Cardinal Boys Beat Badgers

WAITSBURG -- The WP Cardinals chalked up their first win last Friday night against the Powder Valley Badgers at home.

Despite a three-pointer from Cardinal Dustin Wooderchak and a jump shot for two from Justin Zuger, the Cards trailed 7-10 at the end of the first quarter.

"We came out slow and had early turnovers," said WP head coach TJ Scott. "We weren't running our offense and didn't really settle in until mid way through the second quarter."

Wooderchak sparked some Cardinal offense hitting his second three-pointer early in the second quarter.

The Badgers answered with a bucket of their own, but the Cardinals came right back 'em to tie the game at 12.

The Badgers turned the ball over and Sterling Eastman added two to the scoreboard for the Cardinals.

Cardinal Eshom Estes went two-for-two from the line after being fouled on his way up for a rebound, and the Cards took a 16-14 lead.

The Badgers were a little anxious on the rebound and were called for three-straight fouls, but the Cards only sank two of six from the line, giving the Badgers a chance at the halftime lead.

Wooderchak added a jumper from the right corner and then blocked the next Powder Valley shot with 42.6 seconds left in the half.

The Cardinals worked the floor looking for the one last shot of the half. With just seconds remaining, Wooderchak threw up a shot, but needed Kevin Ortega to rebound and bank it in for him at the buzzer. The Cardinals took a 22-17 lead into the locker room at the half.

The Cardinals outscored the Badgers 13-9 in the third quarter with Wooderchak adding six points, a three-pointer from Eastman, and four points from Bartlow.

The Cardinals pulled away from the Badgers in the fourth quarter despite foul trouble for Wooderchak and Dalton Estes. They took some time out on the bench while Eshom Estes went to work down low.

Eshom worked the base line and hit the boards taking control down low and adding five fourth-quarter points and defensively putting the Badgers in check.

"Eshom showed signs of a great defender tonight," said Scott. "He proved that he can be an effective big man. It was a great defensive effort all around."

WP's Billy Brown ended the scoring for the Cards with a fast break lay-up to give his team a 53-33 victory.

"Eastman cut down on turnovers tonight so I was able to keep him on the floor more," said Scott.

"Tonight it was all Wooderchak," said Scott. "He took a leadership role tonight and put up a lot of shots. He had a great game. He put up the kind of numbers I think he's capable of every game."

Wooderchak racked up 15 points and three rebounds and one blocked shot. Bartlow added 10 points, 11 rebounds and one blocked shot.

Eshom Estes added eight points and one blocked shot. Saturday, the Cardinals defeated Powder Valley on the Badgers' home court. Bartlow lead with 30 points and 13 rebounds on the way to a 60-48 victory.

The Cardinals begin Blue Mountain League play in Dayton on Friday, Dec. 16. Tip-off against the rival Bulldogs is at 7:30 p.m.