Wilmington gets back on winning track, 69-40 over East Clinton

0

WILMINGTON — It was a four quarter effort Tuesday night for the Wilmington boys basketball team, as the Hurricane got back on the winning side of the ledger with a 69-40 triumph over visiting cross-county rival East Clinton in South Central Ohio League play at Fred Summers Court.

Wilmington jumped out to a 22-12 first quarter lead and stretched the advantage to 33-19 at halftime.

Unlike the previous contest against Miami Trace, Wilmington outscored the Astros by 36-24 in the second half to secure the victory.

Wilmington was led by Chris Wolary with 23 points, 12 coming in the first half. Dylan Beaugard also reached double figures with 14 points, including nine in the opening quarter.

Throughout the first half, WHS head coach Mike Noszka went to his bench with regularity and, for much of the fourth quarter, gave plenty of minutes to the younger members of the squad.

Ten different players reached the scorebook for Wilmington.

“We just have to keep getting better every game and keep improving every time we practice,” Noszka said. “In our system, every player gets a chance to play and we are constantly assessing the entire squad. There’s going to be many opportunities for everybody to play.

“As I have said before, we are still searching for our identity, it may take the full season.”

Noszka was especially pleased with the contributions from Wolary.

“We challenged Chris and he answered the bell tonight,” the veteran coach said. “We expect him to be like this — a dominant player both as a shooter and on the boards every night out.”

Jeffery Mansfield just missed double figures with nine points. He had a thunder jam with 3:00 to play in the third quarter to virtually double the score, 45-23. At the end of the third quarter, Wilmington was in command, 51-29.

For Astros’ head coach Tony Berlin, two key factors stood out. Wilmington’s dominance on the offensive boards and his squad committing 23 turnovers.

“You can’t expect to win letting them control the offensive boards like that. Wilmington pulled down 20 offensive rebounds and we just did not take care of the basketball,” the former WHS assistant coach said. “When you look at those two statistics, it’s easy see why we did not win the game. Wilmington’s defensive pressure is so tough. They can take things to a much different level that we just cannot match up with.”

Another facet of his team’s play which was disturbing to Berlin was its lack of success from the free throw line.

“We were just terrible from the line, making only 3 of 15 attempts. That’s very uncharachteristic of us from the stripe,” he said.

In a losing cause, Wyatt Floyd led the Astros with 18 points, including 12 of East Clinton’s first 19 points. Cameron Connor followed with nine points for East Clinton.

Both teams resume with SCOL road games on Friday night. The Astros travel to Greenfield to face the Tigers. Wilmington will play at the Lebanon Road gym against Clinton-Massie.

SUMMARY

December 13, 2016

@Fred Summers Court

Wilmington 69 East Clinton 40

E 12.07.13.11…..40

W 22.11.18.18…..69

(40) EAST CLINTON (fg-3fg-ft-tp) McCarren 1-0-0-2, Pence 3-0-0-6, Mitchell 2-1-0-5, Floyd 7-2-2-18, Connor 4-0-1-9. TOTALS 17-3-3-40.

(69) WILMINGTON (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Morris 1-0-0-2, McIntosh 1-0-0-2, Evans 3-0-0-6, Gauche 2-0-0-4, Wright 2-1-0-5, Smith 1-0-0-2, Beaugard 5-1-3-14, Barker 1-0-0-2, Mansfield 3-0-3-9, Wolary 9-2-3-23. TOTALS 28-4-9-60.

http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2016/12/web1_BBK_ec_berlin-1.jpg

http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2016/12/web1_BBK_ec_berlin2-1.jpg

http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2016/12/web1_BBK_EColdsW_wolarymansfieldsmith-1.jpg

http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2016/12/web1_BBK_ecwil_boxout-1.jpg

http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2016/12/web1_BBK_W_evensEC_mccarren-1.jpg

Wilmington’s Curtis Gauche (left) and Alex Wright (right) attempt to trap East Clinton’s Matt Mitchell (40) during Tuesday night’s game at Fred Summers Court.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2016/12/web1_BBK_W_gauchewrightEC_mitchell-1.jpgWilmington’s Curtis Gauche (left) and Alex Wright (right) attempt to trap East Clinton’s Matt Mitchell (40) during Tuesday night’s game at Fred Summers Court. Mark Huber | News Journal

http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2016/12/web1_BBK_W_mansfieldwrightEC_player-1.jpgMark Huber | News Journal

http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2016/12/web1_BBK_W_smithEC_mmitchell-1.jpgMark Huber | News Journal

http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2016/12/web1_BBK_W_wolaryEC_trio-1.jpgMark Huber | News Journal

http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2016/12/web1_BBK_W_wrightEC_conner-1.jpgMark Huber | News Journal

http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2016/12/web1_BBK_wil_band-1.jpgMark Huber | News Journal

http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2016/12/web1_BBK_wil_barker-1.jpgMark Huber | News Journal

http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2016/12/web1_BBK_wil_brass-1.jpgMark Huber | News Journal

http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2016/12/web1_BBK_wil_symbols-1.jpgMark Huber | News Journal

http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2016/12/web1_BBK_wil_flute-1.jpgMark Huber | News Journal

http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2016/12/web1_BBK_wilec_arms-1.jpgMark Huber | News Journal

Wilmington’s Dylan Beaugard, East Clinton’s Alex Pence, Wilmington’s Matt Smith and East Clinton’s Jacob Olds battle for possession of the ball during Tuesday night’s game at Fred Summers Court.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2016/12/web1_BBK_wilec_looseball-1.jpgWilmington’s Dylan Beaugard, East Clinton’s Alex Pence, Wilmington’s Matt Smith and East Clinton’s Jacob Olds battle for possession of the ball during Tuesday night’s game at Fred Summers Court. Mark Huber | News Journal
Hurricane defeats Astros

By Bill Liermann

WNJ Sports Writer

Bill Liermann covers high school sports for the News Journal. Follow him on Twitter @lierjet

No posts to display