Tomcats score TKO
East never lands decisive blow, but manages to stay ahead of Waubonsie
So what did we learn from Wednesday's entertaining nonconference basketball matchup in which visiting East Aurora beat Upstate Eight rival Waubonsie Valley 67-62?
Aside from the obvious, that the Warriors need to work on free throws and layups, both these teams are resilient. It would be unwise for any opponent to ever count them out.
(Donnell Collins/For the Beacon News)
donnell collins / For the Beacon News
Waubonsie Valley couldn't make a free throw (going 0-9) and had 14 turnovers to East Aurora's eight in falling 67-62 in a nonconference matchup between the two Upstate Eight rivals. Their Feb. 14 meeting at East will count in the league standings.
Four Tomcats starters -- Will Brown (22 points), Tramell Weathersby (14), Ryan Boatright (13) and Jamar Shepard (11) -- led East (11-2) to its 11th straight win.
Jelani Johnson had 20 points for Waubonsie (7-6), which got 14 and 10 points, respectively, from reserves Geremy Savoy and Tyler Perkins.
The pace was frantic, just like "Dr. J" -- East coach Wendell Jeffries -- ordered. And when it was over, it was hard to tell who was more drained, the players or the fans who witnessed the entertaining show.
"That's our tempo," said Jeffries, who had four starters score in double figures as his team won its 11th straight.
"We practice at that speed. We play at that speed."
And they used it to jump on the Warriors early, taking a 7-0 lead. Tramell Weathersby (14 points) scored on a layup off a feed from Jamar Shepard (11 points).
Shepard then stole the ball and fed William Brown (22 points), who drained a 3-pointer.
After the hosts missed their third straight shot, Brown pulled down the first of his nine rebounds and fed Jamario Taylor for a layup.
"Even on the road we want to play at that pace," said Jeffries, whose team also got 13 points from point guard Ryan Boatright. "A lot of people can match our (starting) five but not many can match our (top) 10."
While he got only seven points from his reserves, Jeffries did get quality minutes from the likes of Kevin Lash, Mike Turner, Rashante Zackery and Lorico Washington.
East led by as many as nine points in the opening quarter, but the Warriors' bench came up big, too. Six-foot senior reserve Geremy Savoy scored eight of his career-high 14 points in the second quarter.
East led just 32-30 at the break.
"That's the Warriors," Jeffries said. "(Waubonsie) is a successful program and they're well-coached. I think our kids thought if we came out and punched them in the mouth, they would go away.
"We punched them in the mouth, but they didn't go away. They punched back. At halftime, I think our kids were a little surprised it was still a two-point game. I wasn't."
Twice in the third quarter East boosted the lead to nine. Midway through the fourth, Shepard's three-point play made it (59-48), but the Warriors wouldn't go away -- even though they didn't make a free throw in the game.
Warriors senior Jelani Johnson scored 12 of his 20 points in the final quarter and reserve Tyler Perkins had eight of his 10 points in the second half, but the Warriors couldn't get closer than five points.
"Waubonsie kept countering," Jeffries said. "Every time we would punch, they would counter. The last one was a little too much for them because we took the air out of the ball. Contrary to the belief of many of our fans, that helped us win the game."
For coach Steve Weemer, whose Warriors fell to 7-6, it was a case of another close one that got away.
"Every time we got (the lead) down to a manageable number, we'd have a key turnover or unforced error," Weemer said.
"You can't go 0-for-9 from the free-throw line, 4-of-15 from 3-point range, miss six layups and commit (14) turnovers and expect to win. But you take all that away and we still only lose by five. They're a good basketball team. They've won 11 in a row for a reason. We just can't get over the hump."
But they'll always have a puncher's chance. East Aurora 67, Waubonsie Valley 62
