The Danville boys’ basketball team (2-13, 1-6) got a strong one-two punch out of Wesley Payne and Walker Weckesser, as they combined for 38 points in a 58-47 win over Mount Gilead (3-8, 1-5) on Jan. 20.
"Wesley has really grown up and is handling the ball a lot better," said Danville Coach Steve Lyons. "I asked Walker to be more aggressive offensively and play off the shot more often."
Mount Gilead took a 15-11 lead at the end of one quarter, with Rowan Fitzpatrick scoring seven points including a three. Hayden Somerlot also nailed a three for the Blue Devils. Weckesser and Ashton Spaulding each hit threes for Danville, with Weckesser leading the charge with four opening quarter points.
"Had a big, long three at the end of the first Quarter by Ashton Spaulding to keep us in the game," Coach Lyons noted.
The Blue Devils were outscored 11-9 in the second quarter, and the Indians took a 26-20 lead into halftime. Fitzpatrick led Mount Gilead with nine points at the half.
In the third quarter Weckesser scored 10 and Payne had seven points to lead the Blue Devils to cut the deficit to one by outscoring the Indians 20-15. It was all Danville in the fourth quarter, outscoring Mount Gilead 18-6 in the final frame. Carson Proper had a nice put back basket where he drew a foul at the end of the game. They finished off the win with eight free throws in the last minute.
"We really amped up practice after the loss to East Knox and talked a lot about playing with more intensity," said Coach Lyons. "Kids responded and didn't panic after falling behind early Made a lot of free throws at the end when they counted."
Payne finished the night with a game high 20 points, hitting three from deep and going 7-for-8 from the foul line. Weckesser put up 18 points, going 7-for-10 from the line and hitting three threes. Carson Proper and Spaulding each had seven points in the win. Kendall Carter was big on the glass with 11 boards to go with four points.
The Indians were led by Somerlot with 16 points. He hit five threes in the game. Fitzpatrick hit double figures with 11 points. Gage Baker scored eight points for Mount Gilead.
