Wolves stop Wheelers from rolling past them

Senior Reed Hinners was the star of the night leading the way with 23 points, helping the Wolves soundly defeat the Audubon Wheelers, 60-44 at home in the 2A-7 First Round playoff game.

“Reed is a really good player,” said Wolves Head Coach Keith Wagner. “He’s kind of underappreciated because you don’t go into a game and he’s not the first player on your scouting report. It’s rewarding to see a kid that’s worked really hard like Reed has have some success.”

Hinners scored the first bucket of the night to put his team in front. Freshman Wheeler Carson Wessel fouled Hinners, sending him to the line where he made both free throws, putting his team up, 4-0.

Junior Wheeler Edward Miller got his team on the board shortly after with a bucket, cutting the Wolves lead to two points. Freshman Ben Ramsey made his first bucket of the night, putting the Wolves up 9-8 and forcing Wheelers head coach Jacob Privia to use a timeout with less than 30 seconds to go in the first half.

When play resumed, Junior Ross Kusel hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer that got the crowd to its feet. Kusel made another 3-point shot to open up the second quarter and the student section was roaring.

The Wolves were in command with a 7-point lead when another timeout was called by Privia four and a half minutes before halftime. Ramsey was fouled with under a minute to go, sending him to the line where he made both free throws, giving the Wolves a 9-point lead. They added one more bucket to take a 25-14 point lead into the locker room.

“The first three minutes of the second half, you want to give them a good blast,” Wagner said. “If you do that, sometimes that’s a good way to get momentum going. They hit a basket, but we answered right away and I think that was big.”

Senior Wheeler Collin Bauer opened the scoring in the third quarter, getting his team back within single digits. Hinners was fouled soon after on a made shot, where he added the extra point, putting his team up by 12.

Kusel stole the ball on the Wheelers next possession, drove to the hoop, and made a bucket that got the crowd amped up. Before long, the Wolves had another steal and Hinners drove to the basket and got another bucket for his team. Hinners was fouled after another steal and he made 1 of 2 free throws and the Wolves had a commanding 34-16 lead that forced a timeout from Privia.

When play resumed, it was a back-and-forth affair to close out the third quarter. The Wolves once again took command to open the fourth quarter, going on an 11-4 run, which including multiple baskets from Hinners.

Ultimately, the Wolves won easily stamping their ticket to the 1A-7 Second Round playoff game Thursday night on the road at 7 p.m. against the ACGC Chargers.

“Getting to the hoop, getting to the free throw line,” Hinners said. “I like to rely on free throws, I’m pretty good at them.”

The Chargers are led by Senior Brock Littler 345 points and 94 assists and Junior Lance Bunde with 127 rebounds.

“I think coach [Wagner] said that they like to shoot the ball really quick,” Hinners added. “I’m sure whatever he has in store for us will work to our advantage.”

 
 

 

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