BY GENE NARD
The Wellington High School boys basketball squad traveled to face crosstown rival Palm Beach Central High School in a pivotal district match-up Friday, Dec. 16. The Wolverines managed a second-half surge that propelled them to a 72-56 victory.
The enthusiasm was electric, with the gymnasium filled from top to bottom. Both teams traded blows early, and the Broncos had some success neutralizing Wellington’s Trent Frazier. The Wolverines (8-2) were able to hold a one-point lead midway through the first period 4-3.
Drew Potter dropped in a pair of free throws to retake the lead 5-4. The lead would change hands three times in the first period. Wellington’s Sage Chen-Young sunk a three-pointer to extend the Wolverine lead to 11-5, forcing the Broncos to call a time-out.
Palm Beach Central (3-6) reclaimed the lead with seconds left in the first period, 15-14, by taking advantage of Wellington turnovers. The Wolverines fired back to tie the contest at 16-16 to end the first period.
Frazier delivered a stunning blow by putting up five quick points to grab a 21-16 lead. That sparked the Wolverine offense into extending its lead to end the first half 44-27. Both Frazier and Chen-Young dropped in three-pointers.
“The two played off each other extremely well,” Wellington coach Matt Colin said. “I was proud of them both.”
The second half proved difficult for the Broncos to close the gap. Defensively, they could not solve the Frazier/Chen-Young scoring duo. They combined for 55 of the Wolverines’ points. Offensively, Palm Beach Central had to play catch-up but could not get closer than within eight points of Wellington’s total.
The Wolverines continued to play better defense in the second half, and put enough points on the board to take the 72-56 win.
“We always know Trent can score, and we’ve been challenging Sage to become more of a scorer,” Colin said. “He accepted the challenge and was awesome.”
Frazier scored 30 points for Wellington, and Chen-Young put up 25. They combined for four three-pointers. Geneus Gyvicht had 21 points for the Broncos, while Potter put up 11 points.
With the win, the Wolverines improve to 8-2 on the season. Palm Beach Central falls to 3-6 but is still likely to contend for a post-season berth.
ABOVE: Wellington’s Sage Chen-Young tries to work closer to the net.
