12-04-2018
BY JACK BULLOCK
BLUFORD – On Tuesday night, the Webber Township Trojans stepped onto their home floor less than 24-hours after dropping a road game to Zeigler-Royalton, 54-47.

The loss was to a team who hadn't tasted victory in over a year.

The Trojans had whipped the Tornadoes, 64-42 back on November 24th in the seventh place game at the Christopher Thanksgiving Tournament.

So Webber head coach Brad Beaty wasn't sure what to expect from his squad when they hit the hardwood again in their first Midland Trail Conference contest of the season against the Odin Eagles.

Although the contest was far from being a gem, this young Trojans' squad made the most of their late game chances.

Rallying from eight-points down in the fourth quarter, Webber Township opened up the MTC season with a 48-46 win.

As both teams struggled throughout the contest it was the hosts who had the most big plays at the end of the game, which improved their overall stock to 2-4 and now 1-0 in the league.

The Trojans got a big lift from 6-foot-4 junior Kaiden Taylor, who netted 17-points on the night.

Taylor scored 11 of his points in the fourth quarter as the Trojans got their offense going at the right time.

Sophomore guard Ayden Buchanan netted 12-points for Webber while Hayden Landreth tossed in eight.

Junior forward Dalton Adcock added seven-points in the Trojans' triumph.

Odin head coach Tyler Mitchell saw hit club slip to 4-4 overall and 0-1 in the MTC after the loss, a game in which the Eagles seemingly were headed for a road victory.

Despite getting 18-points from junior guard Lucas Shaffer, the Eagles suffered a tough road defeat.

Six-foot-four senior forward Dylan Friend added nine-points for Odin while senior guard Gage Roberts tossed home seven.

“The Shaffer kid is so hard to guard and if you get him then Roberts can hurt you and Friend on the inside and outside so we knew they presented some tough matchups for us,” said Coach Beaty. “For the most part we were pretty active in our 2-3 zone.”

While neither team was sharp on offense, the Trojans' defense stepped up with some late game stops to get the themselves back in the fray which helped the offense get on track.

Trailing 35-27 with 7:16 to go in the fourth quarter, Coach Beaty's club buckled down on the defensive end.

After cutting the lead down to just four-points, Webber switched to a 2-3 zone defense, which caused four consecutive possessions for the Eagles without points.

Webber crawled back into the contest as they forced the first of five tie scores in the final minutes at 35-all with an 8-0 run.

Buchanan and Taylor both scored baskets and Adcock added a pair of free throws.

On the fourth possession that came up empty for the Eagles in the streak, Webber's Hayden Landreth made a steal and raced to the goal for a lay in and the first of the even scores with 5:14 left.

Odin's final lead of the game came on back-to-back buckets from Shaffer and Friend.

Shaffer netted points on a drive to the basket and Friend grabbed a rebound for a stick back and a 41-39 advantage.

Taylor then got loose again as he converted a three-point play as he was fouled by Roberts.

He added a second score moments later for a 44-41 lead.

“Taylor and Adcock are our two guys we have to lean on offensively and we need to get them touches on each possession,” said Coach Beaty. “I thought we were more patient tonight and late in the game we found (Taylor) who we need to have the ball inside.”

Shaffer, who has been a starting guard for Odin since his freshman season, nailed his second 3-pointer of the night from the right wing to even the score at 44-apiece with under a minute to go.

The two teams traded two free throw conversions by Landreth and Shaffer to set the stage for the final moments tied at 46.

Buchanan was fouled by Odin sophomore Kegan Parrish with just :14.1 seconds left.

The 6-foot sophomore stepped to the line and calmly made both free throws to give the Trojans a two-point lead.

After an Odin timeout, Coach Mitchell called for a special out of bounds play in the front court with :08.9 to go.

Getting the ball inbounds, Shaffer came around a double high pick to get an opportunity at a 3-point shot from the top of the circle that would have given Odin the win.

But the pass didn't get to him cleanly as he bobbled the ball.

By the time he righted himself, his long fall away 20-foot shot was off-balanced and missed the goal to the right as it sailed out of bounds with :00.1 left.

Webber Township simply in-bounded the ball as the clock ran out on the Trojans' triumph.

The Trojans largest lead of the night came in the second quarter as they got consecutive scores from freshman Seth Hamerski and Buchanan.

Hamerski nailed a 3-pointer for his only points of the night and Buchanan added a drive to the basket off of an Odin turnover for a 19-14 lead with :32 remaining before halftime.

The host club was just 15-of-44 (3-of-10 from the arc) overall from the field.

However they heated up at the right time in the fourth quarter, making 7-of-11 attempts.

Webber Township held a slight 29-27 rebounding edge while committing 13 turnover.

Odin was just 15-of-47 overall with just 5-of-18 from 3-point land.

The Eagles committed 11 miscues.

The hosts head back into action this weekend while Odin will have a week to prepare to host Zeigler-Royalton on December 11.

“There is a reason why games are played and not just put on paper. You have to have consistent play and a consistent effort every time you go on the floor,” said Coach Mitchell. “Right now we don't have that. It's important that we find it, and we find it quick.”

Webber will tackle ABV 1A preseason sixth-ranked Thompsonville this coming Friday night before taking on ABV 1A seventh-ranked Gallatin County on Saturday and the 65th annual Conrad Allen Wayne City Holiday Tournament on Saturday afternoon, December 8th.

“I'm proud of my kids for the effort, I wasn't sure what our energy level would be tonight after the loss last night. Z-R came out and played us hard. But, hey. It's a conference win tonight. It was the first conference game and in the Midland Trail, you have to come out ready to play,” said Coach Beaty.