Sports
Buckeyes Get Third Conference Win, Beat Wellston
By: Michael Roth
Posted on:
Free throws and layups can lose games for teams, and for Wellston, it killed them tonight.
Wellston got what they wanted in the paint, but went 3 of 12 from the charity stripe – those misses eventually costing the them their chance at victory as Nelsonville-York (6-8, 3-4 TVC-Ohio) held off Welston 55-51.
“It was big. Our guys needed it after being off for a week,” Nelsonville-York head coach Jamie Justis said.
N-Y didn’t start off strong, allowing Wellston to start off the game hot from the field and only miss three shots the entire first quarter.
In the second quarter, Bryce Richards had a 6-0 run by himself to bring the Buckeyes within a bucket. Richards led the Buckeyes in scoring with 14 points and his presence was huge for the Buckeyes’ offense.
Wellston held this early lead due to success breaking each of the defenses that N-Y ran.
While N-Y utilized a multitude of defensive styles, it didn’t use the 1-3-1 zone very often in tonight’s game. Justis noted that it could be a future weapon for the Buckeyes to unleash depending on the matchup.
“We are still working out the kinks, but it will depend on our opponent,” Justis said.
Wellston kept it simple on the defensive end and ran a 2-3 zone all game – something that N-Y was able to prepare for in practice, having not played in a week.
Mikey Seel was able to take advantage of the zone and made three 3-pointers.
In the second half, N-Y was finally able to get their first lead of the game at 29-27 and, from here, they never looked back. Wellston was able to bring the game within two points after falling behind by as many as eight. However, they never tied nor took the lead.
The game got chippy when Wellston’s only double-digit scorer, Brice Randolph, was intentionally fouled when attempting a layup that would’ve brought the Golden Rockets within two.
At the end, it was the free throw line that helped the Buckeyes hold off the Golden
Rockets, with Ethan Boyer hitting both of his free throws to put the Buckeyes up four. Boyer ended the game with a double-double consisting of 11 points and 10 rebounds.
“We are talking about changing the culture and people will look back at this senior class that was the group that helped change that,” Justis said.
Nelsonville-York will return to action on Saturday when the Buckeyes go up against Trimble in a TVC crossover contest.