Feb 2, 2016 4 min read

With the WPIAL playoffs a little more than a week away, Class AA coaches are still searching for answers to one of the biggest questions of the boys basketball season.

How do you stop Waynesburg?

It’s a question that wasn’t being asked two months ago. The Raiders were replacing 85 percent of their offense from last season, which ended in a preliminary round playoff loss.

Suddenly, they are now among the top offensive teams in Class AA and their potent one-two punch has them headed back to the postseason.

Sophomore point guard Darton McIntire and junior center Mitch Warman have caused fits for opponents all season.

McIntire, who moved to the district before the school year, has emerged as one of the top scorers in the WPIAL, averaging 26.6 points per game. He’s set the school’s single-game scoring record and has surpassed 25 points on 11 occasions. Warman, who plays taller than his 6-2 frame in the low post, has chipped in 19.7 ppg.

“It’s a huge advantage,” McIntire said of having Warman. “I’ve never played with a pure big man like Mitch. He dominates the glass and doesn’t ask questions about it. He posts up, sets hard screens. He can definitely score the ball, but a lot of the stuff that doesn’t show on the stat line he does. You can’t give that kind of stuff up from a big man.”

Though both have been pivotal for the fifth highest-scoring offense in Class AA, first-year head coach Kirk King believes it’s defense that has sparked Waynesburg (6-4, 10-7), which has won six of its last seven games, and its another tandem that has made it possible. Junior forward Nate Blair and senior forward Cole Garrett have successfully shut down the opponent’s top players.

“Pretty much for the entire year we’ve been able to put up points on offense, but more importantly is what’s happened defensively – and we’re still not at a point where we want to be – but we’re starting to hold teams better and get stops in key situations,” King said.

It was not long ago that the Raiders looked like a young team searching for an identity. They lost three consecutive games during the winter break, including a three-point defeat at section rival Beth-Center, to drop to 3-6 overall.

Everything changed Jan. 5, when Warman and McIntire combined for 58 points to help the Raiders beat Frazier, 87-85. After seeing close games slip away early in the season, Wayneburg’s players discovered that stronger defense in key situations woud lead lead to more wins.

“I don’t know if it taught us how to win, but we definitely knew from that point on what it took and how to close those games,” McIntire said. “Beating Frazier showed us we can close out these games and we can play hard-nosed defense. That’s changed the momentum of our season.”

It also helps having a potent offense that opponents cannot solve.

McIntire and Warman each been been held to single digits only one time. The Raiders are 0-2 in those games, but when one of them scores at least 30 points, Waynesburg is 6-2.

It isn’t just a two-man show. Five other players have scored in double figures.

“It is a nice luxury to have both of them because they are such hard workers,” King said. “Since Mitch is a center and Darton is a point guard, we can run that two-man game. What it does is once opponents start to key on that, these guys know how to share the ball and kick to their open teammates.”

Though the recent surge has brought a palpable excitement, the Raiders know their work is far from over. They can secure third place in the section with a win over Carmichaels Wednesday night. They have a key road game against rival Charleroi next Monday – one night before the playoff pairings are released.

“We have a lot of work to do and we expect to go far in the postseason,” Warman said. “We just want to ride our winning streak and carry it into the playoffs.”