The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Wickliffe wins with big half
It was a slow start for Wickliffe boys basketball team but on Dec. 21 it was about finishing strong.
Three Blue Devils finished in double digits as they defeated Berkshire, 68-55.
Two things clicked for the Blue Devils in the second half — better defense and better shot-making.
“We hit a wall early on and today we came out slow,” Coach Marc Lewis said. “I sub all five guys out and a new five came in and I think that started to click right there. We hit a wall but we’ve got to figure out to come out of that and that’s what we did in the second half.”
The game started with two turnovers, one from each team before Chase Fortkamp’s layup. Wickliffe closed out the first quarter with a 17-13 lead.
Berkshire made things interesting. It became a 21-19 game with the Badgers leading for first time on a pair of layups by Jacob Young. The Blue Devils got the lead back with some stops on defense and aggressive shooting. Lewis’ team is averaging 70 points a game.
“It’s a feel-good thing but we’re not a scoring team,” Lewis said. “We get those spurts and the transitions points and that’s what we looking for. I think that’s give us the feeling and the mode. They even face guarded our player tonight. We just countered that and had our others guys step up tonight.”
Also, Lewis praised his team about good looks and ball movement.
Nick Colbert opened the second half with a 3-pointer, and Berkshire’s Josh Perpar’s 3 shifted the momentum, but the rest was all Wickliffe.
Brenton Petras led the Blue Devils in scoring with 12 points. Dallas Zollars finished with 11 and Anthony Olsen had 10.
For Berkshire, Sam Hanson had 25 points.
Wickliffe will try to keep the train going as they host Cloverleaf Dec. 28. The Badgers host Cardinal on Dec. 29.