OAKWOOD — West Hall boys basketball coach Bobby Pless may want to bottle the final two minutes of Thursday night’s Region 7-AAAA showdown with White County.
The Spartans defense forced three turnovers and blocked three shots while the offense hit 11-of-12 free throws in the final 2:02 as they rallied for a 54-47 victory at the West Hall gym.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak for West Hall (10-12, 2-4 Region 7-AAAA) which showed a defensive toughness down the stretch that Pless said they have been looking for. They did let an eight-point first half slip away and then saw a five-point lead erased by the Warriors in the third quarter before staging the comeback.
“I don’t like losing a lead like that but the kids did a good job of settling down and getting back in the game,” Pless said. “We’ve lost several games just like that this season so it was good to see us hold on for one at the end.”
The Spartans zone defense in the first half appeared to frustrate the Warriors (13-8, 3-2) who managed just 8 points and no 3-pointers in the first quarter. They were held to just 12 points through the first 12 minutes of the game.
“We have the ability to be a good defensive team,” Pless said. “I feel like we’re starting to make some strides overall. We looked at four wins in the region was a key to stay out of the bottom two teams and we have two games left.”
The Warriors chances at perhaps grabbing the top seed in the region tournament took a big blow with the loss. The two teams’ will close out the regular season next week in Cleveland after White County plays host to Marist on Friday and Blessed Trinity on Tuesday. But, they have been tough at home with a 6-2 record.
West Hall jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead on baskets by Jeremiah Prather and DJ Buffington but White County answered with a 6-0 spurt on the strength of two Austin Harris baskets in the opening three minutes.
The Spartans defense then clamped down on the Warriors holding them to just six points and just one field goal over the next nine minutes while building an 18-11 lead on a Braden Martin 3-pointer. The Warriors got to within 18-15 on a Clay Dockery trey but the Spartans extended it to 25-17 on a stickback basket from Jesse Mallak.
Dockery then caught fire for the Warriors in the final minute scoring eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers, to pull them within 27-25 by halftime.
In the third quarter, White County used a 10-0 burst to run out to a 38-33 lead following a J. Ben Haynes 3-pointer. The Warriors took their biggest lead at 40-34 on a Chandler Harris basket to open the fourth quarter.
But West Hall answered with perhaps its best six minutes of the season outscoring White County 20-9 the rest of the way. Prather was the catalyst with 9 of his team-high 13 points in the quarter, including hitting 7-of-8 free throws in the final two minutes, and provided two huge blocks on defense to help keep the Warriors at bay.
White County managed just one Cooper Turner 3-pointer over the final 3:18 of the game as West Hall contested virtually every shot.
“Jeremiah has been playing well and those two blocks at the end were huge,” Pless said.
Buffington added 12 points, Noah Edmondson 10 points, and Martin 8 points for the Spartans.
White County, which closed out its season-long six-game road trip at 3-3, was led by Dockery, who poured in 16 points. Austin Harris finished with 9 points for the Warriors.
Free throws played large as West Hall was 22-of-32 and White County just 8-of-16 from the foul line for the game.
WHITE COUNTY GIRLS 63,
WEST HALL 42
The Lady Spartans’ Anna McKendree surpassed the 2,000-point mark scoring 11 of the team’s first 18 points as they trailed twice early at 2-0 and 4-3 but used an 11-0 run, sparked by McKendree, to take control.
McKendree, who was treated to a five-minute highlight video after the game, said the feat was more a reflection of the teams over the years.
“It means a lot for sure. But I couldn’t have done it without all of my teammates since I’ve been here,” she said. "But it was cool seeing the video at the end and all the people who have played here during that time."
With the win West Hall (15-8, 4-2 Region 7-AAAA) swapped places with the Lady Warriors (11-10, 3-2) for second place in the region standings.
West Hall used a dominating rebounding edge during its early first quarter run and then closed out the first half with a 12-5 spurt for a 32-18 lead. White County never could find its offense as leading scorer Dasha Cannon was in foul trouble most the game.
The Warriors managed just five third quarter points as West Hall blew the game open in the second half leading by as many 31 in the fourth quarter.
West Hall coach Bryan Richerson said it was the kind of game they are looking for as the regular season winds down.
“From beginning to end it probably was one of our better performances,” he said. “It’s all about handling their pressure. We were able to do that and play some good half-court defense. (White County) had an off night shooting and I think that contributed as well.”
It was a key game for both teams. White County was trying to keep pace with Marist for a shot at the No. 1 seed in the upcoming region tournament. West Hall needed a win to keep its momentum going. The Lady Spartans have now won six of their last seven.
“Positioning is crucial because you want to try and make the (region) finals,” Richerson said. “We want to finish in the top two so we can get that home game in the first round.”
McKendree finished with a game-high 31 points to lead West Hall and now sits at 2,021 points in her career. Kinsey Wilson added 19 for the Lady Spartans.
Sophomore Madi Phillips paced White County with 8 points. Cannon and Rachel Gearing each had 7 points for the Lady Warriors.
