LE ROY — Add Colton Burkholder to the ever-growing list of underclassmen who have taken on starring roles for Yates Center High’s basketball team.
The sophomore guard did a little bit of everything Tuesday, from triggering a number of transition baskets, to connecting from the outside, and of course playing lock-down defense as the Wildcats cruised to a 53-20 win over host Southern Coffey County.
Burkholder scored nine in a dizzying first quarter as the Wildcats raced to a 21-5 lead.
Then, after the Titans emerged from halftime with an added skip in their step, Burkholder stepped up once again with a pair of baskets, including a 3-pointer late in the third quarter to help trigger a running clock.
“Colton has always been a defensive guy, even though he’s 5-3 if he stands on his tippy toes,” Wildcat head coach Lane Huffman chuckled. “We’ll put him on the other team’s best player. And he has the ability to shoot and score low because he’s super fast. Games like tonight aren’t unexpected.”
Early foul trouble played a role in SCC’s early struggles, head coach Brian Rand admitted.
With a limited bench, Rand kept starters Hank Newton and Isaak Higdon — the only two seniors on the team — on the court, even after both were whistled for three fouls in the first quarter.
Sure enough, Yates Center’s aggression led to both earning their fourth personal fouls before halftime, where the Wildcats led, 30-7.
“Rebounding and fouls got us in trouble early,” Rand noted. “We didn’t rebound well tonight.”
Still, SCC didn’t go down without a fight.
The Titans emerged from halftime with a skip in their step. Newton hit a nice baseline jumper, Charley Nickel scored on a putback and Kaiden Boling hit from 3-point range as the Titans cut the lead to 25.
But 3-pointers from a pair of Wildcat freshmen, Ben Cook and Marcus Cummings, helped stretch the lead beyond 30 points, the threshold for a running clock in the fourth quarter.
“Everybody saw some minutes tonight, with the reserves getting more minutes than they’re used to,” Huffman said. “This was a great game as a team. Hopefully the bench used this time to gain confidence, gearing up for next week’s midseason tournament.”
“The kids played hard, especially in the second half,” Rand said. “We came out and were a little shell-shocked at how aggressive they were. That’s a good team over there. We’re getting better, slowly but surely. The break was a long one and that kind of set us back a little bit.”
Burkholder wound up with 14, Cook had nine and Gavin Busteed — another freshman — scored seven.
