Cardinals Face WWVA Wednesday

WAITSBURG - Al - though the WP men's team technically didn't have a perfect season, it was only two points short of it thanks to a loss at the hands of Weston McEwen in the first game of the season when the players just came off their very long and emotional football season.

The Cardinals ended their regular season with a 79-68 victory over Liberty Christian Saturday and face Walla Walla Valley Academy on Kison Court at 6 p.m. Wednesday night.

If they win, they will face the winner of the game between Dayton and Asotin, also scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday in Asotin.

Against the Patriots this weekend, the Cardinals were ahead the entire game, leading their opponents 25-8 at one point during the first quarter. Liberty Christian came back somewhat when they scored the last five points of the period.

During the second quarter, the Patriots went on a run with Jake Siefken leading his team in offense. His performance was in contrast to Monday night's game against the Dayton Bulldogs in which he was clearly frustrated by the effective Dayton coverage.

"We were impressive on offense, poor on defense," head coach T.J. Scott said.

But if Siefken was on fire, several Cardinals left even bigger vapor trails on the court.

Dustin Wooderchak had a phenomenal game, and T.J. Hofer showed his mettle, Scott said. Zach Bartlow scored 24 points, his most for the year. The team managed a record eight treys.

"It was a good team win," Scott said. "It kept us rolling into the playoffs."

In Friday night's game against Tri-Cities Prep, the Cardinals handled the Jaguars 59-36. In a low-scoring first quarter, WP got into some foul trouble, but TCP failed to convert their chances into points. They didn't score on fast breaks and passed poorly.

WP outscored the Jaguars 8-5 during the first period. With Guillermo Hernandez stepping up, Matt Hamilton rebounding and finishing offensive projects under the board, Hofer tightening defense and Justin Zuger pouring on offensive pressure, the Cardinals gained the momentum and ended the half 23-11.

During the third quarter, Wooderchak set the tone with a crowd-pleasing trey. Again, the Jaguars had plenty of chances to close the gap but didn't, missing easy layups and free-throw conversions. With three and a half minutes to go in the third, TCP had still only scored four points during the period.

In the fourth quarter, the Cardinals just out-maneuvered and out-hustled their opponents, staying ahead in the rebound department with Hernandez and Tre Brannock leading the way. Brannock also scored an impressive trey with less than four minutes to go in the second half.

WP vs TCP 59-36

WP 8 15 22 14 59

TCP5681736

WP (59) Zach Bartlow 14; Kris Cady 12; Matt Hamilton 9; Tre Brannock 7; Hernandez 6 and T.J. Hofer 5. Free

throws: 10/21 for 47 percent