Wash High falls as shots don’t
Washington had the intensity. It had the desire. It had the aggressive defense that stifled and frustrated opponents and led the Little Prexies to a share of the section championship.
What Washington didn’t have Monday in its WPIAL Class 3A first-round playoff game against Ellwood City was an ability to make shots. And it was that ice-cold shooting, both from the field and at the free-throw line, that left the Prexies feeling numb after a 53-36 home-court loss.
“There was not enough execution,” Wash High coach Ryan Bunting said bluntly. “We had opportunities to put the ball in the hole and didn’t finish. When you’re in the playoffs, you have to finish.
“We knew what Ellwood City was. We watched a lot of film of them and they were what we expected. We just didn’t expect to not be able to put the ball in the basket.”
Ellwood City (16-7), the No. 9 seed, advances to the quarterfinals Thursday and will face top-seeded Deer Lakes. Wash High ends its season with a 15-8 record.
The Prexies made only seven field goals in the first half, 15 in the game and failed to set an offensive rhythm they could live with against Ellwood City’s rarely used 2-3 zone defense. Wash High wasn’t any better at the free-throw line. At one point, the Prexies were 2-for-9 at the line and finished 5-for-12.
Ellwood City coach Dan Bradley, a Wash High graduate, credited his team’s execution of the zone defense and ability to handle the basketball against the Prexies’ full-court pressure defense. Ellwood City had only 11 turnovers compared to Wash High’s 19.
“The keys for us were not turning the ball over, which would let them get out and run, and our defensive rebounding,” Bradley said.
Bradley opted to have Ellwood City the zone defense specifically to challenge Wash High to shoot from the perimeter. He said the Wolverines played only three quarters of zone defense all season.
“If I was scouting us, I’d play zone, too,” Bunting said. “Kudos to them for doing it.”
The game started off well for Wash High as it was able to get the ball inside the Wolverines’ zone to 6-6 center De’ondre Daugherty for short jumpers or to Travis Crutcher for baseline drives. Daugherty scored six of his team-high 12 points in the opening quarter, which ended with Ellwood City leading 17-11.
The Prexies also did a good job on the Wolverines’ Joseph Roth, who was second in the WPIAL in scoring at 25.6 points per game. Roth finished with a game-high 18 and was limited to five field goals. Nate Williams had 13 points for the Wolverines.
Ellwood City’s defense, however, frustrated Wash High. The Wolverines held the Prexies scoreless for 7½ minutes in the first half, and at one stretch Wash High went nine minutes between field goals. The half ended with Ellwood City leading 29-15.
The Prexies played with more pep in the second half but were never able to get the deficit down to single digits. The closest they pulled was 39-27 late in the third quarter.
The Prexies made only one three-point field goal, that coming in the fourth quarter. That allowed the Wolverines to pack in its zone all night.
Wash High played without leading scorer Ruben Gordon, who was not in uniform and not available.
“He averages about 15 points per game and gets us a number of turnovers,” Bunting said. “He’s also one of our better playmakers. When you’re missing one of your playmakers, it’s tough. It’s tough when you don’t have all hands on deck.”