Weiser boys bring home a win against Ontario

by Michelle Estes

 The Weiser Wolverine boys traveled to Ontario to take on the Tigers in a non-conference game. Weiser came out on top with a 51 to 39 win. 

 Since the 2011-2012 season, Weiser has played Ontario 14 times including this game. The Wolverines have come out on the winning side the majority of the time, as they have won eight of the 14 meetings. Half of those coming in the past few years.  Since 2018, Weiser has now won four of four games. 

 After a successful tournament over Christmas break the Wolverines were ready to compete. Playing tough defense they did not let the Tigers get into their offense and stopped them from taking shots. 

 Almost halfway into the first quarter and Weiser up 7 to 0, Ontario took their first shot and missed. The Tigers eventually ended up converting on two of their five shots giving them five points to end the first quarter of play. 

 Weiser struggled to get the ball to fall only making four of their 17 shots. At the end of the first quarter it was Weiser 10, Ontario 5.

 The Wolverines continued with their strong defense and solid rebounding. On the offensive side, they had good ball movement controlling the game, looking for a good shot. This worked well for Weiser as they were able to add 19 points in the second, while Ontario picked up 14. 

 About 4 minutes into the second, Brett Spencer passed the ball up to Brayden Walker who sunk a nice 3-pointer, giving Weiser a 16-8 lead. 

 The Tigers settled in a little in the second quarter, realizing their only option was to take outside shots. With every three pointer Ontario made, Weiser answered with a bucket on their own end. 

 At the end of the first half Weiser had increased their lead and was up 29 to 19. 

 Coming out of the locker room both teams played man to man defense. Weiser eventually changed back to zone to better defend Ontario’s three point shooting. 

 The Wolverines lost ground in the third quarter as their lead dropped to 7 points. Headed into the fourth quarter it was Weiser 39, Ontario 32. 

 Weiser came out quick in the fourth. Willy Shirts sunk a jumper at the top of the key. Soon afterwards Malakye Scott had a steal and added two. With the two buckets Weiser went up 43-32. 

 The tight Wolverine defense only allowed the Tigers to score 7 points in the final quarter. Weiser on the other hand was able to add 12. At the end of the game with Weiser on top had 51 points and Ontario had 39.

 The Wolverines were happy to welcome junior Brayden Walker back after an ankle injury during football that sidelined him for over seven weeks. Walker in his first game back led the Wolverines with 13 points, closely followed by Brett Spencer with 12. Malakye Scott added 7, Evan Haggerty 6, Michael Youngberg 4, Levi Estes and Jack Shirts each with 3, Willy Shirts 2, and Brock Spencer with 1.

 Weiser traveled to Vale on Tuesday, Jan. 11. No score was available at the time of printing. 

 The Wolverines will start conference play on Thursday, Jan. 13 as they host the McCall Vandals and then on Saturday, Jan. 15 they travel to Homedale for an afternoon game.