Final Team Camp - Varsity get a win - JV drop two in final seconds
On Tuesday, June 18, the Wartburg Bulldogs travelled to Gatlinburg-Pittman for their final preseason action with the TSSAA-sanctioned "dead period" quickly approaching. The team knew they better eat some Wheaties before going because they had 4 straight games between the Junior Varsity and Varsity starting at 4 PM. Thankfully, they had most of their athletes available and were able to get some serious time on the floor. So what happened?
Game 1: Varsity vs. Maryville Christian... 60-47 WIN! This game saw Landon, Lawson, Evan, and the 2 Ian's starting. That's a strong line-up to start with a very strong group of rotational backups to come in. Ian Franchise scored the first 5 points for the Dogs while they felt the veteran presence of Lawson "The Raider" Swint back in. He's playing through the pain of shin splints - but brought a lot of physicality to the post taking a charge in the first. Nothing gets a bench fired up more than when a player successfully takes a charge... and the Raider got the Dogs keyed up with that one. "Lone Wolf" Johnny Bingham came in off the bench and quickly popped two signature three's getting the score up to 15-15 at the end of the first. In the 2nd quarter, the Bulldogs started moving the ball around efficiently - getting several nice looks for mid-range jumpers. Ian Robinson and Evan Crouch both grabbed nice steals - and nice assists abounded... Bulldogs on top 37-26 at the half. Once the Bulldogs got that lead, they never let it go. They would continue playing quality, efficient basketball while cruising to a win for the first win of the day.
Game 2: Junior Varsity vs. Maryville Christian JV - 49-47 OT LOSS - The Bulldogs JV has been a tough out so far this preseason. This game saw them get down early, but battle back taking this one to overtime. My notes have a WHOLE LOT of Paxton Quinney in it. Paxton is in that territory where he is young enough to play JV - but has the skills and maturity to get plenty of time for the varsity as well. Quinney got at least 10 points, and my notes say he was "tackled trying to make a rebound." Noah Ward said, "Paxton is a tough guy... He can get tackled into the wall, and he just gets up and gets back in it!" There were lots of steals (Avery Stafford, Parker Rogers, Kasan Hutcherson, and Reid Quinney) and lots of blocks (Kason Hutcherson, Daniel Bunch, Noah Ward) in this one as the Bulldogs had stingy defense. Maryville-Christian went ahead by 2 with 5.5 seconds left... but they fouled the wrong guy when they put Parker Rogers on the line. With ice in his veins - he knocked down his free throws sending it into overtime 47-47. The rules of the day were sudden death OT - first basket wins. We got a quality shot off that didn't fall - and Maryville-Christian won with a free throw. All in all - great, close contest!
Game 3: Varsity vs. Gatlinburg-Pittman... 63-39 LOSS... The team that hosted the tournament did not intend to get shown up on their home turf. They started off by getting out to a commanding lead, and they coasted to victory from there. It looks like a couple of players were able to get something going starting in the second quarter as Landon "Lights Out" Quinney had a nice steal, a sweet reverse layup, and a three-pointer. Ian "Deadly Lefty" Robinson also filled up the notes with several quality 2-pointers and difficult drives. Robinson can be deadly from three - but his savvy dribbling skills have him most deadly while carving up the opposition as he slashes to the basket. This one was a little lopsided - but the Dogs hung in there and got some work in regardless.
Game 4: Junior Varsity vs. Claiborne County... 48-47 LOSS... After losing their first game in dramatic fashion in overtime, the Junior Varsity came into this fourth and final game of the day hoping for a win. Parker Rogers started off scoring a ton of Bulldog points. He had at least 7 of the first 9. Noah Ward was battling for rebounds - dishing one to "Rampage" Reid Quinney for a basket... and putting one back up for his lone basket of the game. Avery Stafford scored at least 6 points in this one - with Paxton "Man Hands" Quinney coming in at the end in take-over mode. Back and forth the score went - we were scoring point for point keeping pace with Claiborne County. At the end of the game - with a VERY tight score - I'm told the refs goofed and gave Claiborne the ball to throw in when it was actually Bulldog ball. And that pretty much decided the game. The Dogs ended up down by 4 with :18 seconds left... The Bulldogs got a three-pointer to end the game - but still came up one point short. VERY tight game - good to see the Dogs putting in the work and always competing!
Here are a few other notes:
Game 3: Varsity vs. Gatlinburg-Pittman... 63-39 LOSS... The team that hosted the tournament did not intend to get shown up on their home turf. They started off by getting out to a commanding lead, and they coasted to victory from there. It looks like a couple of players were able to get something going starting in the second quarter as Landon "Lights Out" Quinney had a nice steal, a sweet reverse layup, and a three-pointer. Ian "Deadly Lefty" Robinson also filled up the notes with several quality 2-pointers and difficult drives. Robinson can be deadly from three - but his savvy dribbling skills have him most deadly while carving up the opposition as he slashes to the basket. This one was a little lopsided - but the Dogs hung in there and got some work in regardless.
Game 4: Junior Varsity vs. Claiborne County... 48-47 LOSS... After losing their first game in dramatic fashion in overtime, the Junior Varsity came into this fourth and final game of the day hoping for a win. Parker Rogers started off scoring a ton of Bulldog points. He had at least 7 of the first 9. Noah Ward was battling for rebounds - dishing one to "Rampage" Reid Quinney for a basket... and putting one back up for his lone basket of the game. Avery Stafford scored at least 6 points in this one - with Paxton "Man Hands" Quinney coming in at the end in take-over mode. Back and forth the score went - we were scoring point for point keeping pace with Claiborne County. At the end of the game - with a VERY tight score - I'm told the refs goofed and gave Claiborne the ball to throw in when it was actually Bulldog ball. And that pretty much decided the game. The Dogs ended up down by 4 with :18 seconds left... The Bulldogs got a three-pointer to end the game - but still came up one point short. VERY tight game - good to see the Dogs putting in the work and always competing!
Here are a few other notes:
Building Chemistry
You know what makes the difference between good teams and not-so-good teams at the high school level? Team work! Being a one-man show will get you only so far on a basketball court - and my notes were full of passes/assists in the contests today. Noah "Screen Shot" Ward jokingly reported, "I had my new career high for Wartburg with 4 points in the first game." He went on to say the way it happened was "Hot Streak" Cole Wilson dotted him with the "absolute perfect" pass for an easy layup... and then did the exact same thing on the next play. The other team got wise to their play after the second bucket - but it's clear that the youngsters are developing some chemistry with all of this work they've put in this offseason.
Players On the Mend
After a few team camps that Lawson Swint had to sit out - it was good to get his presence back in the middle. Even if he was taped together with KT tape - we've needed his presence down low. Another player that can provide some size in the middle is Luke "Crabcake" Ward. He went down with a pneumonia diagnosis today - so prayers up for him! Get well soon!
Losing Stinks
Days like today can be rough. The Junior Varsity battled back and narrowly lost a winnable game in a sudden-death overtime. To make matters worse - the JV turned around and lost another very tight game in the final seconds on a really weird bad call. It wasn't even a call, it was just an oversight mistake about whose ball it was. That one confusing gaffe late in the game was too much to overcome. There are always lessons to learn in losses, but let's be honest - losing stinks. We have a good team with a nice roster... the chemistry is coming - the coaching is adjusting and fine-tuning our players... Get hungry... stay hungry... even with a break coming up - don't lose your edge!