The Yates Center Wildcats picked up their first Three Rivers League win during Tuesday’s come-from-behind victory over St. Paul.
Facing a 16-10 deficit after the first quarter, the Wildcats found their footing. The Indians suffered their seventh loss of the season. Yates Center now stands 4-5 overall.
“Stats aren’t official yet, but I am sure Jeremiah Jones ended with a double-double,” Yates Center coach Lane Huffman said. “We’ve desperately needed someone to step up on the boards, on both ends. Jeremiah deserves a lot of credit for the win this evening.”
While Jones, a junior guard, was a force in the paint, sophomore guard Ben Cook was a force everywhere else. Cook had a team-leading 21 points, followed by Jones with 13. While successful on offense, Coach Huffman believes Yates Center’s composure on defense played a significant role in the win.
With a 20-7 foul differential, Huffman said the Wildcats focused on the aspects of the game they could change and not the calls made by referees.
“We gave them open looks and second chance opportunities in the first,” Huffman said. “For much of the rest of the game we held them in check in those categories. St. Paul is great at 3-point shooting. We wanted to run them off the line, which I thought we did well.”
By limiting St. Paul beyond the arc, Yates Center capitalized on fastbreaks.
Among the players driving to the basket, along with Cook and Jones, were sophomore guard Gavin Busteed, who scored 9 points in the winning effort. Junior guard Evan McVey and sophomore forward Jacob Smoot scored 6 points each. Sophomore guard Marcus Cummings and junior guard Colton Burkholder scored a bucket each.
“We did a great job battling back from a weak defensive effort in the first quarter,” Huffman said. “I also credit our guys battling against what is beyond our control. We still need to improve staying in front of our defender and tightening up our help rotations.”
