UNIONTOWN — For more than a quarter, Yates Center High was able to slow Southeast’s lighting fast transition game to a crawl.
The Wildcats were content to work the ball around the perimeter for minutes at a time, hoping to prompt an eventual defensive breakdown.
Heck, it took 4 minutes for Yates Center to even attempt its first field goal. (It was successful, by the way, and Jack King’s bucket put the Wildcats on top 2-0 midway through the first quarter.)
But Southeast didn’t flinch. The Lancers slowly took control of the game in the second quarter, putting together a 12-0 run to stretch their 6-5 lead to double digits the rest of the way in a 44-28 victory.
Friday’s loss, coming in the Class 2A Substate Semifinals, ends Yates Center’s 2021-22 campaign at 14-7. Southeast, the tournament’s second seed, advances to take on fourth seed St. Mary’s Colgan, which toppled top-seeded Erie on Friday, 62-35.
Wildcat head coach Jeremy Neville pointed to Southeast’s defense as the key.
“Southeast is probably one of the better pressing teams in the area,” Neville said. “They are quick and they use their hands well. They gave us problems at times and really sped us up.
“We wanted to keep the game in the 30s and 40s,” he continued. “We were able to do that tonight. We just weren’t able to score enough.”
The Lancers also focused much of their defense on keeping Yates Center senior standout Sean Hurst out of the lane. Hurst wasn’t able to attempt his first field goal until hitting on a shot late in the first half. He finished with seven points.
Hurst, King and fellow senior Blake Audiss played their final games in a Yates Center uniform.
“Sean Hurst is a special kid,” Neville said. “He’s played for me the last three years, giving us everything he had. He trains hard. He’s a great role model, a great leader, a great example, and a really good basketball player. I’m sad to lose him.”
King led Yates Center with 10 points. Audiss wound up with six.
Cade Burdette and Nate Jacobs paced a balanced Southeast scoring attack with 12 apiece.
While the Wildcats are losing three seniors, Neville noted the cupboard isn’t exactly bare when eying Yates Center’s future.
“We have some juniors who play really well,” he said. “They’ve been training hard in the weight room in offseason. It’s gonna be important for our underclassmen to step up into some of these roles.”
Yates Center (3-5-10-10—28)
FG/3p FT F TP
Cummings 0/1 1 2 4
Hurst 3 1 3 7
Audiss 0/2 0 0 6
Cavender 0 0 1 0
Brittain 0 0 3 0
Rice 0 1 5 1
King 4 2 1 10
Totals 7/3 5 15 28
Southeast (6-16-8-14—44)
FG/3pt FT F TP
Turpen 0 0 1 0
Guymon 2 0 3 4
Burdette 3/1 3 2 12
Penn 3 1 3 7
Jacob 3/2 0 2 12
Seales 4 0 2 8
Cole 0 1 0 1
Burger 0 0 1 0
Totals 15/3 5 14 43
