WACO boys win first round of postseason Monday

WAYLAND ? The boys? Class 1A District 10 began with a nail-biting opening round game Monday night.

WACO hosted Cardinal in a tight district opener that ended with the Warriors holding off a late Comet rally to hang on for a 48-45 win.

The Warriors jumped into the lead early behind a balanced attack that led to an 11-8 lead at halftime. Cardinal?s Zackary Steele scored all eight points for the Comets to keep them in the game.

WACO cut the Comet lead to two points right before halftime, trailing 23-21 at the break. Colton Horak led the balanced scoring effort with five points after the first two periods.

Steele and Albert scored 21 of the Comets? 23 first-half points. Steele led the way with 12.

The Warriors picked up in a full-court press in the third quarter. The WACO defense forced a handful of turnovers, and stole the lead back in the first three minutes of the third.

?One of the things we were really worried about was their backcourt in Albert and Steele,? said WACO coach Paul Kissell. ?One of the things we wanted to do is try to pick them up in full and let Calvin Battle, Colton Horak and Cornell Hulme use their athleticism.?

Battle was the main benefactor to the press, scoring on a handful of layups early in the third en route to nine second-half points.

The Warriors led by double-digits at times in the third quarter and held a 39-30 lead after three quarters. They were able to hang on throughout the fourth but Cardinal put together a big rally late in the fourth.

The Comets cut the lead to two points in the final minute and had the ball with a chance to win it.

Cardinal ran the clock down to the final ticks and got a good look from 3-point land by Dawson Hamm, but the shot rimmed out. Nik Coble hit a late free throw and Cardinal?s full-court shot to tie it fell short, allowing the Warriors to walk out with a three-point win.

WACO was led by Beau Beckler, who scored nine points in the second half to finish at 11. Battle had nine. Wyatt Harbison scored eight. Hulme had seven. Horak finished with five. Coble and Jacob Fried had three points apiece and Drew Kissell had two.

The Warriors move on to the quarterfinals in New London Thursday, Feb. 16. That game is the second game in a doubleheader and will begin at 8 p.m. Notre Dame and Holy Trinity will tip things off at 6:30 p.m.