12-07-12
BY JACK BULLOCK
WALTONVILLE – On Friday night at Waltonville, the host Spartans took on their first real challenge of the Midland Trail Conference season by hosting North Clay.

And it took a supreme effort to pass this huge test.

Using an 8-0 run to begin the game, Waltonville managed to fight off multiple scoring runs by the visitors to hold on to a 61-55 league win.

With the triumph, the Brian Gamber coaching era has started out at 6-0.

Spartan senior guard Trey Witges topped all scorers with 25-points while 6-foot-5 classmate Jordan Hale added 22-points and 12-rebounds to the sheet.

However Hunter Coggins nailed perhaps the biggest shot of them all, canning an important 3-pointer in the fourth quarter to break the game's final tie.

Coggins, a 6-foot junior guard, nailed a trifecta from the left wing with 1:50 to go to give Waltonville a 54-51 advantage.

“He (Coggins) is a shooter and we have been on him about having confidence. Step up, that is why you’re in there,” said Coach Gamber. “He came off a screen and he was open and he banged it in. I hope that gives him more confidence because that was a huge shot in a big game. And that is what we need. We need contributions from the kids other than Witges and Hale.”

Witges closed out the win with a steal and fast break lay in and a pair of free throws in the final seconds.

North Clay saw its mark fall to 2-3 on the season (1-2 in the MTC) despite 18-points from senior Cody Yoho.

This 6-foot-3 senior forward nailed four 3-pointers, including a bomb from the top of the arc that evened the game at 51-all.

Seniors Logan Hilderbrand and Nathan Micklautz added 15 and 14-points respectively.

The Cardinals could have folded up like a “card table” after an early onslaught by the hosts.

Waltonville roared out to a 13-2 lead in the first five minutes with Witges scoring six of those points and Hale cashing in on a conventional three-point play while being fouled by Micklautz.

Micklautz provided some early offense for the Cardinals, hitting a pair of shots in the frame which closed at 17-8 Spartans.

North Clay missed 11-shots in the first quarter but soon got going to challenge Waltonville the rest of the way.

The Cardinals got into high gear with a 10-2 sprint to begin the second quarter.

Coach Brian Wattles' club got a steal and fast break score from Lawson Britton and Yoho's first 3-pointer, this one from the left corner, as North Clay got to within 20-18 at the 5:21 mark.

Waltonville answered the Cards' run with Hale and Witges closing out the half with big baskets.

Hale scored on a steal and fast break and also drilled home the first of his three 3-pointers from the top of the circle.

Witges scored on a drive to the basket as Waltonville led 31-23 at intermission.

“We came out a little bit flat but we bounced back really well,” said Coach Wattles. “Coach Gamber and his team did a really good job controlling the tempo of the game tonight, they had some really good sets.”

The back-and-forth trend continued in the third quarter.

Like a pair of tennis champions, each team took turns smashing winners.

North Clay would make a run, Waltonville would answer.

The Cards scored seven-consecutive points to get to within a basket with 2:18 remaining.

Yoho connected again from long-range and North Clay converted one of the Spartans six third quarter turnovers into points on a transition bucket by Britton.

But then Hale dialed long distance again, as did teammate Matt Rogers, to push the lead back to 43-35.

North Clay junior guard Dylan Walker nailed a 3-pointer and Yoho scored on a steal and fast break to make it 43-40 heading into the final frame.

Despite all of the runs, North Clay never captured the lead.

After the Yoho 3-pointer that evened the game at 51-all, the Cardinals could have gotten the advantage but Walker missed a 1-and-1 opportunity and a few seconds later, Coggins put Waltonville up for good.

North Clay stayed in the game because of its ability to get second and third chances on the offensive end and by doing a good job of taking care of the ball.

The Cardinals ended up with a 34-26 rebounding edge, with 16 of those boards coming off of their own missed opportunities while committing just seven turnovers.

However Coach Wattles club hit just 22-of-62 attempts in the contest (35.4 percent) and just 5-of-20 from behind the arc.

“They (Waltonville) were able to execute when they needed to,” said Coach Wattles. “They were able to get the ball to Witges and Hale at the right times. We would come down and not be able to execute and get the ball to the right people at the right time. We would get on a run, but we could never finish that run. My kids battled hard tonight. Going forward it is a tough loss but it is something we can build on.”

On the other hand, Waltonville converted 21-of-47 shots from the floor (44.6 percent).

Waltonville, in its first season back in the Midland Trail Conference after a hiatus as an Independent, is now 3-0 in the league.

“They (North Clay) are a very good ballclub and they have several guys that cause us some difficult matchups. They have length and some athletes. They have a bunch of guys who can shoot it. They are very well coached,” said Coach Gamber. “I told the kids all week that this was going to be a very tough conference game and it was. They were going to battle us. They did the whole time and our guys stuck in there and fought until the end. I'm glad the time ran out because I'm not sure we could have held on any longer.”

The Spartans head back into action next week with a pair of tough games; hosting 2A Carlyle on Tuesday before traveling north to face its long time rival Woodlawn on Friday night.

North Clay doesn't play another game until December 18 when they host Edwards County.

North Clay (55) – Hillebrand 7 0 1-3 15, Micklautz 5 0 1-2 11, Britton 2 0 0-0 4, Cox 2 0 0-0 4, Yoho 1 4 4-6 18, Rubsam 0 0 0-0 0, Walker 0 1 0-1 3, VanDyke 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-17, 3FG-5, FT-6-12, PF-17.
Waltonville (61) – Winchester 0 0 0-0 0, Laird 0 1 0-0 3, Whisenant 1 0 0-0 2, Coggins 0 1 0-0 3, Rogers 1 1 1-2 6, Witges 7 0 11-14 25, Hale 6 3 1-2 22.
2FG-15, 3FG-6, FT-13-18, PF-16.
Fouled Out – Micklautz - North Clay.
Technical Fouls – None.