A solid victory over California was sandwiched between losses last week for the Wright City boys basketball team in the Hermann Tournament, good for a sixth-place finish that moved the team to a …
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A solid victory over California was sandwiched between losses last week for the Wright City boys basketball team in the Hermann Tournament, good for a sixth-place finish that moved the team to a record of 4-10 on the season.
Opening night saw the Wildcats fall to Montgomery County, 64-52, before a bounce-back victory over California, 58-53. A 54-35 loss to St. Clair in the consolation championship rounded out the tournament.
Head coach Ryan Benz found some positive aspects of his team’s performance. “I thought we played well in the tournament. We competed in every game,” said Benz. “The last game was a 6-8 point ball game till the end of the game when they pulled away. Branden Contreras, our point guard, was also out for that game and we only had two on the bench. They full-court pressed us. We handled the pressure really well but just got worn out by the end.”
The Wildcats saw junior Hayden Beck perform exceptionally well despite not being able to play in the final game.
“He was one of our top performers in the tournament,” Beck told The Record. “Unfortunately, he had an injury and was not able to play on Saturday. In the tournament, he averaged 23.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. He was also able to create a lot of good shots for his teammates because the defensive focus was on him.”
Junior Kyle Johnson also had a strong showing.
“He was another top performer. He averaged 14 points and 11 rebounds per game,” said Benz. “He was big defensively for us as well. He played the back part of our zone and protected the basket. At 6-foot-6 he was able to get several blocked shots and force a lot of misses.”
An inability to find consistency was a theme for the Wildcats, but Benz knows that’s been a part of the season for more than his team.
“Like most teams this year with COVID, we are constantly making last-minute changes,” he said., “The beginning of the year was a struggle and we hadn't found ourselves as a team yet. Finally, getting some practices together in January has allowed us to be that team. We are playing good basketball at the moment and competing every night.”
Given that, there is still time for the Wildcats to put together a positive streak.
“We have several conference games coming up and then the postseason. I always tell my teams, if I had the pick I would rather play well in February than December,” said Benz. “We are playing well at the right time.”
