Hoops: Blue Wave Washes Wildcats at Summer Heatwave
GAINESVILLE---Thursday night provided a fun couple of Summer Heatwave basketball games at Eastside High School.
P.K. Yonge and the Forest Wildcats kicked off the first matchup. Both teams felt each other out using timely possessions. Forest found an early edge creating turnovers, which helped them score off fast-break opportunities. The Wildcats started the game on a 7-0 run.
After a timeout by P.K., both coaches were stressing the team needed to make sure they were on one accord and communicated more on the floor. Forest had been hitting the right switches. But using an aggressive 2-3 zone, it became in-effective when they were giving up long-range shots.
When the Blue Wave started to correct the simple mistakes, the defense picked up quickly and teammates carried that confidence on offense. The entire team showed more discipline and found the stroke knocking down three pointers to cut the lead.
Rising junior guard Byron Smith made a quick steal which led to a dunk that put his team in a zone for the remainder of the half. After being down early, they pulled into halftime with a 26-19 lead.
In the second half, P.K. was in constant pursuit of rebounds. The threes weren’t going in, so they started grabbing offensive boards and attacked the paint. Having success there helped them keep a commanding lead during the second half.
As the game went on, Forest also found a consistent attack inside, on offense. What hurt the team was the inability to knock down free throws. They only cut the lead to seven or five, which proved costly.
The Wildcats D wouldn’t give up towards the end of the game. Constant effort brought more double-teams and trapping which slowed down Wave offense.
With under four minutes left in the game, it was a tight 44-39 contest.
With a slim three-point lead heading into the final two minutes, both were tested and gave the match some drama. The same things which helped P.K. be in-control allowed them to pull away with the game at the end.
They made tough shots and defenders kept making good reads. They followed what coaches emphasized earlier. Good, tough shots and a stingy defensive presence helped them pull away from Forest with a 48-41 victory.
