’Toppers give WL all it can handle

BY MATT WILLIAMS
THE COURIER

WARRENSBURG – On a night where individual accomplishments were recognized for Warrensburg-Latham, they were almost quickly forgotten.

Before the game, coach Vic Binkley was given a plaque for picking up his 400th win and senior Dennie Whitlow was honored for scoring 1,000 career points. Wes Littrell picked up his 1,000th point in the second quarter as well.

All of that almost didn’t matter as the undefeated Cardinals were pushed to the brink by Mount Pulaski Friday before eventually taking the game over late to win 78-61.

"With a loss that wouldn’t have meant anything," Binkley said. "We fought through some adversity and picked up the win and maybe learned some lessons."

Late in the third quarter it looked as if the Cardinals were going to put the game away with a 6-0 run to go up 46-35. But over the last minute of the quarter the Hilltoppers hit eight free throws, which included Chris McDonnough who went 6-for-6. Chris Smith capped the run with a 10-foot jumper as time expired to bring the game to 46-45 heading into the final eight minutes.

"Chris is a very good free throw shooter," Mount Pulaski coach Jim Jumper said. "If you do something on the floor that will put him on the free throw line we will be very appreciative of that.

"That gave us momentum to start the fourth quarter and you could tell by looking at them they were a little worried."

MP kept the game the game within two possessions for the first three minutes of the quarter with the Cardinals clinging to a 53-50 lead with 5:20 to go in the game.

That’s when the Cardinals had a spark put in them by a big 3-pointer from Blair Dunn, which started an 8-0 run as WL never looked back.

"I had been struggling all game and Dennie Whitlow just gave a good pass and I just felt it," Dunn said. "They definitely gave us everything they had. We didn’t play as well we should have and we are basically lucky to get out with a win."

Binkley said Dunn’s shot gave them some much needed breathing and allowed his team to play more relaxed down the final stretch.

"It’s a big difference when the lead gets up to seven," the coach said. "When it’s a three-point game anything can happen and when it’s a six-point lead they can still hit a 3. When it gets up to seven or eight you can play a little more relaxed."

The Cardinals put the game away by making 13-of-14 from the free throw line in the final three minutes. WL went 30-of-40 from the line for the night as officials called a tight game on both ends of the court. The ’Toppers ended the game with 23-of-32 from the line.

"It wasn’t pretty," Binkley said. "We did not adjust to how the game was being officiated, and they were consistent all night long. If they are going to call that we have got to back off. We fouled way too much and we are disappointed that we couldn’t adjust to the way the game was being played."

The first half ended with the Cardinals holding a 31-21 edge as both teams turned the ball over and had trouble finding their shot.

The ’Toppers gave the ball up 16 times in the first half, which was six more than what the team had set for a goal.

"That just killed us and we said coming over that our game goal was to have just 10, so to have 16 in a half we were very disappointed in that," Jumper said.

Despite the loss Jumper was happy with how his team fought against a tough team on the road.

"I was very proud of my kids," he said. "I considered Warrensburg-Latham one of the best teams in the state. I think that they could bring hardware home at the end of the year, so for us to come over here and give them a good ball game, I am very proud of that."

McDonnough had 21 points to lead all scorers, while Smith added 12 points for the ’Toppers

WL had five players in double figures with Whitlow and Zack Boyd each scoring 15. Littrell had 14 points, Dunn had 13 and Dillon Binkley added 10.

MP (5-5) plays at Williamsville Tuesday night, while the Cardinals (7-0) don’t play again until Dec. 27 in the Williamsville Holiday Tournament.