HOLMES TOWNSHIP — Wynford coach Mike Smith said his team is building some momentum over the last few weeks, having won two of its last three games.
“After coming off the Crawford game, I thought we were making strides coming forward,” Smith said. “I was hoping we wouldn’t have a step back tonight and I don’t think we did. I think we took a step forward. Any win is a win right now for us.”
The Royals shot the ball very well from the floor and forward Jaron Filliater scored 33 points in a 61-59 win over Seneca East Wednesday night.
The win was the first in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference for the Royals, who improved to 1-4 in the conference, 2-5 overall. Seneca East is 0-5 in the conference, 3-6 overall.
Wynford shot the ball very well from the floor, hitting 23 of 44 shots for 52 percent. But conversely, the Royals were just 10 of 23 from the foul line, four of 16 in the decisive fourth period, which permitted the Tigers to get back into the game.
“We just shot 43 percent from the line,” Smith said. “Besides missing free throws, I thought we executed pretty well down the stretch.”
They needed to because, down seven, 57-50, with 1:04 left in the game, Seneca East began to foul to get the ball back.
Wynford made just four of 12 free throws in the final minute, and the Tigers came storming back.
Seneca East’s Lucas Hicks scored on a follow, Isaac Mason, the leading scorer in the Northern 10 at 33.3 points per game, knocked down two free throws, and Alex King dropped a 3-point shot, cutting the lead to 59-57 with 20 seconds left.
But Wynford’s James Schiefer and Sam McMillan each knocked down a free throw to seal it.
Seneca East coach Anthony Langhurst said that his team just had a few possessions that went Wynford’s way and that was the difference in the game.
“We didn’t have any issue with effort,” Langhurst said. “We just had a few possessions where maybe guys are not holding out box outs for long enough, or maybe not making a good decision with the basketball. And it all kind of goes back to practice, goes back to drills and me coaching them a little bit harder.
“Luckily, we have a few days of practice ahead of us before we have a double-dip next weekend,” he added. “Hopefully, this is stuff we can correct.”
Mason led the Tigers with 29 points on the night, but he worked for his points, hitting 12 straight free throws at one point.
“That was our plan,” Smith said of making Mason work. “We were going to gap help on him. We did a little bit of man and a little bit of 1-2-2 zone. We just wanted to make sure we knew where he was at all times. We had the extra guy there to help.”
“(Mason’s) gonna have those nights where, if we’re not getting stops, it’s gonna be hard for him to find lanes offensively, because teams get back,” Langhurst said. “They did a great job mixing up man and zone. It’s hard for us to get him going offensively if he’s not finding lanes to get shots off. He just keeps grinding.”
Filliater scored 17 of his team’s 28 points in the first half, as Wynford held a 28-19 lead at the break. Wynford led, 45-40, entering the final frame.
“Jaron had a nice night,” Smith said. “But there are times when we get a bit too rushed, I think. When we catch a ball down low, our bodies speed up a little too fast. There are times when we teach them to slow our bodies down, pump fake and get yourselves under control. I thought we were a little bit too fast.
“We’re young and we kinda panic in those situations,” he added. “Guys like Sam McMillan, when he gets older, he’ll be able to finish all the time at the rim.”
Smith also praised point guard James Schiefer.
“He ran the offense and got things under control,” Smith said. “I thought we passed the ball pretty well. We made a few dumb passes here and there but overall, our decision-making was pretty good.”
Langhurst said that the way the game went Wednesday night has been the story of his team’s season thus far.
“We talked about it, because of the way both teams kinda play, the way both teams are kinda put together, that it would be a close game,” Langhurst said. “We just had to withstand a few of their runs. I thought the difference in the game was we were being a little careless with the basketball and they were being really aggressive and making good plays. It just seemed the ball bounced Wynford’s way.”
Wynford won the junior varsity game, 58-55. Spencer Miller paced the Royals with 23 points, Drew Johnson added 14 and Weston Prenger scored 10. Keeno Ruffing led Seneca East with 21 points and Lucas Bordner finished with 15.
Box scores
Seneca East 10 9 21 19 — 59
Wynford 15 13 17 16 — 61
Stats
Seneca East (3-6, 0-5 N10): Shots 21-68; 3-pt 5 (Alex King 2, Isaac Mason, Aiden Hines, Blake Foos); Free throws 12-14; Rebounds 33; Turnovers 14. Scoring: Graham Gibbs 1 0 2, Alex King 3 0 8, Isaac Mason 8 12 29, Aiden Hines 4 0 9, Kadin Snay 1 0 2, Blake Foos 1 0 3, Lucas Hicks 3 0 6.
Wynford (2-5, 1-4 N10): Shots 23-44; 3-pt. shots 5 (Jaron Filliater 5); Free throws 10-23; Rebounds 33; Turnovers 20. Scoring: Cainen Allen 2 2 6, Kohan Keith 2 0 4, Grant McGuire 1 0 2, Avery Langenderfer 1 0 2, James Schiefer 2 3 7, Sam McMillan 3 1 7, Jaron Filliater 12 4 33.
JV: Wynford 58-55.