The West Holmes boys’ basketball team (1-4, 0-2) has struggled in the early stages of this season, and last week the Knights suffered a losses to Ohio Cardinal Conference rivals New Philadelphia and Wooster for their third straight defeat.
Coach Ben Belden has confidence in the team, and said they just need to keep working and battling it out game in and game out. He said the important thing is that for the most part the Knights haven't been getting blown out in their losses.
“We’ve been competitive in every game," said Coach Belden. "That's the biggest takeaway. Even in our biggest loss (Wooster), it still feels like if a couple bounces go our way, it's a different game. We play in a tough conference and every night is going to be a battle. We just need to make the plays necessary at the right time and we are still learning how to do that.”
The Knights took on New Philadelphia (2-1, 1-1) on Dec. 13, taking a 46-36 loss to the Quakers as they couldn’t stop Colton Slaughter who put up 27 points.
The game was tied 4-4 when Quinn Miller nailed a three to put the Quakers up by three. New Philadelphia continued the run with a make from deep by Slaughter. New Philadelphia was up 10-8 in the quarter when Lynn Cline grabbed a steal for West Holmes. Collier Cline drilled a three soon after. Up 11-10, Sam Sprang nailed a three and West Holmes took a 14-10 lead after one.
It was a big second quarter for the Quakers, outscoring the Knights 21-8 to take a 31-22 lead at halftime. Slaughter hit three consecutive threes in the quarter and had 18 points after two. Owen Schoelles had a steal in the quarter for New Philadelphia when West Holmes was up by one, which started the dominance for the Quakers.
The third quarter was low scoring on both sides, with West Holmes outscoring the Quakers 4-2. Manny Camacho had a steal in the quarter for West Holmes, while Slaughter and Carson Crandall had steals for the Quakers. New Philadelphia had a 13-9 advantage in the fourth, making all their points on free throws including seven for Slaughter.
Slaughter's 27 points were a game high. He was 7-for-12 and 3-for-5 from three. Slaughter also had an assist and a steal. Reid Wells had five points, a rebound and an assist for the Quakers.
Sprang led the Knights with 11 points and Nate Fair had 10 points, both on efficient shooting going 5-for-7. Sprang also grabbed three boards and dished out three assists. Collier Cline had nine points and five assists and Manny Camacho chipped in with six points.
Both teams shot well with West Holmes hitting 52% of their shots and 67% from deep. However, free throws proved to be huge as New Philadelphia sank 82%. They were 42% from the floor and 50% from three.
Each team had 17 rebounds, and New Philadelphia led 5-2 in steals. West Holmes had a 15-13 advantage in assists.
On Dec. 16 the Knights fell to the Wooster Generals (2-4, 2-1) by a score of 72-55.
“Every time we felt like we were closing in, they'd make a couple shots and eventually they pulled away,” said Coach Belden.
Wooster led 19-13 after one quarter and 34-25 at halftime. The Generals had a 20-16 advantage in the third quarter and finishes strong to take the 17 point win.
Wooster shot 48.3% while holding West Holmes to 31.3%. The Generals also hit 45.5% of their threes going 10-for-22, and held the Knights to 23.5%. West Holmes got to the line plenty, going 21-for-31. Wooster led 33-31 in boards, 6-0 in steals and 5-2 in blocks.
Wooster’s Anthony Carmean had 15 points, one rebound and one steal. Anthony Sines scored nine points while dishing out three assists. Aidan Holford and Tre Edwards each had nine points. Edwards was 2-for-3 from deep, and had four boards and two assists. Holford added two steals and three blocks on defense.
Sprang had a solid all-around night with 22 points, three boards and two assists.
“Sam's been pretty consistent for us this season and has played with a good amount of confidence that has proven to be a calming presence for us, at times,” said Coach Belden.
Collier Cline put up 14 points, five rebounds, four assist. Fair scored nine points and grabbed four boards. Camacho scored six points and led the team with eight rebounds. He also had the only two blocks for West Holmes.
This week West Holmes takes on Mount Vernon (3-2, 2-1) at home on Dec. 22 at 7:30 p.m.
