Wooster boys basketball survives late drama to top Triway in Battle of Route 30

The Wooster and Triway boys basketball teams renewed their neighborhood rivalry with a barnburner in front of a packed house at the Miller Family Arena and Carmichael Court Jan. 3.

The Generals held on for a thrilling 62-60 win, withstanding a waved-off 3-pointer and three free throw attempts for the host Titans in the final seconds in the nightcap of the inaugural Battle of Route 30 Showcase.

Triway led 39-33 at the half, but Wooster used a 20-0 run in the third quarter to take control. Five-foot-7 junior Javen Mitchell scored a team-high 14 points to lead the Generals.

Jalen Hackett (17 points) banked in a 3-pointer for the Titans from the right wing with 2 seconds left, which would have most likely sent the game into overtime. However, Triway had called a timeout, and the shot was waved off.

The Titans set up a final 3-point attempt, and their shooter was fouled behind the arc, but he missed the first attempt, and the comeback was thwarted.

Triway junior Lane Crilow led all scorers with 20 points, helped by five 3-pointers. The Titans’ rotation consisted of just six players, with standout Bruin Flinner sidelined with an injury.

Wooster coach Che Richardson used 11 players, and 10 of them scored while eight different Generals recorded an assist. Senior Drew Thomas had 13 points and 10 rebounds while sophomore Adrian Jelks had nine points to back Mitchell.

“It's always great to play in an atmosphere like that, and it definitely prepares you for what the tournament is going to be like,” Richardson said. “Triway is our backyard rivalry. Both sides were energetic throughout the entire game, and our guys did a good job staying composed.”

Hackett, a 6-foot-6 junior, played out front as a guard and scored all of his points in the first half, but Richardson opted to put the speedy 5-11 Jelks on him most of the second half. Jelks’ tight defense, along with Wooster’s full-court press, helped key the win.

Mitchell was named the Randy Montgomery MVP winner for the game while Triway senior Brody Flinner (team-high seven rebounds) was the Sean Carmichael Memorial Scholarship winner.

“Javen missed like three 3s in a row in warmups,” Richardson said. “I joke with the guys all the time about (the pregame), because for me, I would miss shots on purpose because I always felt like if I made too many shots I wasn't going to make them in the game.

“I told Javen, ‘You're just missing shots on purpose to make sure you make them in the game.’ Then he goes on that tear and makes four 3s. He just got us going, and that helped with our energy, and I think that gave everybody else confidence too.”

Sophomore Javon Mosley’s driving layup with just under a minute left turned out to be the game-winning shot.

Drew Thomas, junior Brock Bowen and freshman Sam Schantz all average seven points to lead Wooster in scoring for the season, followed by Mitchell and Jelks at six.

“Everybody brings something different to the table, as far as being able to get offensive rebounds, score the ball and defend,” Richardson said of his 10-11 man rotation. “Everybody in the program just plays hard and gives effort, and it's easy to play guys when they're giving that maximum effort. When you're pressing as much as we do and picking up full court, guys have to get rest.”

With a mix of players from all four grades, Richardson said the rotation can change on any given night.

“We're just trying to figure out what combination within that game works at times,” he said.

Girls basketball

A much-improved Wooster girls team is nearing the season’s halfway point with a 6-4 record (4-3 OCC), highlighted by a 54-37 triumph over New Philadelphia Dec. 17. It’s still the Quakers’ only loss this season.

Brooke Ritchie leads Wooster with 15 points a game, 5.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists. Junior Jay-Cee Hackett averages nine points, four rebounds and three assists. Freshman Kayla Reid averages seven points, seven rebounds and two assists.

“The girls have dedicated a lot of time in the offseason to having a successful season, and so far they have been able to see that hard work pays off,” coach Alex Kacere said. “We won three games last year and knew that if we wanted to be different during the season, we had to be different when nobody was watching.

“We recognized that we needed a lot of work on basic fundamentals of basketball, and the girls bought in. We start every practice with passing and layups. That alone has helped us win some games.”

Ritchie recently committed to continue her playing career at Marietta College.

“I am extremely proud of Brooke,” Kacere said. “She put in more hours in the offseason over the last three years than anybody that I have coached before her. From my perspective she is just now scratching the surface of her basketball potential, and I think that she is going to be one heck of a college player.”

Swimming and diving

Wooster’s boys finished second at the recent Northeast Aquatic Conference Meet while the girls were third.

Junior Alessandra Gerber broke the NEAC and Wooster school record in the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:04.4. The Wooster record had been in place for 13 years.

Anthony Sibilia, Aidan McMillan and Jack Shindollar each won one event apiece for the boys.

“Our teams are small, but it is very manageable, and they work so hard every day,” Wooster coach Chris Matthew said. “We had a great winter training doing long course at our pool, which is a huge benefit. We are very pumped going into the OCC meet on Jan. 17 at our pool.”