On Friday, Dec. 6, the Wellington High School boys varsity basketball team hosted Seminole Ridge High School and held onto the lead throughout, defeating the Hawks 71-51.
With the win, Wellington maintained a 4-0 record early in the season. The Wolverines played a near complete game, rotating players through the contest.
“We had built a big lead, and that was a good opportunity to play other players who work really hard in practice but don’t necessarily get a lot of playing time,” Wellington coach Matt Colin explained. “It also helps to evaluate those guys in live action.”
The Wolverines opened up quickly, pushing into double digits on the scoreboard to lead the Hawks 15-3 midpoint in the first period. At the sound of the buzzer ending the first period, Wellington commanded a 26-6 advantage. The Wellington defense held the Hawks to a single digit most of the first half of play. Seminole Ridge rallied late in the half to close the margin to 39-12 before the half ended.
Wellington was able to consistently maintain close to a 20-point lead for the balance, closing out the third period 56-28, with the coaching staff rotating players continuously through the second half as well.
The Hawks fired back, despite turning the ball over early on, and closed in 62-38 well into the final period. The Hawks at one point got as close as 16 points to the Wellington lead, but it was the Wolverines that secured the 71-51 victory. Wellington was too strong for the Hawk defense, with every Wolverine player scoring at some point in the game.
“We’re very happy for our team and the players that every single player on our team scored in the game,” Colin said. “I thought our press, which we just recently started to work on, worked very well, causing a lot of turnovers or quick shots. We still need to work on transition offense and making good decisions.”
Nick Green led the Wolverine scoring with 17. Leonty Frazier and Marvel Allen each totaled seven points. The Hawks did outscore Wellington in the final period 23-15, and Tylar Cerez led the Hawks with 15 points. Connor Kolb and Delkis Adams each had two three-point baskets for Seminole Ridge.
