Wildcats get close in second half; fall on homecoming to West Union
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
MOWRYSTOWN — Defense was the name of the game on homecoming for the Whiteoak Wildcats Friday night against the West Union Dragons with the score tied at halftime. During the second half, the pace of the game stepped up, with Whiteoak getting to within four or fewer points of the West Union lead but running out of time, falling by a 51-47 score.
The Southern Hills Athletic Conference loss by the Wildcats leaves them at 0-8 in the conference (2-13 overall), but during their homecoming game in front of a packed gym, the Wildcats and Dragons gave every fan in the stands their money’s worth for 32 minutes.
WHS and West Union (4-6, 5-10) were tied twice in the opening quarter at 2-2 and 4-4 as the quarter was played closely for eight straight minutes, with the Dragons taking the lead at 5-4 off a free throw from Eli Fuller, but Whiteoak’s Charley Skinner pushed the Wildcats in front with a layup at the 4:15 mark for a 6-5 advantage.
After the Dragon went ahead by one point, Stephen Ross scored two points in the paint for a 8-7 WHS advantage, and though it didn’t put them in the lead, the Wildcats scored the final two points of the first frame with Hunter Ruckel sinking a layup for an 11-10 score.
WHS won the second frame by a 9-8 advantage, forcing the tie at 19-19 after 16 minutes of play. WHS tied the score at 11 at the start of the second with a free throw conversion fgom Trever Yeager, followed by a jumper by Traeten Hamilton and a put-back bucket by Shawn Wissel for not just a 6-0 run by the hosts, but a 15-11 lead for WHS with 4:28 left in the first half.
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West Union came back with eight straight points, including a 3-pointer by D.J. Welch, taking an 18-17 advantage over the ’Cats. WHS answered by regaining the lead with a layup from Ruckel and a steal at half court and fast break plays by Yeager for a 19-18 lead with 1:10 left on the second-quarter clock.
Ruckel led the Wildcats with 13 points, and Yeager followed with 12.
The Dragons tied the score with a free throw with under 30 seconds left in the first half for the 19-19 halftime score.
The third frame saw the Dragons outscored the Wildcats, 12-7 for a 31-26 advantage, with Yeager scoring all seven WHS points.
In the fourth frame, things got really interesting for both SHAC teams as the Wildcats, who totaled 21 points in the final eight minutes, scored first on a jumper from Ross, bringing WHS to within three points of the Dragons. Ross finished the game with six points.
After four straight points by the visitors, Ruckel sank a 3-pointer at the 5:53 mark for a 35-31 lead, making it a four-point deficit for the Wildcats.
Later in the fourth, after trailing by as many as nine points, WHD chipped away at the lead of the Dragons with a layup from Hamilton and a 3-pointer from Ruckel, with Ruckel knocking down the trey from the corner for a 40-36 deficit wth 3:19 left in regulation.
West Union came back with four consecutive points, but WHS answered with two free throws by Yeager. Later, after WUHS built a seven-point advantage, Hamilton, who totaled nine points, sank a 3-pointer with 1:48 on the clock, again getting the Wildcats back to within four points.
WHS made it a three-point deficit 10 seconds later with Atlee Carr making one free throw with the score being 45-42, and later it was a three-point differential when Ruckel stole the ball and was fouled with 56.1 on the clock. Ruckel made both free throws for a 47-44 deficit for the host Wildcats.
Next came a a combination of a West Union turnover, a 30-second timeout by the Dragons, an offensive foul committed by the Wildcats, then a steal by Yeager off a West Union inbounds pass, eventually leading to a free throw make from Ruckel with 35 seconds left in the game for a 49-47 deficit by the Wildcats.
WHS got down by four points again following two free throw conversions by the Dragons, then ahead by six after two more makes from the free-throw line. WHS scored the final two points off a layup by Hamilton, but the Wildcats ran out of time to get closer.
West Union was led in scoring by Craig Horton with 12 points, followed by teammate Welch with 11 points.
In JV play, West Union defeated Whiteoak, 52-43. Zach DeAtley led the Wildcats with 12 points.
Next for the Wildcats is a game on Tuesday at Highland County and SHAC rival Fairfield.
The Southern Hills Athletic Conference loss by the Wildcats leaves them at 0-8 in the conference (2-13 overall), but during their homecoming game in front of a packed gym, the Wildcats and Dragons gave every fan in the stands their money’s worth for 32 minutes.
WHS and West Union (4-6, 5-10) were tied twice in the opening quarter at 2-2 and 4-4 as the quarter was played closely for eight straight minutes, with the Dragons taking the lead at 5-4 off a free throw from Eli Fuller, but Whiteoak’s Charley Skinner pushed the Wildcats in front with a layup at the 4:15 mark for a 6-5 advantage.
After the Dragon went ahead by one point, Stephen Ross scored two points in the paint for a 8-7 WHS advantage, and though it didn’t put them in the lead, the Wildcats scored the final two points of the first frame with Hunter Ruckel sinking a layup for an 11-10 score.
WHS won the second frame by a 9-8 advantage, forcing the tie at 19-19 after 16 minutes of play. WHS tied the score at 11 at the start of the second with a free throw conversion fgom Trever Yeager, followed by a jumper by Traeten Hamilton and a put-back bucket by Shawn Wissel for not just a 6-0 run by the hosts, but a 15-11 lead for WHS with 4:28 left in the first half.
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West Union came back with eight straight points, including a 3-pointer by D.J. Welch, taking an 18-17 advantage over the ’Cats. WHS answered by regaining the lead with a layup from Ruckel and a steal at half court and fast break plays by Yeager for a 19-18 lead with 1:10 left on the second-quarter clock.
Ruckel led the Wildcats with 13 points, and Yeager followed with 12.
The Dragons tied the score with a free throw with under 30 seconds left in the first half for the 19-19 halftime score.
The third frame saw the Dragons outscored the Wildcats, 12-7 for a 31-26 advantage, with Yeager scoring all seven WHS points.
In the fourth frame, things got really interesting for both SHAC teams as the Wildcats, who totaled 21 points in the final eight minutes, scored first on a jumper from Ross, bringing WHS to within three points of the Dragons. Ross finished the game with six points.
After four straight points by the visitors, Ruckel sank a 3-pointer at the 5:53 mark for a 35-31 lead, making it a four-point deficit for the Wildcats.
Later in the fourth, after trailing by as many as nine points, WHD chipped away at the lead of the Dragons with a layup from Hamilton and a 3-pointer from Ruckel, with Ruckel knocking down the trey from the corner for a 40-36 deficit wth 3:19 left in regulation.
West Union came back with four consecutive points, but WHS answered with two free throws by Yeager. Later, after WUHS built a seven-point advantage, Hamilton, who totaled nine points, sank a 3-pointer with 1:48 on the clock, again getting the Wildcats back to within four points.
WHS made it a three-point deficit 10 seconds later with Atlee Carr making one free throw with the score being 45-42, and later it was a three-point differential when Ruckel stole the ball and was fouled with 56.1 on the clock. Ruckel made both free throws for a 47-44 deficit for the host Wildcats.
Next came a a combination of a West Union turnover, a 30-second timeout by the Dragons, an offensive foul committed by the Wildcats, then a steal by Yeager off a West Union inbounds pass, eventually leading to a free throw make from Ruckel with 35 seconds left in the game for a 49-47 deficit by the Wildcats.
WHS got down by four points again following two free throw conversions by the Dragons, then ahead by six after two more makes from the free-throw line. WHS scored the final two points off a layup by Hamilton, but the Wildcats ran out of time to get closer.
West Union was led in scoring by Craig Horton with 12 points, followed by teammate Welch with 11 points.
In JV play, West Union defeated Whiteoak, 52-43. Zach DeAtley led the Wildcats with 12 points.
Next for the Wildcats is a game on Tuesday at Highland County and SHAC rival Fairfield.