New Richmond – Westside’s been hit by tidal waves this season.
Friday the Renegades experienced a biblical flood where host Wyoming East drug them to the deep end and never let go.
Leading by two points at the half, East outscored Westside 24-6 in the third quarter capping a season sweep of the Renegades with a 71-44 victory.
East dominated in almost every phase attempting 31 more shots (71-40) and collecting 43 rebounds (26 on offense) to Westside’s 20. Coupled with 17 Westside turnovers, the host Warriors parlayed their advantage on the offensive glass to the equivalent of 43 extra or extended possessions.
“It’s just an attitude,” McBride said. “Our guys have really bought into that. There’s certain parameters and stats we look to that we really evaluate ourselves on and that number was really, really good tonight.”
Westside managed to shoot 50 percent inside the arc (15-for-30) but couldn’t contend with the sheer volume of shots East put up, also doing so at an efficient rate. The Warriors were 23-for-49 inside the arc (47 percent) and 7-for-22 beyond it.
Those shooting efficiency numbers flipped from the first half to the second half for East. After hitting at just 36 percent from the field in the first half, the Warriors went 10-for-17 (59 percent) in the decisive third quarter alone, going on to shoot 51 percent after the intermission.
“I think we just guarded,” McBride said. “We got out of character in the first half then we end up fouling them a lot and then they’re in that defense. Obviously Braxton and Konnor are out but they’re playing that set 1-2-2 defense and I think in the third quarter and even for much of the second half we just really guarded them and let our defense trigger our offense.
“If you watch it was pass ahead, pass ahead and we didn’t run any set offense. It’s just once you get a stop then they’re in set rotations and we did a good job of keeping them in rotations. When they’re in rotations then you don’t have block-out assignments on Braxton, Brock and Konnor and that’s where all that trouble starts. But it’s because we guarded so well we didn’t let their defense settle.”
In many ways it was the same story as the previous matchup last month in Clear Fork. The exceptions were East all-stater Talan Muscari (broken nose) played for the Warriors, they started fast this time and the dam broke in the third quarter instead of the second.
“They blitzed us,” Asbury said. “They did a couple things differently and we didn’t react to it very well. Plus the first half we didn’t rebound the ball very well and the second half we didn’t get a chance to rebound and it seemed like every shot they took – I don’t know what their shooting numbers were but it felt like 110 percent to be honest with you. They’re a really good team and Kent’s a really good coach.”
After jumping out to a 17-10 lead in their last meeting, Westside found itself playing catchup early, trailing 7-0 in the opening minutes. Down 9-2 and struggling with East’s pressure, the Renegades found their footing, getting a 3 from Bradyn Waldron, a three-point play from Jacob Mullins and a a layup from Waldron to pull within a point at 11-10.
A bucket from Ethan Cline knotted the game at 13 after a quarter and Westside took its first and only lead early in the second frame when Ethan Walls found the bottom of the net.
East’s Konnor Fox answered with a layup on the other end that came after grabbing a pair of offensive boards before Waldron and Keegan Davidson exchanged 3s for another stalemate. A short jumper from Braedy Johnston reestablished order before the teams tied once more at 24 all. East ultimately took a 27-25 lead into the break but the flood hit instantly.
Davidson opened the second half with a steal and three-point play before Fox jumped a pass on the ensuing possession, breaking away for a timeout-forcing slam dunk. The onslaught continued with a pair of Braxton Morgan layups on assists from Davidson and Talan Muscari, pushing the advantage to 38-27.
The storm continued with Davidson again finding Morgan open in transition before Muscari popped the top with back to back treys off assists from Broc Johnson. The two exchanged roles the next time down the floor with Muscari hitting Johnson for a 3 that established an insurmountable 51-29 advantage. It never fell below 20 the rest of the way.
For East it was another step towards securing the No. 1 overall seed in the region, but also a potential preview of a regional championship game with the Renegades currently projected to be the No. 4 seed heading into a decisive week while East remains unbeaten in the region.
“We’re perfectly fine with a team knowing what our identity is and thinking, ‘Can you beat us?'” McBride said. “I think there’s something to be said about our basketball team that our guys know what we rely on and we’re good with it.”
Fox finished with 18 points and 17 rebounds (13 on the offensive glass) to lead East while Davidson netted 15.
Bradyn Waldron led Westside with nine points in the loss.
Westside
Bradyn Waldron 9, Jacob Mullins 5, Ethan Cline 6, Braxton Waldron 5, Ethan Walls 4, Hendrix Cook 5, Cameron Perry 5, Cooper Hatfield 1, Issac Blevins 2, Jaylon Walls 2
Wyoming East
Keegan Davidson 15, Talan Muscari 8, Broc Johnson 13, Braxton Morgan 10, Konnor Fox 18, Braedy Johnston 4, Wyatt Jessie 3
About the Author
