Pioneers hold off

No. 1-seeded Cavaliers
By Steve Behr
sports@wataugademocrat.com

ICARD — Generally speaking, wildcard prep basketball teams aren’t supposed to beat No. 1 seeds.

Apparently, somebody forgot to tell Watauga. The Pioneers, who won nine regular season games and had to wait until last Saturday to see if they even made the state 4-A playoffs, did what generally isn’t supposed to be done. Watauga, the team that reached the playoffs with a wildcard, held No. 1-seeded East Burke to two points in the final 4:52 of the game in its 52-49 victory over the stunned Cavaliers Tuesday night at East Burke’s gym.

The Pioneers (10-14) play Thursday in the second round on the road.

“It’s been a long time,” Watauga coach Rob Sanders said. “We used our football team as an example of the fact that it’s a mentality barrier that you have to overcome. You’ve got to get past of the idea of being just happy to be here. You have to go into the playoffs expecting to make some noise.”

Watauga, which had lost two times to East Burke during the regular season, made plenty of noise in the fourth quarter Monday night. The Pioneers trailed the Cavaliers 40-34 at the end of the third period and 42-34 after a Cody Shuffler basket started the fourth. The Cavaliers had led since a 14-14 tie early in the second quarter and looked ready to put the game out of reach.

“Coach just told us to go out and play basketball and not worry about any pressure that’s being put on us,” Watauga center Ian Dale said. “He said to play defense as hard as we can and play smart and play together.”

Simple as that may sound, it was the best way to beat the Cavaliers, who won the Northwestern 4-A Conference regular season championship. The Pioneers, which struggled offensively for much of the game, suddenly found the basket in the fourth quarter. Watauga had already pulled to within 45-43 when Shuffler scored on a stickback to give East Burke a 47-43 with 4:52 left in the game.

The Cavaliers would not score again until there were 50.6 seconds left in the game. Meanwhile, the Pioneers went on a 7-0 run, capped by a key stickback by Dale, who rebounded a missed foul shot. Dale’s basket, which he scored with 1:08 left in the game, gave the Pioneers a 50-47 lead they would not lose.

“He really stepped up,” Sanders said. “Coach (Jerry) Moretz and I said all year that we’ve never met a basketball player that doesn’t want to shoot the ball. Usually it’s the complete opposite, you have to stop them from shooting the ball. Ian is a point guard in a post player’s body. He has the mentality to pass first and shoot second and he gives up a lot of good looks. But he has a nose for the ball and to be honest, that was why he was in the game.”

East Burke Darian Pearson scored with 50.6 seconds left to pull the Cavaliers to within 50-49. But Watauga guard Zach Greene, who rebounded an East Burke missed 3-pointer, was fouled and calmly sank both ends of a one-and-one free throw situation with 8,5 seconds left to seal the win.

Watauga guard David Isaacs made sure East Burke would not get a second-chance shot after rebounding Dustin Beck’s final 3-point attempt.

“We stayed in our zone and they got cold from the field and we managed to not let them get easy shots,” Dale said. “Then we went back to the man (defense) and once we picked up the pressure, they weren’t ready for it.”

Greene led the Pioneers in scoring with 19 points. Jeff Newell added eight points and blocked three shots, including one late in the fourth quarter. Isaacs added seven points.

Shuffler led all scorers with 22 points. Smith added seven.

The Pioneers also helped themselves by turning the ball over just once in the fourth quarter and just nine times overall.

“We told out guys to value these possessions,” Sander said of the fourth quarter. “Make sure that you get a high percentage shot each possessions and stop settling for the outside shot. We had to attack the glass.”

Watauga 52, East Burke 49
Watauga (10-14)
Watson 2 0-04, Greene 6 4-5 19, Moyer 0 0-0 0, Isaacs 2 2-2 7, Chiarolanzio 1 0-0 2, Newell 3 2-2 8, Eppley 3 0-2 6, Herndon 0 0-00 0, Dale 3 0-0 6, Steury 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 8-11 52.
East Burke (20-6)
Smith 3 1-2 7, Beck 2 0-0 6, Frogge 2 0-0 6, Pearson 3 0-0 6, Boughman 1 0-02, Shuffler 8 5-7 22, Hildebrand 0 0-0 0, Rhoney 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 6-9 49.
Watauga 11 8 15 18 — 52
East Burke 14 12 14 9 — 49
3-point goals—Watauga 4 (Greene 3, Isaacs), East Burke 5 (Beck 2, Frogge 2, Shuffler). Turnovers—Watauga 9, East Burke 13. Total fouls—Watauga 15, East Burke 13. Fouled out—None. Technical fouls—None.