Wildcats sweep season series against Mustangs
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
MOWRYSTOWN — For the second time this season, the Whiteoak Wildcats held off a late charge from the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs as the Wildcats earned a season sweep over the visiting LC squad by a score of 67-57, Friday night at Whiteoak High School.
In their previous meeting on Dec. 28 at LC, Whiteoak glided to a 65-50 win as LC battled back in the second half of that game.
The same thing can be said about their second meeting as the Wildcats (5-4) led by as many as 18 points in the third quarter, but the lead almost was completely erased with a 21-point fourth quarter by the Mustangs, as the Wildcats scored enough to keep the lead and the win in their non-league game.
"All wins are good wins," Whiteoak head coach Tom Wessner said. "This could have been a trap game for us being the non-league meeting between us, but we overcame our bad quarter and gained the victory."
The aforementioned third frame ended with the host Wildcats leading 52-36 after they outscored LC, 19-13.
The loss drops LC to 1-8 overall.
But it was the fourth that shaped the game as it looked as though the Wildcats were about to run away with an easy victory, but the Mustangs didn't allow it.
Tyler Williams (who ended the game with 13 points) increased the Wildcat lead to the previously stated 18-point lead with 6:52 left on the clock. From there, the Mustangs responded with Alec Smith converting a three-point play, followed by Ryan Inman and Gage Waits making a jumper and a 3-pointer (by Waits) to make it a 10-point game at 54-44. Waits led LC with 16 points.
Inman finished with 15 points, 11 points in the fourth frame.
"We stuck to what we did the first time we played, and so did Whiteoak, but this game came down to our mental mistakes in transition defense," LC head coach Jason McLaughlin said. "Both teams played hard, but they made more shots and hit the glass hard."
From there, Wildcat seniors Gage Carraher and Doc Seip scored four straight points to take a 13-point lead with 4:36 left in regulation. Seip led all scorers with 21 points, followed by Carraher with 19.
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Later in the quarter, after points by the Mustangs, Seip hit two free throws, but Inman was there answering with a layup with under one minute left on the clock, cutting the LC deficit to six points.
Luke Taggert came back with two free throws, as did Carraher, to put LC ahead by 10 points again at 65-55, eventually sealing the win.
"We set the tempo for the game by taking what they gave us," Wessner said. "We hit the shots we were given and got to the basket and forced a few turnovers.
"In the fourth, we had to slow down and take our time. Again, we were given spots, but we didn't get the ball to those spots, which is something we have to get better at the next few weeks."
As for the first half, WHS led 14-12 after a competitive first frame, and then the Wildcats took a 33-24 lead to the locker room at halftime.
For LC's first frame, they had four players in Marc Blankenship, Jacob Skaggs, Inman and Smith contribute to their scoring.
Smith finished with 14 points in the loss.
In the WHS first, Carraher sank a 3-pointer, while Williams made the hoop of the night as he caught the rebound with one hand and while in mid-air tossed the ball through the hoop for two points, which at the time gave WHS a lead of 8-5. Seip also added points in the first.
For the WHS 19-point second quarter, Seip totaled 10 of those points with Williams, Taggert and Brent Davis also contributing. The LC second was highlighted with two 3-pointers and a layup by Waits, along with points from Pierson and Scott Cawood.
"Gage (Waits) shot the ball well for us," McLaughlin said. "This was a breakout game for him and a good shot of confidence."
In the third for WHS, Blake Trueblood, Williams, Carraher, Seip and Davis totaled the second 19-point quarter for WHS, while LC's 12 points in the third were scored by Waits, Inman and Smith.
LC plays again on Friday, Jan. 11 as they host Fayetteville. WHS plays again on Saturday, Jan. 5 as they host Adena in non-league play.
In the freshman game, LC defeated WHS, 58-18. Leading LC were Tyler Barton with 21 points and Brandon Storer with 12. Leading WHS was Jacob Burns with 11.
In the JV game, LC won 51-40. Cory Snider led with 16 points for LC, and for the Wildcats, leading in scoring was Jason Jones with 16.
In their previous meeting on Dec. 28 at LC, Whiteoak glided to a 65-50 win as LC battled back in the second half of that game.
The same thing can be said about their second meeting as the Wildcats (5-4) led by as many as 18 points in the third quarter, but the lead almost was completely erased with a 21-point fourth quarter by the Mustangs, as the Wildcats scored enough to keep the lead and the win in their non-league game.
"All wins are good wins," Whiteoak head coach Tom Wessner said. "This could have been a trap game for us being the non-league meeting between us, but we overcame our bad quarter and gained the victory."
The aforementioned third frame ended with the host Wildcats leading 52-36 after they outscored LC, 19-13.
The loss drops LC to 1-8 overall.
But it was the fourth that shaped the game as it looked as though the Wildcats were about to run away with an easy victory, but the Mustangs didn't allow it.
Tyler Williams (who ended the game with 13 points) increased the Wildcat lead to the previously stated 18-point lead with 6:52 left on the clock. From there, the Mustangs responded with Alec Smith converting a three-point play, followed by Ryan Inman and Gage Waits making a jumper and a 3-pointer (by Waits) to make it a 10-point game at 54-44. Waits led LC with 16 points.
Inman finished with 15 points, 11 points in the fourth frame.
"We stuck to what we did the first time we played, and so did Whiteoak, but this game came down to our mental mistakes in transition defense," LC head coach Jason McLaughlin said. "Both teams played hard, but they made more shots and hit the glass hard."
From there, Wildcat seniors Gage Carraher and Doc Seip scored four straight points to take a 13-point lead with 4:36 left in regulation. Seip led all scorers with 21 points, followed by Carraher with 19.
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Later in the quarter, after points by the Mustangs, Seip hit two free throws, but Inman was there answering with a layup with under one minute left on the clock, cutting the LC deficit to six points.
Luke Taggert came back with two free throws, as did Carraher, to put LC ahead by 10 points again at 65-55, eventually sealing the win.
"We set the tempo for the game by taking what they gave us," Wessner said. "We hit the shots we were given and got to the basket and forced a few turnovers.
"In the fourth, we had to slow down and take our time. Again, we were given spots, but we didn't get the ball to those spots, which is something we have to get better at the next few weeks."
As for the first half, WHS led 14-12 after a competitive first frame, and then the Wildcats took a 33-24 lead to the locker room at halftime.
For LC's first frame, they had four players in Marc Blankenship, Jacob Skaggs, Inman and Smith contribute to their scoring.
Smith finished with 14 points in the loss.
In the WHS first, Carraher sank a 3-pointer, while Williams made the hoop of the night as he caught the rebound with one hand and while in mid-air tossed the ball through the hoop for two points, which at the time gave WHS a lead of 8-5. Seip also added points in the first.
For the WHS 19-point second quarter, Seip totaled 10 of those points with Williams, Taggert and Brent Davis also contributing. The LC second was highlighted with two 3-pointers and a layup by Waits, along with points from Pierson and Scott Cawood.
"Gage (Waits) shot the ball well for us," McLaughlin said. "This was a breakout game for him and a good shot of confidence."
In the third for WHS, Blake Trueblood, Williams, Carraher, Seip and Davis totaled the second 19-point quarter for WHS, while LC's 12 points in the third were scored by Waits, Inman and Smith.
LC plays again on Friday, Jan. 11 as they host Fayetteville. WHS plays again on Saturday, Jan. 5 as they host Adena in non-league play.
In the freshman game, LC defeated WHS, 58-18. Leading LC were Tyler Barton with 21 points and Brandon Storer with 12. Leading WHS was Jacob Burns with 11.
In the JV game, LC won 51-40. Cory Snider led with 16 points for LC, and for the Wildcats, leading in scoring was Jason Jones with 16.