No. 3 WACO staves off WMU

WACO’s Simeon Reichenbach (pictured) and the Warriors downed Winfield-Mt. Union on Tuesday 66-48. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)

WAYLAND — If ones things for sure, it’s when WACO and Winfield-Mt. Union meet on the hardwood, it’s sure to be a battle.

The Wolves have been one of the only teams this season to hang with No. 3 ranked Warriors and on Tuesday night the two Southeast Iowa Super Conference foe clashed one again.

Winfield-Mount Union’s Abram Edwards (pictured) and the Wolves were topped by WACO on Tuesday, 66-48. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)

This time around, the Warriors once again got the better of the Wolves, picking up a 66-48 victory to stay unbeaten.

WACO defeated WMU just 42-38 in the first meeting between the two.

For WACO, it was a dominant first half. The Warriors did well to attack the rim, sprinkling in the three ball and some stingy defensive pressure.

They jumped out to a 12-0 lead over the Wolves as the Warrior’s Isaac Oswald buried a three and scored off a turnover in four minutes of action.

Abram Edwards got WMU going on a pair of baskets between the 4:42 and 3:43 mark to make it 12-4, but WACO continued to truck along.

From then on, the Warriors closed out the quarter on an 11-3 run to make 23-7 at the end of the first.

In the second, WACO once again put the pressure on.

Through five minutes of action, the Warriors and Wolves traded buckets back and forth, with the Warriors leading 29-11.

WACO ended strong in the final three minutes, outscoring the Wolves 8-2 for a 37-13 halftime advantage.

Winfield-Mt. Union turned it on in the third.

The Wolves scored the first five points with Cam Buffington and Jake Edwards dropping in a two and a three.

WACO’s Cody Graber scored the first points for the Warriors on a three point play at the 6:31 mark, pushing their lead to 40-18. Chase Waterhouse scored what would be the final points of the quarter for WACO just over two minutes later on a layup, making it 42-21.

WMU went to work after that.

With 3:19 to go in the third, Carter Loyd kicked off what would be a 12-0 run to the final whistle of the third.

Following the run, a 21 point WACO lead turned into just a nine point advantage, 42-33.

WACO kicked off the scoring in the fourth and never looked back.

Winfield was able to get it to 11, 46-35, but that’s as close as the Wolves would come.

WACO outscored WMU 24-15 in the fourth.

Leading WACO on the night was Hunter Hughes with 14 points. Chase Waterhouse finished with 11. Simeon Reichenbach had 10 and Cody Graber nine.

For Winfield-Mt. Union, Cam Buffington finished with 18. Jake Edwards ended with 12 and Carter Loyd had 10. Abram Edwards tallied seven.

WACO improves to 14-0 with the victory, while Winfield-Mt. Union moves to 11-3.