ADAMS TOWNSHIP — Led by Jeffery Mansfield’s 30 points, Wilmington pulled away from a persistent Clinton-Massie squad with a strong second half Friday night en route to a 60-48 victory in South Central Ohio League action at the Lebanon Road gym.
With the victory, WHS improves to 4-1 overall, while the Falcons are still searching for their first win of the season.
After Wilmington jumped out to a 12-7 first quarter lead, the Falcons came back with a strong second quarter effort (15-7) making it a 24-22 edge for the Hurricane at intermission.
Wilmington stretched the lead to 41-35 after three quarters and steadily pulled away in the final period to nail down the win. In the second half, Wilmington outscored Clinton-Massie 36-26.
Mansfield topped all players in scoring with 30 points, 17 of which came in the second half.
Dylan Beaugard also reached double figures for the Hurricane with 16 points, all coming in the final three periods. Chris Wolary added 8 points for the Hurricane.
High scorer for the Falcons was Trey Uetrecht with 17 points, the lone Clinton-Massie player in double figures on the night. Daulton Wolfe added 7 points for Massie.
“Our kids are really working hard and this is a busy stretch for us. This is the third of what will be five games for us in a span of 10 days,” said WHS head coach Mike Noszka.
Tonight, the Hurricane travels to Lima Senior High School to play in the Kewpee Holiday Classic. The Hurricane will play Dayton Ponitz. WHS will be hosting the Princeton Vikings on Tuesday at Fred Summers Court. Then, they will host Chillicothe Unioto on Thursday night, the final game before the Christmas break.
“Tonight, we had to grind it out and played hard,” Noszka said. “Yet we have to play smarter. I saw improvement tonight in a lot of areas and better individual efforts. Chris (Wolary) keeps working hard and Jeffery (Mansfield) had a super game. Anytime you score 30 points in a high school game, you’re doing things well. Jeffery really has worked hard and he just keeps improving.”
The veteran Hurricane coach also spoke highly of his point guard.
“Dylan certainly controlled the pace of the game and was right behind Jeffery in the scorebook,” Noszka said. “Plus, I want to compliment Trey Uetrecht of Clinton-Massie; he plays hard on both ends of the floor. As for us, we just have to do a better job when it comes to stopping the other teams’s best player. That is something we have to get better at right now.”
For Falcons’ first-year head coach Todd Cook, he is just hoping his squad can realize its first victory sometime soon.
“It just seems like the same old story for us right now,” said Cook. “In all four games we have played, the kids give it all they got and play their butts off, but we just can’t get the ‘W.’ We’re executing better and the players are adjusting to accepting their roles on the floor. But at critical times, we turn it over or make a mistake which leads to points on the other end of the floor. Overall I am pleased with the signs of improvement, but we have got to get that first win under our belts.”
The Falcons will travel to Valley View on Monday, followed by Cincinnati Schroeder on Wednesday at home.
SUMMARY
December 16, 2016
@Lebanon Road gym
Wilmington 60 Clinton-Massie 48
W 12.12.17.19…..60
C 07.15.13.13…..48
(60) WILMINGTON (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Gauche 0-0-0-0 Smith 3-0-0-6 Beaugard 7-0-2-16 Mansfield 9-2-10-30 Wolary 3-1-1-8 Wright 0-0-0-0 Barker 0-0-0-0 Stewart 0-0-0-0 Morris 0-0-0-0. TOTALS 22-3-13-60
(48) CLINTON-MASSIE (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Myers 3-0-0-6 Cook 2-1-1-6 Chowning 1-0-4-6 Greathouse 1-0-0-2 Uetrecht 6-2-3-17 Wolfe 1-0-5-7 Laake 1-0-0-2 Settlemyre 1-0-0-2. TOTALS 16-3-13-48
