By NICHOLAS GAINEY
Special to TopSports.news
Despite a strong first-quarter performance, the Washburn Rural boys basketball team fell 52-46 to Blue Valley West in a Tuesday night non-conference game at Washburn Rural.
Washburn Rural senior Kaden Ballard scored 15 points with three 3-pointers in Tuesday's 52-46 home non-league loss to Blue Valley West. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
The visiting Jaguars held a small 5-2 advantage in the opening minutes, but the Junior Blues’ offense quickly came to life.
The hosts took back the lead with a 9-0 run that included a pair of 3-pointers from senior Kaden Ballard.
Blue Valley West would cut the lead to three, but the Junior Blues scored the final seven points of the quarter to take a 20-10 lead after eight minutes.
Washburn Rural featured intense defensive pressure, forcing six turnovers in the period.
In the second quarter, the teams were evenly matched, with the Junior Blues starting to cool off from the field.
Blue Valley West was able to cut the lead down to six, but Washburn Rural added a 3-pointer and a free throw before the break to maintain a 10-point lead heading into the locker room.
The Junior Blues lead began to dwindle in the third quarter, with the Jaguars putting together better offensive possessions and limiting turnovers.
Blue Valley West center Tyler Peterson finished a layup with a foul early in the period, knocking down the free throw to complete the 3-point play and cut the deficit to six.
The Jaguars would get back within two following a 3-pointer from Luke Goodale a few minutes later.
The teams traded baskets for the next few minutes, with Washburn Rural’s Simon Rowley knocking down a turnaround jumper from the free throw line to give the Junior Blues a 37-32 lead entering the final period.
After showing signs of life in the third quarter, Blue Valley West took control of the game in the final eight minutes.
Early in the period, the Jaguars took their first lead since the opening minutes with a basket from Brady Brungardt, but a layup from Ballard would give the Junior Blues a 39-38 advantage.
Washburn Rural would extend its lead to 44-40 before a pair of 3-pointers from Brandon Kirk and Cade Wysong gave the visitors a lead they would not relinquish.
Following the 3-point barrage, Goodale would extend the Jaguar lead to six with a basket and a pair of free throws.
Rowley would then draw a foul, knocking down both shots from the charity stripe, but the Junior Blues were unable to find the offense to take back control.
Goodale made two more free throws to bring the contest to its 52-46 result.
Junior Simon Rowley scored 13 points in Washburn Rural's 52-46 non-league loss to Blue Valley West Tuesday night. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Ballard led the Junior Blues with 15 points, knocking down three 3-pointers. Rowley was the only other Washburn Rural player in double figures, tallying 13 points.
Amare Jones led the hosts on the glass, pulling down six rebounds.
Goodale and Kirk shared the Jaguar lead with 12 points each, hitting a combined five three-pointers. Brungardt pulled down eight rebounds, adding five points off the bench.
With the Jaguars holding a significant size advantage, Washburn Rural coach Alex Hutchins knew that his team needed to force Blue Valley West to make mistakes.
“We’re not a very big team, and so for us to be effective defensively against teams that are bigger than us, we’ve got to force turnovers. We’ve got to pressure the ball and create some chaos,” Hutchins said. “ I thought we did a good job of that early, and that kind of disappeared as the game went on.”
After only mustering 16 points in the second half, Hutchins wants to see more activity on the offensive end.
“We were very stagnant (offensively),” Hutchins said. “I don’t know that we did a great job of generating good shots. I don’t think we did a great job of moving when other people had the ball. We’ll have to take a look at the film and see what we can do to make that better.”
BLUE VALLEY WEST 52, WASHBURN RURAL BOYS 46
Blue Valley West 10 10 12 20 – 52
Washburn Rural 20 10 7 9 – 46
Blue Valley West (4-5) – Goodale 3-11 4-6 12, Kirk 4-5 1-2 12, McGraw 1-2 0-1 2, Brungardt 1-2 3-4 5, Orr 2-4 0-0 5, Miller 1-4 0-0 2, Wysong 2-7 1-4 6, Adams 0-0 0-0 0, Peterson 3-3 2-4 8. Totals 17-38 11-21 52.
Washburn Rural (5-2) – Jones 0-4 6-8 6, Leonard 1-2 1-2 4, Ballard 4-9 4-6 15, Wright 0-2 0-0 0, Rowley 4-10 4-4 13, Hoytal 2-3 0-0 4, Schwinn 1-2 1-2 3, Chooncharoen 0-2 1-2 1, Preston 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-34 17-24 46.
3-point goals – Blue Valley West 7 (Kirk 3, Goodale 2, Orr, Wysong), Washburn Rural 5 (Ballard 3, Leonard, Rowley). Total fouls – Blue Valley West 18, Washburn Rural 19. Fouled out – Orr (BVW), Leonard (WR). Technical fouls – none.
