01-10-15
BY JACK BULLOCK
WOODLAWN – Even the best of teams will have a bad quarter. Or in the case of Hamilton County a really good one.

The Woodlawn Cardinals, the ABV top team in 1A and state-ranked squad, had the bad one.

The Cards were cruising along toward their 12th win of the season on Saturday night.

They were in total control over the visiting Foxes, leading in a dominating fashion 27-7 at halftime on their home floor.

All signs pointed toward an easy win on the resume.

But someone forgot to let the visitors know that the game was in the bag.

Coach Keith Welch and his Hamilton County squad came out with a big rush in a very good third quarter and put a brief scare into the hosts, cutting a 20-point disadvantage down to eight at one point in the second half.

Nevertheless, as the old adage goes, the Foxes dug themselves too big of a foxhole to get out of on Saturday night.

“In the first half we came out dead on defense and you can't do that against Woodlawn,” said Coach Welch. “They are a fundamental, executing ball-club and you can't have one breakdown because they will see it and execute on it every time. So we talked about it at halftime about coming out and competing on every defensive possession and get the rebound. Then come down on offense and execute and we did that for about seven minutes there and cut it down to single-digits. You just can't get down 20 to a quality ball-club like that. We are just trying to get better right now.”

Behind Ross Owens and his 24-points the Cardinals improved to 12-3 on the season with a 60-40 win in a contest that had much more drama than the final score would depict.

Blake Wollerman added 11-points to the Woodlawn total as Coach Shane Witzel's team began the game strong and finished off the Foxes late for a good win against a 2A club that didn't give up despite being held to single-digits in offense in the first 16-minutes.

“We got several good looks to start the game and we got off to a good start. So I felt really good about the first half,” said Coach Shane Witzel, who notched his 400th win of his 19-year career at Woodlawn on Friday night. “In the second half they (Hamilton County) made some of their shots that they were missing in the first half. But our intensity (to begin the game) was outstanding. We flat out got after it. And I can't say we really had a let down in the third quarter, they just ran their offense a bit better in the second half. They hit some of their shots from the perimeter and that was the difference.”

Owens basically bailed out his teammates on this night as he nailed six 3-pointers and 10 of his points were the only ones notched by the Cardinals in a third quarter where they were outgunned 20-10.

“He (Owens) got some really good looks early in the game. And with anybody, not just scorers, when you get those first couple of shots to fall the next thing you know it seems like the basket is a little bit bigger,” said Coach Witzel. “When he takes shots within the flow of the offense he is a good shooter. And he can create his own, and we don't want to discourage that, but we want to be patient enough to get the best look we can.”

Most rallies by teams down by over 20 fall short and that was the case with the Foxes, as they saw their record slip to 5-10 on the season.

They did, nevertheless, make things very interesting at Sides Gym in Woodlawn.

Trailing by a “score” of of points starting the second half, Hamilton County went to the deep ball for their Hail Mary attempt to get back into the game.

And after the first few minutes of the third quarter, the Foxes were back in the hunt.

Getting some long distance shots to fall, Hamilton County rallied.

After Owens canned 3-pointer number three in the contest for himself to open the third quarter, Woodlawn had its largest lead at 30-7 at the 7:41 mark.

At this point, the Foxes could have folded but they didn't.

The recovery began with sophomore Oakley Dial, a 5-foot-9 sophomore, who hit four 3-pointers in the second half.

Dial finished with a team-best 16-points and hit a pair of treys in the third quarter.

Back-to-back bombs by this sophomore triggered an 11-0 run to force a Woodlawn TO.

Nailing shots from the top of the arc and the right wing, Dial got his Foxes back on their feet.

Then baskets by seniors Tyler Kelly and Tucker Braden (another 3-pointer) and suddenly Hamilton County trailed just 30-19 with 3:55 to go in the quarter.

Owens, while the rest of the Woodlawn team struggled in the quarter, answered with a basket to stop the rally briefly.

But consecutive scores by Braden and sophomore Jake Scattone got the Foxes to within 32-23.

Two more scores by Hamilton County on another 3-pointer by Braden and a mid-range bucket by Scattone kept the Foxes in the rally mode.

Owens delivered two more baskets (another 3-pointer and a drive down the baseline) and Woodlawn still led 37-27 heading to the final eight minutes.

As fortune would have it, Hamilton County got one final bucket in the run they were on with Scattone scoring to open the final quarter with a drive to the basket, making it 37-29.

Woodlawn then scored seven straight points.

Owens hit his sixth 3-pointer for his final points of the night and Cardinals' teammates Wollerman and Austin Ballard pushed the lead to 44-29 that forced a Hamilton County timeout.

The Foxes got two more 3-pointers (Kelly, Scattone) to cut the margin down to 48-35.

While Owens carried the club in scoring for the first three quarters and the early moments of the fourth, he passed the baton to his teammates for the rest of the contest.

Senior guard Parker Renaud, who was scoreless in the first three quarters, added six points to the total with a pair of baskets in the final eight minutes.

He drove the lane for a score and he then took a nice assist from Wollerman while the Cardinals broke the press for a basket while being fouled.

His converted three-point play helped put away Hamilton County, pushing the lead to 51-35 with 3:14 left.

Dial closed his night with one final 3-pointer and a rebound basket late but Hamilton County committed four of their turnovers in the final minutes.

The Foxes would get no closer as Woodlawn, who struggled early from the foul line (7-of-15), hit 3-of-4 in the final :59.7 to close out the victory.

Looking at the opening two quarters there was no indication that this was going be the least bit entertaining of a game as the Cardinals jumped out to a huge advantage.

Woodlawn, behind Owens' eight-points and a pair of baskets by Wollerman, scored the game's first 12-points and led 16-4 at the first buzzer.

Hamilton County missed their first six shots and fell behind.

They didn't score in the first 4:16 of play and never got a lead.

Woodlawn hit 11-of-18 from the floor in the first half with Wollerman and Owens leading the scoring in the second quarter.

An Owens 3-pointer and a free throw by junior Brent Harris, Woodlawn had a substantial lead at intermission.

Ballard added eight-points for Woodlawn while Harris netted seven for the hosts in the competition.

The Cardinals finished with a good shooting performance (23-of-41 for 56 percent) while holding a 30-22 rebounding edge.

“We did a good job of keeping them off of the offensive glass. They really go after offensive rebounds hard and the way that they play physical defense we didn't turn the ball over much,” said Coach Witzel. “We made some good passes. Some good cuts and screens so our offensive efficiency was pretty good throughout the game.”

The Foxes weren't so fortunate in their shooting on the night as they hit just 15-of-46 overall (32.6 percent) which was the main reason for their huge shortfall in the first half.

Hamilton County missed 22 of those shots in the first 16-minutes (2-of-24) however they got the shooting percentage up higher to make a game of it in the second half.

“Blake Wollerman played outstanding tonight, great defense. Him and Renaud are two guards that flat out get after it,” said Coach Witzel. “And our post defense was pretty good. I felt like we did a pretty good job when they tried to pound it inside on us.”

In a cleanly played game offensively, the Cardinals committed just five turnovers compared to just six by Hamilton County.

The Foxes have just one game next week, at Johnston City on Friday before a week of hoops at the Benton Invitational Tournament that begins on the 19th.

Woodlawn has road games slated for North Clay and Herrin on Tuesday and Friday before the Midland Trail Conference tournament begins, also on January 19.

“It (400-wins) doesn't mean a whole lot right now but it makes me think back to all of the players I've had and the coaches I've had the privilege to work with more than anything,” said Coach Witzel. “My family and the fans that we have and people that support me and allow me to do this and I truly appreciate that. I think about the people that aren't here anymore and that makes it a little more emotional. It's all about the kids. You don't get to play this game very long and you get one chance to play high school basketball. I just try to make it to where they can have the best experience that they can while they are in high school.”