But that trio of Yellowjackets swarmed and stung the Warriors in the second half.
No. 1 Williamstown outscored Wyoming East 18-7 in the third quarter with that trio combing for all but three points in the frame, lifting the top-seeded Yellowjackets past the Warriors 61-51 Thursday evening in a Class AA semifinal in the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.
The win sends Williamstown to the Class AA title where it’ll face No. 2 Wheeling Central on Saturday at 10 a.m.
East had all the momentum early in the third, taking a 28-24 lead on the first bucket of the second half before Williamstown locked in, ripping a 13-4 run to retake the lead.
“That’s what they do,” East head coach Kent McBride said. “We made a run there at the end of the first half and took the lead and we knew coming out that they were gonna get a swing in and we just weren’t really able to stop it. They kind of imposed their will a little bit. Actually, a lot.”
Williamstown’s execution in the frame was a clinic in efficiency as it shot 53 percent (7-of-13) from the field in the frame, hitting on a pair of 3s.
“I thought we weren’t really attacking too well in the first half,” Williamstown head coach Scott Sauro said. “We were a little bit uneven offensively, I mean there were times we got good looks from the perimeter but we needed to attack a little bit more downhill a lot better. I thought the guys were picking the right spots.”
East’s young squad settled in early, getting a jolt of excitement when Konnor Fox threw down a two-handed dunk to open the scoring. The surge helped East get off to a 6-2 start but Bryant proved pesky, helping the Yellowjackets take a 16-12 advantage into the second quarter.
The teams exchanged the lead five times in the second quarter with East taking it into the break on the strength of a Talan Muscari 3.
With East aiming to pull away in the third, the Yellowjackets never presented that opportunity, quickly closing the deficit on an Islay layup. Fox retied the game for East at 30-30 with a short floater but a jumper from Bryant and a 3 from Schramm gave the Yellowjackets the lead for good. Schramm and Wyatt Powell did the honors of closing the third with five straight for Williamstown, making it a 42-33 game after one.
East played nearly even with the Yellowjackets the rest of the way, outscored by a point in the fourth but the third quarter proved too much to overcome.
“You kind of had 18-year-olds that have been down here for an along, long time versus guys who have just stepped foot on this floor,” McBride said. “We battled like crazy to try and overcome it, but we just couldn’t and it wasn’t due to lack of effort.
“It wasn’t due to lack of execution and it wasn’t due to lack of preparation. So as a coach when that’s how your team approaches it and you get this kind of result, you’re not sad when you get this kind of result. What you are is ready to get back to work. So tip our cap to coach Sauro and those guys but I’m very, very proud.”
East graduates one starting senior in Zach Hunt as well as key reserve Landen Hodges but returns four of five starters.
“They’re gonna be good these next couple of year,” Hunt said.
Muscari led East with 15 points while Konnor Fox netted 12.
Schramm led all scorers with 20 points while Bryant finished with 18.
