Photo | Tara Espinoza
After delays due to inclement weather, the Wonder Boys basketball team won 72-46 against the Monticello Boll Weevils in a conference game on Feb. 5. “I was really proud of the guys and they kept fighting this game. They followed the game plan, and we finished the game,” Mark Downey, head coach, said.
The first half started with each side hitting a three for the game’s first bucket. Senior guard Tony Hall led Tech into an early lead with the second triple of the night to make the score 6-3. Senior forward Cameron Kennedy would score the following seven straight points extending the lead. With another three from Hall and a layup from junior forward Niko Gosnell, Tech was 18-14.
“Hall and Kennedy both shot the ball very well and they have been great leaders on the team. They each scored 19 points during the game, and that is what we need,” Downey said.
Boll Weevils would score six points but with an 8-0 run and a dunk made by Gosnell, the team closed the first half with a 33-19 lead.
The Wonder Boys made a 3-point shot during the second half, and Hall would get a triple, giving the team a 20 point lead. The teams would trade buckets back and forth. The Boll Weevils switched to a full-court press to slow the offense, and by the end of the half, Tech was in the lead 56-43.
“There were some possessions that I thought the team handled well. They passed the ball and shared it, plus we closed out the first half, and that was great. It was a fun 40 minutes,” Downey said.
The Wonder Boys would control the game in the last five minutes, only allowing the Boll Weevils to score three points. With a 16-3 run and a slam by redshirt freshman BJ Johnson, the Wonder Boys finished the second half outscoring the Boll Weevils 39-27.
“We are trying to get into the top eight for the conference. We just need to keep working, and anything can happen. It is a huge week coming up with four games in six days, so a lot of basketball. We have to keep working and keep the players healthy,” Downey said.
The Wonder Boys next home game will be Feb. 10 against Oklahoma Baptist Bison.
