Boys Basketball: Waubonsie Valley finishes off Bartlett

Updated: February 8, 2012 10:59PM

Host Waubonsie Valley overcame a sluggish start to Wednesday’s Upstate Eight Valley game against Bartlett en route to an eventual 52-40 win.

The Hawks led 10-3 midway through the first quarter when the Warriors hit their stride, finishing the period ahead 13-10 courtesy of a 10-0 run. Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith called a timeout with his team holding a 10-9 lead but the brief respite couldn’t slow down the Warriors.

Waubonsie Valley stretched its lead to 23-15 by halftime and 37-30 through three.

“I think our guys were looking ahead a little bit toward playing Saturday,” Waubonsie Valley coach Steve Weemer said. “I talked all week about never using the ‘M’ word, which is Metea (Valley) and we didn’t say that but we just knew our guys were a little sluggish even in warm-ups.

“I kind of got their attention by taking (the starters) out and put some other guys in, they gave us a spark and then the (starters) stepped up. So I was glad they responded in a positive manner (and) channeled their (anger) at me onto the court.”

Weemer said the team moved the ball better after his first-quarter substitutions and got everyone involved offensively. He also said the Warriors’ tough-nosed defense led to offense in the transition game. Last, Weemer praised the six-foot-four-inch bench duo of Javares Stewart and Demitrius Gray for their rebounding.

Matt Chaltin led the Hawks (11-13, 3-7) with 12 points on four three-pointers and Jonathan Leigeber scored all nine of his points in the second half for Bartlett.

Bryan Jefferson scored a team-high 11 for Waubonsie Valley and Jared Brownridge added 10. Brandon Malby and Dylan Warden each scored eight for the Warriors, who are now 16-7 and 8-2.

The Warriors bench outscored Bartlett’s reserves 13-7, and four of the Hawks’ points came in garbage time in the game’s final minutes. A three-pointer by Marcus Aluquin was the only damage done in meaningful minutes.

For Wolfsmith, the strong start to a game followed by a lackluster stretch is an all-too-familiar scene.

“We did that against Metea (Valley), we did that against Neuqua (Valley), we did that against East Aurora, and then we don’t respond when the (other) team comes back at us,” he said. “We start well, we run our stuff early, come out with good energy and then a team responds to that. We’ve got to learn to respond back to that.”

He said that he was happy with his team’s defensive effort, especially given that the Hawks held usual 20-points-per-game man Brownridge to 10. In Wolfsmith’s mind, too many missed easy baskets were more to blame for the loss. He said Bartlett left 10 or 12 points out on the court in uncapitalized-on bunnies.

Chaltin offered up a theory on why the Hawks tend to let early leads evaporate.

“I think when we get up, we start settling for threes more,” he said. “Definitely this game, we started settling for threes. We let them back in the game once we weren’t hitting them.”

He added that Bartlett wasn’t patient enough offensively later in the game.

The Hawks buried seven three-pointers for the night, compared with Waubonsie Valley’s one trey.

Brownridge scored eight of his points in the second half and Jefferson had seven in that span.

After a Chaltin three cut Waubonsie Valley’s lead to 35-25 with 3 minutes, 4 seconds to go in the third, Leigeber knocked down a three-pointer of his own to cut the gap to 37-30 at the end of three.

The Warriors scored to open the fourth and then Malby followed his own miss with a putback for a 41-30 advantage. Jefferson scored a layup off a steal to stretch the lead to 43-30, and the Warriors coasted from there.

Later Brownridge drilled a 15-footer and then converted a layup on consecutive possessions to give Waubonsie Valley a 47-33 cushion. Malby’s long two made it 49-33 with 3:02 to play.

Brownridge credited the Waubonsie Valley bench with picking him up in his two-point first half.

“They came in after we did because we weren’t playing hard enough, and they stepped it up for us and so that got our energy going, and that got me ready for the second half,” he said. “They’re very good players and they keep us working hard in practice.”

Waubonsie Valley will play Metea Valley Saturday for the Valley Division title. The Warriors currently are in second place in the division.

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