The Yates Center Wildcats hoped to lock up second place at the Yate Center Mid-Season Tournament, battling Oswego on Friday after edging St. Paul 45-43 Tuesday night. Results from Friday’s contest were not available by press time.
In a battle of Three Rivers League foes, which will not count in the TRL standings, the Wildcats emerged victorious over the Indians, staving off a fourth-quarter rally by St. Paul.
“This is the second game in a row where we found ourselves in a hole and battled to a win,” Wildcats coach Lane Huffman said. “If we can match a good start with a consistent fourth quarter effort, this team will keep winning games. We still need to work on valuing the ball, especially late in the game. Turnovers are going to cost us games if we don’t lower that number.”
Sophomore guard Gavin Busteed posted a team-leading 24 points, followed by sophomore guard Ben Cook with 11 points. Junior forward Jeremiah Jones had 7 points and 10 rebounds, and Huffman believes he can be a threat during any contest.
“We were led on the boards by Jeremiah Jones again,” Huffman said. “Our guards did a great job finding him on slips to the basket. We’ve played a very unselfish brand of basketball lately and it’s turning into wins.”
With the win, the Wildcats improved to 6-7 overall. They hoped to make it 7-7 Friday when they hosted 4-9 Oswego.
IN GIRLS ACTION, the Wildcats fell to St. Paul 39-24. A slow start left them playing catch up for the majority of the evening after posting only three points in the first quarter. Junior guard Cayten Cummings and junior forward Jayda Rice tied for the team lead in points with seven each.
The Yates Center boys and girls return to the court Tuesday when they host Marmaton Valley.
The contests begin with a 5 p.m. junior varsity tip-off.
