BY GENE NARDI
The Wellington High School boys varsity basketball team hosted rival Seminole Ridge High School on Friday, Dec. 9, and coasted to a 75-44 victory before a capacity crowd.
Wellington’s Trent Frazier led the scoring for the Wolverines with 30 points, including five 3-pointers. The Hawks had difficulty containing Frazier throughout the first half; the Illinois commit played only early on in the second half.
Wellington (5-1) outscored the Hawks 43-16 in the first half. The accuracy of the Wolverines from the outside was damaging to the Seminole Ridge defense. Early, near the end of the first period, the Wolverines sunk back-to-back 3-pointers, from Frazier and Jay Medor, to deflate any Seminole Ridge momentum.
The Hawks (0-8) managed to collect themselves and slow down the Wellington attack. In order to close the margin on the scoreboard, the Hawks put up 17 points in the third, going toe-to-toe with the Wolverines.
Noah Katz and Max Kolb were instrumental in scoring most of the points for the Hawks. Katz was solid on the rebounds and fed the ball to Kolb, who notched 19 points for Seminole Ridge.
The challenge they faced was slowing the Wellington assault. The Wolverines were able to tack on additional points in the second half to keep the Hawk rally out of reach of the lead, and activated the running clock late in the game.
The constant pressure by the Wolverines paid off as they locked in the 75-44 win and improved to 5-1 on the season. Senior Sage Chen-Young had 11 points and a 3-pointer. B.B. Williams put up seven points and a 3-pointer.
Wellington played Jupiter, Forest Hill and Palm Beach Central high schools, while Seminole Ridge played Palm Beach Central and John I. Leonard high schools this week, but results were not available by press time.
ABOVE: Wolverine Jonathan Philistein powers around the Hawk defense.
