CANEY — For a one glorious quarter, a struggling Yates Center High offense began to click.
The Wildcat boys, who mustered only 12 points before halftime, began finding the open man on offense, who then was able to knock down some key shots in the third quarter.
A 16-4 run turned an 11-point deficit into a 28-27 lead by the end of the period.
But just as quickly, the Wildcat offense began to sputter again down the stretch.
Host Caney Valley closed the game with a 17-7 run to down Yates Center 44-35. The loss puts Yates Center at 3-2 as the Wildcats wrap up the pre-Christmas portion of their schedule. They return to action Jan. 4 at Cherryvale.
“We missed a couple of easy shots early in the fourth quarter and we just weren’t able to recover,” Wildcat head coach Jason Weilert said. “In the first half, we were very anemic on offense. We were unable to find the open man, and when we did, we had a hard time hitting shots.”
Caney Valley outscored Yates Center 14-4 in the second period to open its double-digit lead.
Paul Stockebrand’s 14 points and eight rebounds led Yates Center. Dalton Smith added 10 points.
Tanner McIntosh scored 12 to pace the Bullpups.
Yates Center (8-4-16-7—35): Morrison 2-0-4-4, Knoblock 2-1-4-5, Francis 1-0-4-2, Stockebrand 3-8-4-14, Smith 5-0-4-10. TOTALS: 13/9-20-35.
Caney Valley (9-14-4-17—44) Richey 0/1-1-1-4, Nelson 0/2-1-0-7, Morrison 1/1-0-1-5, McIntosh 3/6-2-12, Lockwood 0-0-1-0, Shamblin 1-2-2-4, Mullinax 1-1-1-3, Billingsley 3-1-4-7, Boatman 1-0-2-2. TOTALS: 10/4-12-14-44.
Pups beat Cats
