Cardinals Pick Up Head Of Steam

MILTON-FREEWATER - The Cardinals are on a roll, winning their third matchup in a row Tuesday against the Mac-Hi Pioneers in a nonleague game that ended with a score of 59-23.

WP only lost their first game of the season in a narrow 47-45 defeat against Weston-McEwen.

Though they started off a little behind, the boys quickly caught up to the Pioneers Tuesday night and stayed ahead for the rest of the game.

"Overall, it was the best game of the season for the boys," head coach TJ Scott said. The team is now 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the league.

There was definitely sweat on the court. WP caused a lot of turnovers and rebounded Pioneers shots at nearly every chance.

"There was great defense and nice ball handling out on the court tonight," Scott said. "All nine of the guys out on the court contributed and played their best the whole time."

Many of the players had outstanding scores against the Pioneers. Zach Bartlow was leading scorer with 12 points.

"He came out a little sluggish, but eventually picked it up and in the second half of the game scored 10 out of his 12 points." Scott said. "His night ended overall pretty well."

Scott was also pleased with Justin Zuger's night. "It was Zug's best game of the year, no doubt," Scott said. "He had three steals, absolutely no turnovers, took charge and took care of the ball."

TJ Hofer also had a good night, Scott said. "He attacked the basket and helped extend the game by scoring eight points in the second quarter."

Kris Cady had six steals and "played great on the defensive side," Scott said. "You can tell he is getting his basketball legs underneath him, and he is starting to play like he is capable."

Guillermo Hernandez also stood out on the court. Hernandez had six points and nine rebounds. "He did a lot of positive things out there on either end of the floor," Scott said.

On Saturday, WP played Walla Walla Valley Academy. In this league game, the boys came out on top again 53-33.

Cady had 13 rebounds and definitely picked up the scoring load Saturday Scott said.

"Tre Brannock hit a few perimeter shots that were big in the game," he said.

"Bartlow really came alive in the third quarter," Scott said. "Eight out of 13 points he scored were in the fourth quarter."

Against the Bulldogs on Friday, the Cardinals squeezed out a narrow twopoint 36-34 victory in the last minutes of the game. The teams were tied up for most of the game.

"They're a very good team," Scott said about the Bulldogs. "They always slow us down and they're very methodical. So you have to make your possessions count."

It was tough to keep Bulldog Garett Turner from breaking through the defense, but when the Cardinals began to switch unpredictably between zone and man-to-man coverage it began to thwart some of Turner's efforts.

"I'm thankful we came out with a win," Scott said after Friday's game against WP's cross-valley rival.

The boys play again on Dec. 28 and 29 at the Helix Tournament.