Wolves breeze past Yellowjackets

PEARCY — Despite falling behind in the first period, Lake Hamilton rallied to coast past Sheridan for a 68-54 win at Wolf Arena Friday night.

“Offensively, I thought we played really well,” said Lake Hamilton head coach Scotty Pennington. “One key stat for me that just shines other than the fact that we shot the ball really well. We were 50% from the free throw line, 62% from inside the 3 (point line). We had 18 assists on our points. It’s hard to find teams that will share the ball like that. Having 18 assists to eight turnovers, that’s huge. That’s the key to the game. Our kids shared the ball. Having four players in double figures shows that.”

Trailing 17-13 at the start of the second period, Cade Robinson landed a shot from the arc to pull within 1 and after some back-and-forth play, Zac Pennington sank a 3-pointer to knot the score at 21-all. After a missed shot on the Yellowjackets’ next possession, K.J. McDaniel found Chase Jessup in the paint to retake the lead as Chris Crew had a putback as Sheridan attempted to keep up.

Gavin Robbins headed a layup as Caleb Patrick found the rim, but Robinson officially reclaimed the lead with a trey — one the Wolves wouldn’t relinquish. After a putback from Patrick, Robbins and Elijah Smith added a bucket each for a 32-27 advantage at the half.

Lake Hamilton came out of the intermission on a 5-0 run that ended when Ethan Odom planted a shot from downtown off an assist by Crew. With a 7-point advantage, the Wolves maintained a steady lead, extending it to 13, but the Yellowjackets cut it to 10 with a pair of free throws.

Crew sank a field goal off the glass as Jessup added one from the free throw line. After a dry spell towards the end of the third, McDaniel tacked on a bucket for a 52-40 lead heading into the final period.

Odom kickstarted final eight minutes with a basket to keep the spread at 10, but the Wolves slowly lengthened their lead once again behind multiple playmakers, with Smith converting a 3-point play with 4:18 left in the game for 58-44.

The remaining minutes played out evenly on a 10-10 run as Smith set the final with a bucket.

“When you have that many kids that are scoring threats and the kids are all willing to share the sugar, if you will, you’re hard to guard,” Pennington said. “So I thought we did a good job of that offensively. Defensively, I thought the third quarter — we were the one of the two teams that strung together four or five defensive stops in a row and that allowed us to push it out to 10 and then, you know, keep it there.”

Sheridan quickly secured a 4-0 lead at the beginning of the game as a 2-point shot from Pennington started Lake Hamilton’s drive. Odom grabbed a steal, lifting a layup as Smith responded with a bucket of his own off a sly pass from Pennington. The Wolves claimed their first advantage of the night when Robbins drilled a 3-pointer but Lake Hamilton fouled Justin Crews on a

3-point shot and Crews went two for three from the free throw line for the 8-7 lead.

Popping off with a trio of treys as Lake Hamilton added two of their own, the Yellowjackets held a four point lead at the end of the first.

Robbins paced the Wolves with 20 points, nine rebounds, three steals and an assist. Smith finished with 13 points and three boards and a steal, Pennington tallied 11 points, four boards, two steals and six assists and Robinson added 10 points, two boards and two assists.

For Sheridan, Odom led with 19 points. Peyton Free had

7 points and Crew, Crews and Patrick added 6 points apiece.

Lake Hamilton travels to Lakeside on Tuesday with junior varsity starting at 5 p.m.