Blue Jays swoop SHL win away from 'Cats

     MOWRYSTOWN – Playing close to even for three quarters, it was the second frame that put the Whiteoak Wildcats down, as they were outscored 13-4 en route to a Southern Hills League loss to the Ripley Blue Jays 63-49 Friday night.

     The Wildcats (3-3, 6-6) led 12-11 after the first quarter, but the four-point second frame put them down 24-16 as the game went into halftime.

     RHS landed three straight 3-pointers to start the second quarter when Jordan Mitchell sank the first two trifectas less than three minutes into the quarter. Logan Perkins followed with his own 3-pointer with 4:30 left in the first half, to put Ripley ahead by eight points at 20-12. Perkins scored the game-high with 17 points. Perkins was 4 of 4 from the free-throw line.

     The 9-0 run by the Blue Jays was stopped by Ethan Eyre with put back points at the 3:34 mark of the quarter. Ripley answered with a long-range jumper from Perkins. DeMarco Washington sank a wide-open layup to end the first half for RHS, giving the Blue Jays an eight-point lead after two quarters. Washington ended the game with 12 points,

     “I thought we were getting some good looks, but we were in a hurry all game long. A lot of shots weren’t set, and if shots aren’t set then they aren’t going to go in for us,” Whiteoak head coach Tom Wessner said.

     In the third, Ripley scored the nine of the first 11 points, starting the quarter with a 3-pointer by Bryant Applegate. Ethan Hawkins broke up the RHS scoring with two free throws, but Washington and Applegate scored the next six points to put the Blue Jays in the lead at 33-18. Applegate scored 12 points in the RHS win.

     WHS junior Joe Michael scored his first points of the game in the third quarter with a free throw, and he followed that shot with fast break points off a turnover by RHS. Eyre then contributed with two free throws, but on the same foul that sent Eyre to the line, the Wildcats were charged with a technical foul, in which the Blue Jays capitalized with two converted free throws by Jarrin Taul. Dylan Johnson added to the Ripley lead with a underneath, wrap-around shot that went right through the hoop, giving RHS a 35-23 advantage.

     Late in the third Michael sank a jumper with three RHS defenders surrounding him to bring WHS within 10 points of the Blue Jays. On the ensuing possession by RHS, Michael forced a turnover and took the ball to the basket to make the score 38-30. Michael led WHS with 15 points.

     Mitchell answered the four-point run by Michael with a 3-ball to give RHS an 11-point advantage.

     The final quarter was full of free throws as both teams combined for 23 attempts from the foul line.

    Carraher cut the Blue Jays’ lead down to 11 points with 5:53 left in regulation with a steal and fast break layup, but Ripley was too strong as they won the quarter 21-17.

     “We never really got into a rhythm offensively or defensively,” Wessner said. “We never had five players on the same page at the same time.”

     In the opening quarter Ben Barnett sank a 3-pointer to start the game. Barnett drained another 3-ball at the 4:23 mark of the first to tie the game at six. Barnett scored 11 points.

     Jerry Stuckey scored put back points with 1:34 left in the opening quarter. In the final quarter Mark Crowe scored two points for the Wildcats.

     The win lifts Ripley to 7-3 overall, 4-2 in the SHL. WHS falls to 6-6 overall, 3-3 in league play.

     WHS will play again Tuesday, Jan. 19 as they travel to face Felicity.

     In freshman play WHS won by a score of 54-16. In JV action, RHS won 67-38.

BOX SCORE

SCORE BY QUARTERS
RHS – 11 13 18 21 – 63

WHS – 12 4 16 17 – 49

INDIVIDUAL STATS
RHS (63)

Mitchell 0 (2) 1-2 7, Perkins 2 (3) 4-4 17, Taul 3 3-6 9, Williams 0 4-4 4, Washington 4 4-4 12, Applegate 1 (2) 4-8 12, Johnson 1 2. TOTALS: 11 (7) 20-28 63.

WHS (49)

Stuckey 1 0-2 2, Barnett 0 (3) 2-5 11, Michael 6 3-5 15, Crowe 1 2, Eyre 2 5-6 9, Hawkins 2 2-4 6, Carraher 1 2-2 4. TOTALS: 13 (3) 14-24 49.