WILMINGTON – In the midst of a four-game losing streak, Wilmington High School boys basketball coach Mike Noszka felt it was time to reassess team goals.
It was obvious from a defensive approach, the Hurricane was not following the script. Going into Tuesday night’s game with former South Central Ohio League foe Miami Trace, re-evaluating those goals was a step in the right direction.
The end result was a 20-point victory for the Hurricane, 61-41, at Fred Summers Court. The win halted their four-game losing streak and was the sixth victory of the season for WHS.
“In the past few games, we did not defend, we did not rebound the basketball and most important of all, we did not take care of the ball,” Noszka said. “Tonight, we did those things and you can see the difference.”
Willie Morris paced the Hurricane attack with 21 points, including 16 in the first half. Cameron Coomer added 13, all in the first three periods.Sam Jacobyansky had 14 for the Hurricane, including a trio of three pointers.
For Miami Trace, leading scorer was Austin Mathews with 14 points, all coming in the first three quarters. Trevor Barker added 11, all in the third quarter of action.
Miami Trace will be going to Jackson in Frontier Athletic Conference play Friday.
Wilmington returns to SBAAC American Division play Friday when Western Brown visits FSC. The Broncos defeated Wilmington in the first matchup at Mt. Orab, 52-31, on Dec. 14.
In the early minutes of the game, things did not go well for the Hurricane, as the Panthers jumped out to a 17-9 first quarter lead. Steadily, Wilmington chipped away at the Panther’s lead, and after three consecutive three-pointers by Morris, Jacobyansky and Coomer, the Hurricane took a 26-21 lead and never looked back.
It was a 29-21 margin for WHS at halftime. Wilmington won the third quarter battle, 21-15, to take a 50-36 lead after three quarters. In the fourth, Miami Trace managed just five points as the Hurricane salted away the victory.
“Our defensive effort tonight was very solid and Cameron (Coomer) did a real good job defensively,” said Noszka. “Willie (Morris) got us going offensively and when we needed those big threes to get the momentum started, he came through for us. Anytime you can hit eight threes, it’s gonna be a good night for us.”
SUMMARY
January 29, 2019
@Fred Summers Court
Wilmington 61 Miami Trace 41
MT 17.04.15.05…..41
WI 09.20.21.11…..61
(41) MIAMI TRACE (2fg-3fg-ft-tp) Moore 0-0-3-3, Barker 1-3-0-11, Bernard 0-1-0-3, Mathews 4-2-0-14, Conn 0-1-0-3, Steele 0-1-0-3, Brown 2-0-0-4, Rodgers 0-0-0-0.
Team Totals: 7-8-3-41.
(61) WILMINGTON (2fg-3fg-ft-tp) Morris 6-3-0-21, Coomer 3-2-1-13,Sweeney 0-0-2-2, Custis 1-0-1-3, Anicic 0-0-0-0, Spears 0-0-0-0, Jacobyansky 1-3-3-14, Butcher 3-0-2-8, Stewart 0-0-0-0.
Team Totals: 14-8-9-61.
