn’t like was giving it up,” Barnett said. “We need to tighten up some things, and we will do that with practice.”
Next for Whiteoak is an away game on Saturday, Dec. 5 as they will be facing Williamsburg in a makeup game from last Saturday. From there, the Wildcats are scheduled to host the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs on Tuesday, Dec. 8 as the game will now be played on the regular scheduled date due to reductions in COVID-19 quarantine restrictions.
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