Wright City overcame an early six-point deficit in their home win over O’Fallon Christian last week. 

Wright City (2-7) went on a 13-4 run in the second quarter to erase a 11-5 first half deficit and outscored O’Fallon Christian (1-7) 13-5 in the third quarter in the win. Wright City boys basketball coach Ken Brown thinks eliminating turnovers was one of the keys to the turnaround. 

“I just think their zone trap kind of baffled us for a second,” Brown said. “We worked on it but sometimes you’ve got to experience it to see. Just us being patient enough and not trying to force things in the middle when they’re collapsing in the middle.”

O’Fallon Christian outscored Wright City 9-5 in the first quarter. The Eagles scored the opening basket of the second quarter to take an early 11-5 lead. Wright City outscored the Eagles 13-6 the remainder of the half to take an 18-17 lead into the half. 

Wright City continued their strong play to start the second half. They started the half on a 7-0 run thanks to two point baskets from Duan McRoberts and Ricardo Uribe. Carle’on Jones hit a three-pointer. The Wildcats led 31-22 after three quarters. 

“We made some adjustments. I had two guys in the post area. I wound up just spreading them out more because I felt like we were getting trapped,” Brown said. “I felt like the middle was too congested. So I was able to go to a four guard, one person in the post set to kind of spread the zone out a little bit more so we were able to get in the gaps and get some penetration. That kind of helped us out.”

Wright City opened the fourth quarter on a 10-4 run to take a commanding 41-26 lead. The Wildcats hit several free throws down the stretch to secure a 48-31 win. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Wildcats. Wright City’s other win this season was in late November against Missouri Military Academy. 

Brown liked how the Wildcats responded to early adversity to come back and earn their second win of the season. He also stressed the Wright City defense’s quality performance. Wright City allowed a season-low 31 points. 

“We weren’t having success here at the beginning of the season,” Brown said. “I didn’t want them to hang their heads and think it was going to be another one of those games. They fought all the way through it. We just have to make sure that we continue to fight and get better for the next game.”

Wright City had eight different players score in the game. Carle’on Jones and Justin Jones finished tied for the team lead with nine points apiece. McRoberts, Trey Brakensiek, and Jerry Stanford each scored six points. Uribe, Will Bohannan and Draiden Edwards added four points each. 

Brown believes the Wildcats have a good number of players who can play at the varsity level. At one point in the game, the Wildcats did not have any starters on the court. 

“We have a lot of guys that can play,” Brown said. “So I was just trying to figure out what guys are going to work out well together at that point. I found out. I got the right combination of guys. We were able to score points. It started with our defense. Our defense really set the tone in the second half. Just able to get the steals in transition and just play basketball.”