BATAVIA — The losing streak for the Hurryin’ Hurricane is over. Wilmington snapped a five=game losing streak Friday night defeating Batavia on the road 58-54 in overtime in SBAAC American Division play.
Wilmington is now 4-9 overall.
The Hurricane built a 16-point lead, but the home standing Bulldogs battled back and got the score tied at 46-all at the end of regulation.
Cam Coomer equalled his career high with 37 points, and was deadly at the free throw line in the extra period converting 9 of 10 chances.
He accounted for 13 of WHS 14 first quarter points, and 21 of the 31 points scored by Wilmington in the first half of play.
Despite missing 13 free throw attempts on the night, the Hurricane capitalized when it mattered most making 12 of 14 chances in overtime.
WHS head coach Matt Kramer, while happy to get the victory, was frustrated his team could not put the Bulldogs away in the second half.
“Tonight, I felt it was a solid effort, but we get a big lead, and then we could not make our shots. We just seemed to relax, and then you look up at the scoreboard and they are coming back,” said Kramer.
Wilmington won the first game between the two teams earlier in the season, but knew the Bulldogs would be ready for his squad.
“They are a very good team and as I told (our team) in practice last night, we needed to execute, make our shots, and rebound the basketball. We hit the boards really well tonight,” said Kramer.
The first year coach praised the effort of junior guard Brandon Glass.
“Brandon’s role is expanding and he gets steal and makes things happen when he is out there,” the coach said.
A Glass three-pointer from the left wing hit nothing but net as the first half horn sounded, sending the ‘Cane into the locker room with a 10 point lead, 31-21.
Batavia battled back in the third period, outscoring Wilmington 18-8, forging a 39-39 tie after three quarters.
The fourth quarter was a defensive struggle, as each team was limited to just seven points. In the closing seconds of regulation, Batavia was working the ball for a last-second shot, but an errant pass near mid court resulted in a turnover, giving the Hurricane a last-second chance at the win, but the inbound pass was swatted away by the Bulldogs, forcing the overtime period.
Coach Kramer felt his squad needed this type of game, dealing with adversity on the road, as it continues to improve with each contest.
“Developmentally, this is where we are at,” he said. “In today’s high school basketball, a 10-16 point lead is not that big, especially the way we play. Batavia proved it tonight. They got hot, hit some threes and all of a sudden we’re tied. For us, it was important to get to the free throw line in the extra period and Cam (Coomer) was outstanding. We learned how to deal with adversity tonight.”
Wilmington is scheduled to play a non-league game against former SCOL rival Miami Trace on Tuesday night. A flu outbreak at Miami Trace forced cancellation of classes and Friday’s scheduled game versus McClain was postponed.
SUMMARY
Jan 24, 2020
@Batavia High School
Wilmington 58 Batavia 54 OT
W^14^17^8^17^12^^58
B^11^10^18^7^8^^54
(58) WILMINGTON (2fg-3fg-ft-tp) Butcher 1-1-3-8, Coomer 7-1-20-37, Jones 0-0-0-0, Custis 1-0-3-5, Vilvens 0-0-1-1, Glass 0-1-2-5, Barker 1-0-0-2, Team Totals; 10-3-29-58
( 54) Batavia (2fg-3fg-ft-tp) Kongo 1-0-0-2, Applegate 0-5-0-15, Lisk 2-0-0-4, Gardner 2-0-0-4, Stepp 1-3-0-11, Weisbrodt 8-0-2-18, Team Totals 14-8-2-54
