Defense Leads To Western’s D-4 Boys Basketball District Crown Over Trimble

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The Western Indians defense was among the big factors in their 56-40 Division 4 District Championship over state ranked Trimble Friday at Wellston High School. The Indians clamped down on the Tomcats offense, after falling behind 7-0 to start the contest. 

Trimble was held to 12 points in the second half, 4 in the final period.

Trimble led 7-0 with 6:57 to go in the first quarter, but Western came clawing back with Reed Brewster’s three-pointer to cut it to 7-5 at 6:17 left in quarter. Trimble lead 19-14 at the end of first quarter. 

Western’s offense caught fire in the second quarter, going on a 10-0 run and got their first lead of the game on a Noah Whitt trey at 3:55 of second quarter for the 22-19 lead. Western made it 24-19 before the Tomcats’ Bryce Downs layup and old fashion three cut it to 24-22 with 2:45 first half. The Indians built that lead back up to 30-22 and later 36-26 on a Kolten Miller three-point bomb. 

The Wildcats got to within 36-28, then Western’s Drew Haggy went underneath the bucket for a reverse lay-up and a 38-28 halftime lead over state ranked Trimble. Kolten Miller had 12 points at halftime to lead all players.

The second half saw the Indians staying with the attack, as their 44-32 lead at 3:12 in the third quarter became their biggest of the game at that point, leading to a Trimble timeout.

The Indians took a 48-34 lead, then settled for 48-36 at the end of three periods.

The Tomcats made their last push of the game on a 6-0 run, cutting a 14 point deficit to 48-40 with 3:52 to play in the game. From there, Western closed on an 8-0 run for the 56-40 district title victory.

While Western had three players in double figures, one of those three was also heralded by Coach Doug Williams for his great defensive effort in holding Trimble’s All District Player of the Year- Blake Guffey to only 6 points.

The Indians are making their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2016 and will play Tuesday, March 8th at 8pm inside the Ohio University Convocation Center. They will face the Valley Indians after their come-from-behind 47-46 win over Leesburg Fairfield.

WESTERN SCORING
Kolten Miller 18 points
Noah Whitt 11 points- also held Blake Guffey to 6 points
Chase Carter 10 points
Reed Brewster 9 points
Drew Haggy 8 points

TRIMBLE SCORING
Bryce Downs 15 points
Tyler Weber 8 points
Blake Guffey 6 points
Austin Wisor 5 points
Tucker Dixon 4 points
Michael Clark 2 points