WACO defense smothers Wapello

WAYLAND - The WACO boys' basketball team made a statement on Tuesday night in their first game of the year. The Warriors suffocated the defending SEISC champions all game long and started the year on the right foot, with a 43-32 win.

Wapello had things going early with 6-foot-seven-inch senior Keaton Mitchell, who dominated inside in the first half. Mitchell led the team to a 12-6 advantage after the first quarter buzzer rang.

The Warriors stormed back in the second period. WACO's pressure defense forced turnover after turnover and that turned into a handful of layups on the other end. Drew Kissell started to heat up in the second quarter, scoring seven points, including a buzzer-beater three that he banked in right before halftime.

Wapello received 13 first-half points from Mitchell in the first half, but it was the WACO crowd that was on its feet after the second quarter. The Warriors led 24-17, led by a nine-point first half by Kissell.

The third quarter was pure chaos. Nobody scored in the first four minutes of play, and there were multiple loose balls that had players from both teams hitting the floor.

Wapello was able to slice the WACO lead down to six points, at 26-20. Once again, however, WACO ended the quarter with a three before the buzzer. This time it was Braden Hammond who drained a shot to put the Warriors back up by nine, 29-20 after three.

WACO didn't take their foot off the gas pedal in the second quarter. The Indians had all kinds of trouble getting the ball upcourt against the WACO guards, and that led to more easy points for the Warriors.

Kissell proved to be the closer late in the game for WACO. He scored seven more points in the fourth quarter, and helped the Warriors hang on for an 11-point win.

Kissell ended the game with 17 points to lead the Warriors. Elijah McGohan had 10 points. Hammond finished with seven. Nik Coble scored five points, and both Colton Horak and Gabe Reichenbach had two.

'One of the things we're really focusing on is being aggressive,” head coach Paul Kissell said after the game. 'Unfortunately, we didn't have enough offense to get into our press early, so we started a little sluggish. Once we got the lid off the hoop and make a few shots, we were able to extend it.”

Coach Kissell also spoke to the season ahead and a stacked SEISC South Division that WACO hopes to make some noise in. The Warriors will begin their schedule with West Burlington on Friday, Nov. 30, in Wayland.

'We're looking to take that next step here,” Kissell said. 'A lot of these guys have been playing two or three years now. The south is going to be tough. A lot of good teams down there.”