It was two games with two different routes but the same result for Winston Academy as the Patriots remained unbeaten in the early going of the season.
WA knocked off Carroll Academy and Hebron Academy in successful home outings that spelled a tale of two halves for the Patriots. The 48-41 win over Carroll was by far the biggest test of the first three games of the season for Winston and they were challenged in the second half after holding a comfortable first half lead.
After jumping out to a 21-8 lead in the first quarter, WA scored just nine points in the second quarter and Carroll started to climb back in it as they closed it to 30-18. By the end of the third quarter, though, it was a brand new game as Winston was held to just three points and their lead had shrunk to 33-29.
“We had 10 fouls called on us in the first quarter so we were dealing with foul trouble by the third quarter,” head coach Justin Childs said. “We were settling for bad shots and went ice cold.”
Childs wanted his team to dig deep and put together a strong final quarter and they did. The Patriots got 15 points on the scoreboard when it mattered most and they survived a 48-41 game to get the win.
“When we were closing the game we had all seniors on the floor. They’re used to dealing with adversity and they’ve been forced to handle it in the past. We look to Noah Dempsey and Collin to handle the ball and clinch the game and they did a good job.”
A dominant second half was the name of the game on Thursday against Hebron Christian. The Patriots had a 33-19 lead at halftime and was mostly in control, but it was a third quarter to remember.
The Patriots blew the doors off out of the locker room outscoring Hebron 24-4 to take a commanding 57-23 lead. They would surrender a total of seven points in the second half as they gave up just three points in the fourth and they moved to 3-0 on the season with the 67-26 win at home.
“We had the game in hand in the second quarter but they strung some shots together and got back in the game,” Childs said. “The message at halftime was to come out, gain control and run because they were getting tired. We started getting turnovers and pushed it out.”
WA hit 58 percent of their shots in the ball game and held Hebron to just 29 percent on the defensive side of the ball. The key to the game was the Winston defense which forced 33 turnovers and scored 36 points on those turns.
Mills was the leading scorer in the game with 19 points on 9-of-16 shooting and he had four steals to go along with it. Chandler Robertson finished with 10 points in the game, Noah Dempsey had eight points and six steals.
The Patriots are back in action this week with a three-game slate that began on Tuesday night when they hosted Winona Christian after this story went to press. They will take to the road on Thursday and Friday as they travel to Carroll and Benton Academy respectively.
“Winona is really large. They have a big lineup that’s very physical in the paint, similar to Carroll,” Childs said. “They’re going to create size problems for us but if we can dictate the tempo of the game, that should play in our favor. It’s going to be tough.”
LADY PATRIOTS
After starting the season with a couple of tough losses against strong competition, Moe Reed’s Lady Patriots got back up and had success last week in a big way.
WA (2-2) beat Carroll 41-27 in the first game of the week as a trio scored in double figures to lead the way. Deshiya Jones was the top scorer with 13 points as Bailey Wood and Madelyn Bright scored 11 points each.
On Thursday against Hebron Christian, the Lady Patriots were dominant again knocking off Hebron 49-22. Bright had 17 points in the win.
