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The night was perfect, one with a story book ending.
Starting as young ball boy at age three, Trey Robertson would hit a three to send him into Waverly Basketball immortality. Hudson Kelly rebounded an errant shot on Waverly’s second possession, dished to Mark Stulley who found Robertson alone on the left wing. 23 feet after the release… nothin’ but net. Robertson was then mauled by his teammates.
The senior guard had just passed Jake Kretzer’s scoring mark and now sat upon the top of the heap in Waverly lore. Kretzer’s mark stood at 1,665 points, the most in Waverly Boys Basketball history. That was, until Robertson’s three-pointer.
“I’m just glad I can be here to see him break it” said Kretzer, now a graduate assistant with the Duquesne University Men’s Basketball Program. He could stick around to see the outcome. Kretzer told Litter Media he had a previously scheduled flight to catch and would have to depart Waverly’s Downtown Gym once, as he put it, “Trey makes his shot”.
With 5:50 left in the 1st Quarter, Robertson was money and the record that stood since 2012, lasted just 9 seasons.
“The moment was surreal” Robertson told Litter Media. “I can’t thank enough people who have helped me get up to this point” said Robertson, “everybody I’s ever played with, everybody whose ever coached me, everybody who ever set foot in this gym for me. They’ve played a big part in this.”
Robertson added having Kretzer there was a plus. “I’ve looked up to him ever since I was three years old. I don’t think there’s a better person I’ve looked up to in my entire life.”
“One of the downfalls of this, I’m so worried about the way we played tonight, it’s hard for me to just sit back and enjoy and appreciate what Trey’s done” said Waverly Coach Travis Robertson.
The Tigers still had their work cut out for them. Waverly trailed Wheelersburg 12-3. They’d beaten the Pirates just six days before at ‘Burg 54-28. But through most of the first period, the Tigers struggled. However, they would hold on for a 54-46 victory.
The Pirates, paced by Eli Swords’ game-high 21 points, held a 14-8 lead through the game’s first eight minutes.
Will Futhey (15-points) got a put back to tie the game at 14 all early in the second quarter. He failed to give the Tigers their first lead of the game with a free throw. But another trip down the floor and he was back to the line again and broke the tie at 15-14. The two clubs traded baskets with Waverly holding a 21-20 edge at the break.
The Tigers had a series of buckets to start the second half, built a 39-30 lead and never looked back.
Robertson finished the night with 11-points, Wade Futhey added 10 followed by Kelly and Stulley with 8 each. Penn Morrison added two.
For the Pirates, Cooper McKenzie tallied 13 to go along with Swords’ 21 points.
Waverly improves to 9-3 overall and 7-1 in SOC action. The Tigers travel to McDermott to face Northwest Tuesday while Wheelersburg hosts South Webster.
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