{"id":21945,"date":"2024-12-01T11:21:56","date_gmt":"2024-12-01T16:21:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/?p=21945"},"modified":"2024-12-01T11:22:05","modified_gmt":"2024-12-01T16:22:05","slug":"height-of-woodlan-too-much-for-braves-in-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/01\/height-of-woodlan-too-much-for-braves-in-opener\/","title":{"rendered":"Height of Woodlan too much for Braves in opener"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

RANDY HISNER<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WZBD.com<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woodlan\u2019s twin towers, 6-8 Oliver Adams and 6-7 Trey Yoder, dominated the Bellmont Braves at both ends of the floor to lead the Warriors to a 65-39 victory at home Saturday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was the season opener for the Braves. The Warriors opened Tuesday with a loss to New Haven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Indiana Tech-bound Yoder led all scorers with 20 points and blocked several shots. Adams was second in the scoring column with 14 while helping Yoder patrol the paint defensively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhen you have 6-7 and 6-8 inside that are able to pass the ball and see the floor, that makes a big difference,\u201d said Woodlan coach John Baker. \u201cThen other guys have confidence stepping in from the outside, hitting wide open shots.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Baker, former Bellmont standout and former head coach, spoke with WZBD’s Randy Hisner on his Woodlan team’s victory over the Braves Saturday night. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If opponents decide to collapse on Yoder and Adams to limit their inside scoring, they give Warrior guards open looks. If they try to defend the perimeter, they risk letting the big men score almost at will in the post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Not much of a choice, and that\u2019s the way Baker likes it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cWe want to put the other team in a bind as far as having to pick what they are going to give us, and we want to make sure both options are good options,\u201d Baker said. \u201cTonight that was pretty emphatic early on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Will Baker attempts to challenge a shot from Trey Toder. (Photo by Randy Hisner)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Yoder hit a three in the third quarter, but the other 31 points that he and Adams combined for all came from the post or from free throws when they were fouled inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both frequently dished the ball off to teammates for open shots, helping two other Warriors reach double digits\u2014Drew Fleek with 11 (including a breakaway dunk in the second quarter) and sophomore Keaton Delagrange with 10 (including a pair of threes).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the game\u2019s opening moments, Beau Baker gave the Braves a temporary lead when he hit a three-pointer from the top of the key, but the Warriors got a putback by Fleek, a postup bucket by Yoder, a layup by Adams, and another putback\u2014this time by Delagrange\u2014to go up 8-3. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will Baker stopped the streak with a three-pointer to make it 8-6. Woodlan responded with an 8-2 run to make it 16-8 at the first stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beau Baker hit a pair of threes in the second quarter, and freshman Daniel Selking added another, but that was all the scoring the Braves could muster while Woodlan scored 17\u2014Fleek and Yoder leading with five each\u2014to take a 33-17 lead into the locker room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite seven points in the third quarter from Bellmont\u2019s Gavin Krull, the Warriors outscored the Braves 18-9, thanks mostly to an 11-0 run early in the period, to make it 51-26.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Warriors narrowly won the final quarter, 14-13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re a good basketball team. They do a good job of taking advantage of what they have with their size inside,\u201d summed up Bellmont coach Payton Selking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n