WACO boys fall to WMU

Andy Krutsinger

GTNS News Team

WAYLAND ? In the SEISC North Division, any road game is tough, but the Winfield-Mt. Union boys were able to grab their second division road win on Tuesday night at rival WACO.

Zach Davis hit four 3-pointers, and Sam Jennings was money in the post, as the Wolves got past WACO, 63-54, despite another big game for Warrior point guard Jackson Roth.

Jennings and Roth traded baskets throughout an entertaining first half. The Wolves jumped out to an 11-5 lead in the first quarter, after a 3-pointer from Jennings, but Roth kept WACO in the ballgame, scoring the first eight Warrior points.

The Wolves led 15-10 after one quarter of play, but WACO fought back to tie the game on multiple occasions. With the game tied, 21-21 as the clock wound down in the first half, a Davis 3-pointer gave the Wolves a 24-21 lead, and three more points made it 27-21 at halftime.

Jennings had 18 points at the half for W-MU, but got into foul trouble in the second half, as the Warriors attacked the post to try to neutralize him and fellow senior Garret Baker.

?We wanted to get inside to try and draw some fouls,? said WACO head coach Paul Kissell after the game. ?Our senior front line, I feel really confident in. Duncan Pickard, Bryce Achen and Jackson Gerot did a nice job there attacking Jennings and getting him in foul trouble.?

But while the Wolves? inside game wasn?t as dominant in the second half, an outside attack helped W-MU stay in front. They hit five 3-pointers in the second half, two by Davis and Jordan Hudson, and one by Josh Fricke.

?We kind of looked like the Iowa State Cyclones tonight, jacking up 3s,? said W-MU head coach Brad Doerring. ?But I?ve told them the last couple of weeks that we needed to start taking 3s, and they made them.?

While the W-MU outside attack kept the Wolves in front, the Warriors stayed close with some big 3-pointers of their own, down the stretch. WACO drained six shots from outside in the final two quarters, two each from Pickard and Jaren Unternahrer, and one each from Roth and Justyn Chalupa.

W-MU was able to pull away late in the third quarter, to take a 44-33 lead into the fourth, where they hung on for a nine-point win. Davis sunk eight of his 10 free-throw attempts in the second half to put the game on ice.

?Any time you can steal a road win, it is good,? said Doerring after the game. ?I finally saw some things out of Zach Davis that I?ve been looking for. The last three games, he?s averaging about 20 points per game, and that?s what we need.?

Davis finished with 22 points to pace the Wolves in the win. Jennings had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Baker had 10 points. Hudson finished with eight points, Fricke had three, and Kolt Rossiter had one point and 10 assists.

Roth had 21 points to lead the Warriors in the loss. Pickard finished with 14 points, and co-led the team with five rebounds. Unternahrer and Gerot each scored six points, Achen had four points, five rebounds and five assists, and Chalupa finished with three points.

The Wolves moved to 5-1 with the win, and have a huge road matchup with defending North Division champion Lone Tree on Friday. The Wolves may get a boost in that game, as junior guard Bryce Robison, who has been sidelined with injury, may be ready to go for the first time this season. WACO transfer B.J. Rodgers will be able to play in mid-January.

WACO fell to 2-5 with the loss, and will stay home to play Wapello on Friday. The Indians have played tight with many top North Division teams this season, including an upset at Highland. Both games are scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off, with girls? game preceding.