CITIZEN JOURNALISM:

 

WEST OF DEALS OF THE WEEK

 WEATHER:

Share this article:
Submit to Facebook Submit to Reddit Submit to Stumble Submit to Twitter

WILDCATS READY FOR SUMMERVILLE REMATCH
WAHS outscores opponents 142-62 in last week's games
 
Special to West Of
 
 
A pair of impressive victories last week have set up the biggest two games of the season so far for the West Ashley High School boys basketball team.
 
After blowing out Colleton County, 80-22, on the road on Jan. 26, the Wildcats cruised past Beaufort at home Friday night, 62-40. Those wins improved WAHS to 18-2 overall and 5-1 in Class AAAA Region 8 play.
 
 
Tonight, the Wildcats travel to Summerville for the first of two road games this week against their toughest competition in Region 8. WAHS Coach Ronnie Dupre knows his team will have to be ready to play against the Green Wave.
 
 
"We beat Summerville in a closely contested game (58-51) at home two weeks ago, but I am concerned about the players overlooking (the Green Wave),"
 
Dupre said. "They're a very good team, especially at home, and anything less than our best effort will not be enough."
 
 
Dupre has reasons to be concerned about his team looking past Summerville to Friday's contest at Fort Dorchester. That game matches two of the state's top ranked Class AAAA teams, with the Patriots (17-2, 6-0) currently No. 2 in the state poll and the Wildcats No. 6. In their first meeting on Jan. 22 at WAHS, Fort Dorchester eeked out a 48-47 victory after the Wildcats led throughout the game until the last 30 seconds.
 
"This week will go a long way toward determining the Region 8 champion, and the seedings for the state playoffs," Dupre said. "At this point in the season, every game is of equal importance."
 
The Wildcats rebounded well from the heartbreaking loss to Fort Dorchester with blowout wins last week. At Colleton County, WAHS jumped out to a 26-8 lead after one quarter and led by 35 points at halftime en route to the vicotry. Matt Kennedy led WAHS with 20 points, with Earl Lawrence adding 18 and D'Montre Edwards scoring 15. In all, nine Wildcat players scored in the rout.
 
On Friday night, the Wildcats overcame some a somewhat slow start to pull away from visiting Beaufort. Strong defense in the second quarter held Beaufort to only two points and enabled WAHS to open a 26-14 halftime lead after a close first quarter.
 
"The two wins last week came at a good time," Dupre said. "Everyone played in both games and contributed."
 
Edwards led WAHS with 19 points against Beaufort, with Kennedy and Lawrence each adding 16.
 
Now the Wildcats prepare for this week's important games. While Dupre is pleased with the overall progress of the team, he believes there is still work to be done to get WAHS in position to challenge for the region title and then the state championship.
 
"We still have some things to iron out offensively, and we're still in the process of trying to develop some quality depth," Dupre said. "Trey McLean and Shane Heyward are both demonstrating they can play in big situations and help the team, which is encouraging."
 
Tonight's game at Summerville and Friday's contest at Fort Dorchester will start at approximately 8:45 p.m., after the conclusion of the 7 p.m. girls games.