Wharton drops their 8th loss of the season, plagued by yet another lousy second quarter, to the first place Newsome Wolves, 42-33.
The Wildcats came out firing on all cylinders and held a commanding 15-9 lead with at the end of the first quarter. Xavier Owens helped get the ‘Cats going as well as showed his leaping ability on a number of defensive boards early on in the contest. Damian Dixon looked to have picked up where he left off last by scoring 4 of the Wildcats first 6 points. Even Nick Swain added a transition layup that helped the Wildcats get out to the early lead, but they fell victim to the second quarter drought yet again.
Wharton managed just 4 points to the Wolves’ 13 in the second quarter. Sophomore, and Coach's son, Trent Mackey led the Wolves offense with 10 points in the first half, all on long range jumpers that helped the Wolves decrease the deficit and eventually take the lead late in the second half. Once Newsome took the lead on a free throw, Wharton never saw the lead again. Wharton trailed 22-19 at halftime.
The only good thing that ever comes out of Wharton’s second quarter struggles is a strong third quarter. But the ‘Cats continued to their scoring drought into the third quarter which allowed Newsome to slow up their offense and prevent the Wildcats from retaking the lead. AJ Astroth’s three point shot in middle of the third quarter tied the game up but Wharton was unable to capitalize on any of the next two possessions and couldn’t muster up a descent enough look to take the lead. Both teams failed to score in the final two minutes of the quarter resulting in a 29-25 Newsome advantage at the end of the third quarter
Newsome started the final quarter strong; Mackey found Andy Suslavich on the baseline and Suslavich sunk the three point shot to give Newsome their biggest lead of the night. Up by 8 with 6:43 left in regulation, Wharton struggled to find the bucket and would only manage to score 1 point in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter. Astroth’s free throw, Wharton’s only point, cut the lead to 7 with 3:59 remaining. Newsome responded immediately with a basket of their own and continued to keep the ‘Cats from getting within striking distance.
Stephen Simmons managed to rip the ball from Samal Shepherd and sprint down court for the easy layup and put the deficit back to 7 with 2:39 left to play. With about two minutes to play Wharton finally starting showing some promise when Zach Litton and Stephen Simmons were trying to spark the comeback effort with hustle and heart. But the lead was just too much to fathom and Newsome ended the Wildcats’ hopes at the free throw line.
Wharton scored 15 points in the first 8 minutes of the contest but scored only 18 points in the remaining 24 minutes, 6 of which came off desperation three pointers by AJ Astroth.
The loss gives Wharton their 7th district loss and almost guarantees the Wildcats an unfavorable seed in February’s district tournament. Newsome maintains the number one seed but as the district tournament draws closer, the King Lions seem to be the team to beat. King holds an 8-3 district record but has not yet lost a district game on the court. King’s three losses all came from their forfeits earlier in the year due to their ineligible player. King swept the regular season meeting with Newsome, including a 62-28 beat down of the first place Wolves earlier this week.
Wharton, now 10-8 (5-7), will look to take out some frustration on Gaither tomorrow at 2:45 at the Gaither gymnasium. Wharton will return home next Tuesday against Freedom.
0 COMMENTS:
Post a Comment