WACO boys survive 1st round scare

WAYLAND - Danville had WACO in the first half of Monday night’s Class 1A District 4 boys’ basketball tournament, but the hosting Warriors were not going to lay down.

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The Bears held the Warriors to just 16 points in the first half, but WACO got its swagger back in the final two quarters, turning a 22-16 halftime deficit into a 49-43 victory.

Danville’s defense kept WACO out of the paint for much of the first two periods, even holding dynamic backcourt duo Christian Stacy and Isaac Rich to just four combined points in the opening half, but in the third quarter, the Warriors finally found their groove.

“We had to change our mentality on offense,” said WACO head coach Chayse Roth. “They were making us be perimeter players and making us shoot from outside. We kept telling them, we needed to get the ball inside, and we did a lot better job at that in the second half.”

WACO scored a game-high 18 points in the third quarter, leading the game 34-31 going into the fourth. Danville kept it close, even cutting it to one point with 1:30 showing on the clock, but a corner 3-pointer by Rich proved to be the dagger.

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The Warriors were led by Stacy, who scored 18 points on the night and pulled down 13 rebounds to record a postseason double-double.

“Their defense was something we really haven't seen this year,” said Stacy after the game. “They switched everything. Once we got settled in and calmed down and knew what we needed to do, shots started falling.”

Holden Hughes had a big night, going for 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Hayden Shelman finished with nine points. Rich had five points, and Isaac Egli finished with four.

WACO (18-5) will play in the Class 1A District 8 semifinals on Thursday night. The Warriors will travel to take on Holy Trinity Catholic (18-4).

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