HS Boys Basketball: Willis Staves Off Late Surge To Secure Road Win

OAK RIDGE NORTH, TX -- The Willis Wildkats secured an important 50-45 road victory over the playoff-hopeful Oak Ridge War Eagles in an intense Tuesday night matchup.

Willis entered their game against the hosting War Eagles on the heels of a 70-35 win over the fourth-placed Conroe Tigers. The win gives a noticeable cushion in the district standings while providing positive momentum for the Wildkats.

In an exclusive interview with The Woodlands Online Sports, Wildkat Head Coach Wayne Ware spoke about his team’s preparation for another interesting challenge.

“It was important that we knew [Oak Ridge] had two big kids that may give up problems,” said Ware. “And based on the film, we knew they also had a really good game plan prepared to face us.”

Opening the first quarter was difficult for both teams behind a slow offensive start.

Willis’ typical offensive flurry never materialized during the opening eight minutes due to a series of damaging turnovers. When turnovers weren’t hurting the team, frequent misses from range left many possessions empty.

Oak Ridge suffered from similar issues. The multiple three-pointers taken by their most reliable shooters repeatedly missed their marks. Jaylon Williams tried several times to put the ball in the basket but often came up empty.

It took repeated drives to the rim and a strong paint presence from the Wildkats to get the scoring moving. S.J. Young kicked off what eventually became an incredible night by controlling rebounds, either for putbacks or to generate transitions.

The War Eagles did start to come alive toward the end of the quarter, but Willis's early momentum was enough to establish a slim 13-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.

After building up personal momentum during the first quarter, Young and teammate Rondell Lewis would explode during the second quarter to put their team ahead by multiple scores.

Determined drives to the lane put Young in prime position to cash in banks off the backboard for points. Even when defenders would collapse around him to contest, his size advantage allowed him to force through traffic to still score.

“It’s a blessing to have just because you can run your offense through him,” said Ware about his talented scorer. “Just pass it to him, screen for him, or clear out. And it's the same way for Chandler [Beasley]. If they’re cooking, it makes the offense a whole lot easier.”

Lewis joined Young in pouring points from inside the paint. The dynamic scoring threat of multiple bigs left the War Eagles constantly guessing whether the next points would come from a drive or a pass outside.

“I think it was a little bit of both,” said Ware on what was working offensively. “But I also think it was a mature factor for those kids to be playing in the same type of situation as last year. This team went to the playoffs last year in the same type of environment, and they learned and grew from it.”

Rather than getting down due to the Wildkat onslaught, the War Eagles rallied behind their newfound shooting to keep the game manageable.

Bitting back in small chunks by securing the occasional stop and score got Oak Ridge back within single digits before the end of the half. Revived shooting from Williams and a strong showing inside from James Skaer put some of the control back on Oak Ridge’s side of the floor.

The 28-21 Wildkat lead at the half was a testament to the hard fight put on by both teams, but the second half would prove to be the game-deciding test.

A sizable opening push from the War Eagles brought the lead back down to one possession straight out of the gates to start the third quarter. It took a timeout and some more reliance on Young to get the lead back for Willis, but the message was sent that Oak Ridge would fight to the bitter end.

Limited production for the Wildkats from Beasley meant the rest of the supporting cast would have to make up the difference on the scoresheet.

Young continued to produce, totaling 21 points on the night, but the increased scoring from Tyshon Nixon and Lewis kept the team afloat during crucial moments.

Drives to the lane for floaters and fadeaways for Nixon and more putbacks from Lewis were critical in briefly stretching Willis’ lead to eight at the end of the third quarter.

Even with the Wildkats up eight, it came at the cost of Young getting dangerously into foul trouble.

Oak Ridge put the pressure on the leading scorer by relentlessly attacking the rim with penetrations from guards like Williams and Kyvon Parris. The War Eagle layups put players at the line or cashed in points near the rim, keeping the lead within reach while forcing Willis to sub in for their best scorer.

The Wildkats were still fostering a 43-35 lead going into the fourth quarter, but Oak Ridge looked to have what it needed to complete the comeback.

With the crowd on their feet, invested for the first time in a while, the fourth quarter ushered in clutch performances from the Wildkats despite the pressure bearing down on them.

Nixon continued to orchestrate the offense with Young having to sit out a sizable portion of the quarter. Even if a floater fell short, players like Lewis, Jackson Day, and J’Lynnd Kellow were under the basket ready for a second-chance layup.

However, Oak Ridge’s late push did wipe away a majority of the second chances afforded to the Wildkats by securing points in bulk or quickly.

Pressing the offense to move fast put War Eagle shooters in open positions to hit big-time shots that brought the game closer to a tie. Dribbling along the baseline or skipping passes were the best ways for Oak Ridge to secure the open looks, catching the Wildkats in no-man’s land defensively.

“Our defense did not get the right types of rotations,” said Ware. “We got out of our rotations and they got easy layups out of it.”

As Oak Ridge started to creep toward a hopeful tie, the biggest strength for Willis was putting on a relentless full-court press to stop the bleeding.

Each make by Willis was followed by a suffocating press that ushered the stressed Oak Ridge dribblers into double teams. These double teams forced several turnovers down the stretch that allowed the Wildkats to simultaneously eat the clock while securing much-needed points.

Oak Ridge’s inability to figure out the press severely hindered the team’s comeback aspirations even with the high-scoring Young fouling out for Willis.

The clutch stops and a game-sealing layup rewarded Willis with a 50-45 survival victory that keeps the team in a steady place to finish in solid playoff contention.

A win is important, but key issues stuck out in Coach Ware’s mind that need to be ironed out ahead of an important home game on Friday night.

“With us, it’s going to be about getting focused on Wednesday and Thursday on our defense,” emphasized Ware. “Several rotations were bad or slow, and we need to get that fixed because Grand Oaks is good and they’re going to bring their a-game.”

The Wildkats will prepare to host the first-place Grand Oaks Grizzlies on Friday night, with coverage live on The Woodlands Online Sports starting at 7:00 P.M.

Meanwhile, the War Eagles will need help to keep their playoff hopes alive. Oak Ridge needs Conroe to lose their next two matchups while taking care of business themselves, starting with a Friday game at Caney Creek.