Mistakes prove costly for WHS
One constant of the Washington Prexies boys basketball team is their ability to force turnovers and score in transition.
It is their shooting from both the field and free-throw line that at times has let them down in crucial moments.
Yough took advantage of the Prexies shortcomings in their half-court offense and earned a hard-fought 45-41 win at venerable Wash High gymnasium Tuesday evening. The Cougars (7-2, 12-7) inched closer to first place Washington (8-2, 13-4) in Section 4 of Class 3A. Yough has won seven straight while the Prexies are suddenly nursing a surprising two-game skid at this portion of section play.
“We got the turnovers we wanted, maybe not as many as we would have liked the first time we played them,” Prexies coach Ryan Bunting said. “We just were not able to finish like we would have liked.”
Washington defeated Yough 56-37 on the Cougars home court earlier this month. Tuesday evening was a different story as the Cougars answered each Prexies punch by responding with one of their own as neither team led by more than seven points all evening.
“We showed a lot of toughness tonight on the road against a high-quality opponent like Wash High,” Yough coach Jim Nesser said. “Really proud of my kids effort tonight, I really am.”
Tyler Travillion paced all scorers with 17 points for Yough. Ruben Gordon was the lone double-digit scorer for Washington with 10.
The Prexies got off to an ice-cold start in the first quarter from the floor, shooting a ghastly two-for-14 from the field as the Cougars took a 9-8 lead at the end of the opening frame. Matthews gave Yough the end of the quarter advantage with a lay-up right before the buzzer.
Washington righted the ship in the second quarter by shooting six of 10 from the field. Zxavian Willis, Ruben Gordon and Braiden Wise chipped in four points apiece in the quarter as the Prexies carried a 22-17 lead into the locker room at halftime.
A Wise mid-range bucket gave the Prexies a 24-17 lead at the start of the third. But two Travillion three-pointers in the frame helped spark the Cougars’ comeback effort as Yough outscored Washington 15-9 in the third and pushed the visitors into a 32-31 lead at the end of the quarter.
“He’s done it all year,” Nesser said in reference to Travillion. “He’s a catch-and-shoot guy. Same kind of stuff he’s done it all year for us.”
The two squads traded blows in the fourth in a nip-and-tuck game. Two Willis free throws with a little more than two minutes remaining gave Washington a 41-37 lead, but the Cougars simply shrugged and went to work, outscoring a stunned Prexies team 8-0 down the stretch.
A Travillion lay-up along with an Austin Matthews putback tied the score with a minute left in regulation. Terek Crosby then stole a pass and scored on the other end to give Yough the lead at 43-41. Crosby then garnered another steal and fed Travillion, who was fouled with less than a second remaining. Travillion buried two free throws which provided Yough the final margin for victory.
“We willed ourselves to win,” Nesser added. “It’s what sports is all about really.”
Bunting added he too was proud of how his group fought.
“I was proud of our grit and how we fought,” he noted. “We’ll talk before practice and see where we are at and go from there. We’ll learn from this and get better as a team.”