YATES CENTER — The Yates Center High boys eked past Hartford Tuesday, 47-46, in the first round of its home tournament.
The Wildcats (1-1) received a putback layup from Emmit George in the final three seconds to win the game after Hartford crawled back in the final quarter.
“Our offense was much improved from our last outing,” said Yates Center head coach Lane Huffman. “I’d love to see us execute a little better and show patience as the year progresses, but it was good for the guys to see the ball go through the hoop a little more.”
Yates Center’s comfortable lead was threatened in the fourth quarter when three of its most experienced players fouled out.
Yates Center played good defense for the first three quarters, holding Hartford to only 18 points at halftime and 24 points at the end of the third quarter. Things changed in the fourth quarter when fatigue plagued the Wildcats.
“We hustled, communicated, and limited Hartford to one shot each possession,” said Huffman. “Fatigue and lack of experience in the fourth caused us to let Hartford back in the game.”
Emmett Britain and George led Yates Center offensively with 17 and 15 points, respectively. George’s biggest basket of the night was his game-winning shot.
Yates Center lost veterans Cash Cummings, Jayston Rice and Shane Weber to fouls in the final minutes of the game. The trio provided a vocal spark from the bench, which helped propel their team to their first victory of the season.
Weber made a number of steals defensively which led the breakaway layups and a good scoring option for the Wildcats. Cummings finished his night scoring eight points, followed by Weber’s four points and Rice’s three points.
Garret Audiss came off the bench and made an impact for the win. Taylor Camacho and Blake Cuppy also made a difference off the bench.
Yates Center will host Sedan on Thursday at 5 p.m.
