By TIM BIRNEY
Tioga County Sports Report
WAVERLY - S-VE jumped out to quick lead, and dominated the boards en route to a 67-34 win over Waverly, which was playing without injured 6-8 standout Scott Woodring, here Friday night in IAC boys basketball action.
The win is S-VE's first over Waverly since the 2009-10 season.
S-VE coach Jeremy Kasetnhuber was pleased with his team's performance, but acknowledged the absence of Woodring, who was averaging 32.7 points and 16.9 rebounds per game this season, was a game-changer.
"They didn't have a 6-8 guy in the middle of their defense that was a threat to grab every rebound and block every shot," said Kastenhuber. "And our entire game plan on defense was to limit his touches below the free-throw line.
"Obviously, when I found out he wasn't playing this morning, the 20 hours of film I watched charting everything he does kind of went out the window, but what we do every day and what we do in every other game when we're not facing a center that big and of that caliber is what we fell back on," he added.
The Panthers hauled down 52 rebounds, including 19 on the offensive glass, while Waverly had 26 boards, and only four offensive rebounds.
"We've been able dominate on the boards throughout the season," said Kastenhuber. "We're very aggressive on the glass, it's been a focal point for us.
"We love to rebound the ball, it's a team effort," he added. "Even our guards go after it, and can come down with double-digit rebounds on any given night."
The Panthers got off to a quick start and never looked back.
Sophomore James Sutherlin banked in a runner in the lane to cap S-VE's game-opening 7-0 run with 4:35 remaining in the first quarter.
Waverly missed its first seven shots from the field, but finally got on the board with 3:56 remaining on a free throw by senior Dylan Ward.
After a short jumper by Sutherlin, off a feed from senior Ben VanGalder, gave S-VE a 9-1 lead, junior Jalen McCarty scored Waverly's first field goal with 2:13 left in the first quarter.
In less than a minute, junior Noah Mack and Sutherlin hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Panthers a 15-3 lead en route to a 17-7 lead after the first eight minutes.
Waverly closed the gap to eight points, at 20-12, on a 3-pointer by McCarty midway through the second quarter, but consecutive buckets by Nathan Mack and Noah Mack triggered an 8-2 spurt to end the half, giving the Panthers a 28-14 lead.
The Wolverines made just 5 of 26 (19 percent) shots from the field in the first half, including just 1 of 13 (8 percent) from behind the 3-point arc.
"Our defensive match-ups changed a little bit (with Woodring being out of the line-up) ... it put a quicker player on the floor for them, so it changed what we had to do a little bit, but we were able to adjust," said Kastenhuber.
"Defense is always where it's at," he added. "We were able to turn them over, and get going in transition a little bit."
The Panthers had six different players find the scoring column in the third quarter, taking their biggest lead of the game, at 48-24, with 52 seconds remaining on a 3-pointer by Matthew Byrne and a short jumper in traffic by Christian Kunzman.
Sophomore Matt Merrick drained a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, and Blaine Whitmarsh and Sutherlin scored four points apiece as S-VE stretched its lead to 36 points in the final minute.
McCarty and sophomore Peyton Bowen each knocked down 3-pointers for the Wolverines, who were 1 of 8 (13 percent) from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, and 9 of 24 (38 percent) in the game.
Sutherlin led S-VE with 16 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, and one blocked shot, while Noah Mack had 15 points, nine rebounds, and six assists, and Nathan Mack scored 12 points, hauled down 15 boards, and blocked one shot.
Wilson Cooper had six points in the win, while Merrick added six points and three rebounds, Whitmarsh chipped in with four points, and Byrne grabbed four boards.
McCarty led Waverly 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Ward had 10 points four rebounds and one blocked shot, Bowen added six points and one block, and junior Elijah Kraft chipped in with four points and three boards.
S-VE, now 8-0, hosts Union Springs Tuesday, while Waverly is back in action Saturday afternoon at Thomas A. Edison.
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IN PHOTO 1: S-VE's Nathan Mack. ... PHOTOS 1-20 BY TIM BIRNEY. PHOTOS 21-24 COURTESY OF DANIEL SUTHERLIN.
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