By ANDREW GILL
TopSports.news
Phenomenal 3-point shooting and aggressive defense pushed Washburn Rural's boys basketball team to Friday night's 59-45 Centennial League road victory over the Hayden Wildcats.
Senior Jack Hutchinson led the Junior Blues’ long-range effort, shooting a stellar 4 for 5 from 3-point range and an overall field goal percentage of 83 percent for a game-high 16 points while fellow senior Joe Berry added another 15 points and 7 rebounds.
Washburn Rural, which improved to 9-4 overall and 8-2 in the league, canned 8 3-pointers as a team while coach Kevin Muff was also pleased with his team’s defense effort.
“We got out and pressured them,'' Muff said. "We’ve got some things we have to get better at, but that was the difference in the game, turning the tide with our defense.''
Muff’s squad got off to a slow start, ending the first quarter down 15-8 but that’s familiar territory for the Junior Blues.
“I can’t remember a game we’ve started fast in yet this year, but we’ve got enough experience out there on the floor,'' Muff said.
Rural scored 16 points in the second quarter and only allowed 4 from Hayden, taking a 24-19 lead into halftime.
Hayden senior Geivonnii Williams’ 15-point offensive effort kept the Wildcats (3-10, 2-8) in the game in the second half, but the Wildcats ultimately had no answer for Rural’s long-range shooting.
Muff feels confident in his team, but knows the Junior Blues have a lot of work to do as the post-season draws near.
“As a team, I really don’t know where we’re at,'' Muff said. "I need to have some bench guys step in and give us better minutes. I think if they come along and accept their role and be really good defensively then we can make a run at the end of the year.''
Junior Trent Duffey added 12 points for Hayden while sophomore Jack Bachelor joined Hutchinson and Berry in double figures for Washburn Rural with 11 points.
WASHBURN RURAL BOYS 59, HAYDEN 45
Washburn Rural 8 16 19 16 – 59
Hayden 15 4 15 11 – 45
Washburn Rural (9-4, 8-2) -- Bachelor 3 5-7 11, Williams 2 2-2 8, Berry 5 4-7 15, Patterson 1 0-1 2, Hutchinson 5 2-2 16, Howard 1 0-1 2, Brady 1 0-0 3, Kidd 0 2-2 2. Totals 18 15-22 59.
Hayden (3-10, 2-8) -- Williams 6 1-2 15, Muller 3 0-0 7, Duffey 4 2-2 12, Pivarnik 0 2-2 2, Otting 3 0-1 6, Rice 1 1-1 3. Total: 17 6-8 45
