W-MU boys drop two

WINFIELD - The Winfield-Mt. Union boys' basketball team lost a couple of games this weekend, dropping a 53-29 conference home game against Columbus Community on Friday night before falling 66-49 on Saturday against Van Buren.

Columbus led 14-7 after the first quarter of Friday's game and 31-17 at halftime. W-MU was only able to muster six points in each of the next two periods and could never make a run at the lead.

Ty Yocum came off the bench to lead the team with seven points and seven rebounds in the loss. Jared Arnold finished the day with six points and four steals, and Juanito Piper had six points of his own.

Christian Gerot scored three points in the loss. Dawson Bergthold and Nolan Ross finished with two apiece and Bryce Wade had one.

The Wolves scored in double digits in each of the four quarters on Saturday but couldn't contain Van Buren's offense enough to keep it tight. The Wolves trailed 17-10 after the first quarter and 30-20 at halftime.

Van Buren had their best offensive output in the third quarter to take a 49-33 lead into the fourth quarter and added another point to that lead before the final buzzer sounded.

Despite the loss, Arnold went off, scoring 23 points on 9-15 shooting and 5-10 from three-point land. He also recorded a double-double by adding a team-leading 10 rebounds.

Yocum got the start on Saturday and scored 10 points. Gerot finished with seven points and seven rebounds. Jacob Kongable had four points and four assists. Piper had three points and four assists, and Wade finished with two points.

W-MU (0-4, 0-3) will have a tough task tonight (Tuesday) on the road. They'll take on a 3-1 Highland team in SEISC North Division action.