YATES CENTER — The Yates Center Wildcats snapped a two-game losing streak Friday night, blowing out local rival Liberty Home School Alliance Arrows 50-35.
Despite heading into the Christmas break with a win, Yates Center Coach Lane Huffman doesn’t intend it to be a time for R&R.
“We talk about two things — focus and execution. We did both of those in the first half really, really well,” Huffman said of Friday’s game. “In the second half, the execution wasn’t quite there but when you start that well you can afford to make a few mistakes.”
Sophomore guard Ben Cook put the Wildcats in control early with 11 of his team-leading 23 points in the first quarter. Sophomore guard Gavin Busteed was second in scoring with 12 points, followed by sophomore guard Marcus Cummings with 10, then junior post Jeremiah Jones with 5 points.
“I was just hitting shots. My teammates got me open,” Cook said.
While scoring seemed the difference-maker early, the other side of the court had another story to tell. Busteed said defense’s aggressive play under the basket prevented second-chance opportunities for the Arrows.
“You have to go up and get the board, and offensive rebounds help too,” Busteed said.
Yates Center held the Arrows to single digit quarters throughout the contest. 
Huffman substituted his entire bench by the fourth quarter, which allowed Liberty’s Judah Stockebrand and Jubal Stockebrand to hit hot. Judah Stockebrand scored seven of his team-leading 16 points. Jubal scored all six of his points on fourth-quarter field goals, which ranked third in scoring behind guard Noah Spaulding’s 8 points.
“I’ve always said if the other team scores 40 or less, then we’re probably going to win it,” Huffman said.
With the win, the Wildcats even their overall record to 3-3. They hope to even their Three Rivers League record to 1-1 when they host the Southeast Lancers Jan. 6. Until then, Huffman plans to give his players a rest, then get back to work after Christmas in preparation for a potential run in the postseason.
“The cool thing about this group is I get them next year,” Huffman said. “Nobody is graduating next year. The chemistry is higher than it’s ever been. We just need to keep building on that. It’s exciting.”
