BLANCHESTER — A sleepy affair Friday night at Blanchester High School turned into a wild fourth quarter.
Despite the late drama, the Williamsburg boys basketball team remained unbeaten in Southern Buckeye Conference play with a 54-48 win over Blanchester.
It was a game Williamsburg nearly let get away from them.
“Everyone in the gym could see, we had every chance under the sun to pull away from them and to stomp them out,” BHS head coach Adam Weber said. “When a good opponent comes in, we have a hard time getting the job done.”
Williamsburg (14-5 overall, 8-0 SBC) went on a 10-0 run early in the second quarter to erase a six-point deficit.
Blanchester didn’t score for the first 5:44 of the second quarter, missing its first 12 shots from the floor. Nevertheless, Blan found itself down just four points at halftime, 26-22.
The Williamsburg lead extended to seven midway through the third. A Dylan Miller three in the waning seconds of the third pulled Blan within three, 36-33, as the fourth quarter began.
Blan (9-9, 4-4) struggled in the early stages of the fourth as well, making just two field goals over the first 5:24. Burg used that time to expand its lead to 10 with 2:36 left.
Then chaos ensued. A Nick Hopkins bucket was followed by a steal. JD Wiederhold scored and was fouled, pulling Blanchester within five.
Dylan Miller looked to cut the deficit to three with a floater. Before the ball dropped through the cylinder, Wiederhold dunked it in.
Williamsburg coach Dan McKibben was rightfully incensed, as Blan was clearly guilty of offensive basket interference. The points stood, and Blanchester was within three after scoring seven points in 16 seconds.
To complicate matters for Burg, they immediately turned it over. Blanchester had a chance to inbound the ball under its own basket. After doing so, they were called for a three-second violation, turning it over.
After Drew McKibben broke the Blan run with a basket, Nick Hopkins was called for a charge with 1:41 left with BHS trailing 49-44.
On Blan’s next possession, Dylan Miller scored the last of his game-high 21 points, pulling Blanchester within three, 49-46.
Williamsburg finished the game off at the free throw line, making 5 of 8 over the final 79 seconds to hold on for the win.
“Your performers have to come up with just a couple plays when the momentum is in your favor and it is time to choke somebody out,” Weber said.
In addition to Miller’s 21 points, he also had eight rebounds. Wiederhold added 11 points and 11 rebounds.
McKibben led the way for WHS with 17 points. Landen Ridener had 15 points.
SUMMARY
February 3, 2017
@Blanchester High School
Williamsburg 54, Blanchester 48
W 10.16.10.18…54
B 16.06.11.15…48
(54) WILLIAMSBURG (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Trent Kreimer 3-3-0-9, Cameron Hart 2-0-0-4, Landen Ridener 3-3-6-15, Nate Bogan 2-0-0-4, Jacob Wells 2-0-1-5, Drew McKibben 5-1-6-17. TOTALS 17-7-13-54.
(48) BLANCHESTER (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Blake Baker 1-0-0-2, Nick Hopkins 2-0-0-4, Quenton Miller 1-0-0-2, Dylan Miller 8-5-0-21, Harbor Lovin 0-0-1-1, Jordan Stroud 3-1-0-7, JD Wiederhold 5-0-1-11. TOTALS 20-6-2-48.
FIELD GOALS: W 17/53 (McKibben 5/8, Ridener 3/14, Kreimer 3/7); B 20/67 (D. Miller 8/21, Wiederhold 5/11, Stroud 3/13)
3 POINT FIELD GOALS: W 7/23 (Kremer 3/7, Ridener 3/9); B 6/22 (D. Miller 5/11)
FREE THROWS: W 13/21 (Ridener 6/8, McKibben 6/8); B 2/8
REBOUNDS: B 35 (Wiederhold 11, D. Miller 8, Q. Miller 5, Stroud 4)
ASSISTS: B 7 (Q. Miller 4)
STEALS: B 9 (Hopkins 3)
BLOCKED SHOTS: B 6 (Wiederhold 4, Q. Miller 2)
TURNOVERS: W 14; B 15
