Weiser Wolverines finish league play with a win over Parma

The Wolverines hosted the Parma Panthers on Friday, Feb. 12 in their last league contest. The first time they met, Weiser brought home the win in overtime, 57 to 53.
 Weiser battled inconsistent play and scoring to finish the game with an eight point win, 46-38.
 The first quarter was all Weiser as the Wolverines put 14 points up to Parma’s four.
 Weiser’s Sam Kerner scored quickly with a three-pointer on a kick out pass from Brett Spencer.
 Kerner had the next two scores for the Wolverines. First on a bank shot from the elbow and then another three from the corner.
 Playing tough defense, the first ended with Weiser up 14 to 4.
 The second quarter was a tough one for the Wolverines as they struggled to get their rhythm.
 With less than 30 seconds off the clock, Eli Ruiz drove hard to the basket, going up for a wide lay-in, he banked a shot as he went airborne. Those would be Weiser’s only points of the second quarter.
 Parma slowly chipped away at Weiser’s lead. The Panthers were able to make defensive stops and converted it to points on a few of their trips on offense.
 The first half ended with Weiser holding a slim two point lead, 16-14.
 The intensity and the pace of the Wolverine’s game picked up in the third quarter. After multiple trips up and down the court the score had remained unchanged.
 After two minutes, Ruiz with a steal created a fast break opportunity for Weiser. Spencer following Ruiz picked up a rebound and put it in as he was fouled. Making his free throw he increased Weiser’s lead to five points.
 Weiser continued to play strong defense and scoring on offense. Spencer added 11 points for the Wolverines in the third.
 The third quarter ended with a six point lead for Weiser 30 to 24.
 With just 10 seconds into the fourth, Spencer picked up a steal and took it full court adding two for Weiser.
 Two minutes into the fourth, Weiser had a seven point lead, but the Panthers were not going to fold easily. They worked hard to slow down the Wolverines and were able to add points as well.
 Points went up in the fourth but the lead stayed much the same. The game ended in a win for Weiser 46, Parma 38.
 Weiser scoring: Spencer 18, Kerner 14, Ruiz five, Haggerty three, Pope and Shirts two, Calley and Walker one.
 The Snake River Valley Conference Tournament starts next week. The top two teams will advance to the state tournament, the third place team will have a chance for a state berth with a play-in game.
 The Wolverines will host their first SRV tournament game on Wednesday, Feb. 17.