One game down for Gary Beals at Winston Academy and so far so good for the new coach.
The Patriots won just three games in the last two seasons and Beals is trying to build things up after years of leading a successful Ackerman/Choctaw County program. The coach has felt a sense of rejuvenation since arriving in Louisville and he’s getting it back from the players and the fanbase.
It’s a positive first step.
“I’m feeling energy. I can’t keep them out of the gym,” Beals said. “There’s a lot of people telling me that they wish they would have played basketball. I had a parent text me that he had never been more excited about basketball than he is right now. Winning makes a lot of that better though.”
Winning is what Beals and his players got last week in the first game of the season and it came just a few days after players finished football season. WA faced off with Newton County Academy and took home an opening-night win at home, 40-30.
The Patriots controlled the game for the most part leading 17-9 in the first half and holding that lead throughout. The fourth quarter saw a good final push from the Pats after the lead had gotten down to five points and they scored 15 in the final quarter to come away with the victory.
Bryson Wright led the way with 16 points in the win including hitting a trio of 3-pointers. Free throws were an issue for the Pats, however, as they went 7-for-22 from the foul line and it’s something that was a point of emphasis over the weekend at practice. Other than that, Beals was pleased for a first game.
“Overall I felt good with where we were at with three days of practice,” Beals said. “The crowd was wonderful. They had a lot of support there and the kids played hard. We’ve got to know how to win down the stretch and what’s a good and bad shot. But they gave me everything that they had and that’s what matters.”
It's a big week for the Pats this week. Two games happened after press time as WA played at home on Monday and Tuesday against Oak Hill Academy and Carroll Academy. Thursday night they face off with North Delta at home as well.
Girls
A late surge from NCA was too much for the WA Lady Pats to endure on the way to dropping their first game of the season in a 37-25 loss.
WA and NCA were neck and neck in the first half as the Lady Generals overcame just three points in the first quarter to take a 13-10 halftime lead. After WA cut that lead to 22-20 heading into the final quarter, NCA hit four big free throws in the quarter and outscored the Lady Pats 15-5 on the way to winning by double digits.
Hailey Bradford hit 7-of-8 free throws and led WA in scoring with 14 points.
