Valley Sports ReportWAVERLY — Waverly used its pressure defense to create points in transition, knocked down open shots and pounded the offensive boards in a complete 72-32 rout of Whitney Point in its boys basketball regular-season finale here Tuesday night.
"We've gotten off to very good first quarters in the last few games and it's made the other teams uneasy with our full-court pressure," said Waverly coach Lou Judson. "We've also been able to make some shots and get some confidence, and that's what we're feeding off right now.
"We're playing exceptionally well right now, as well as any of my teams have been playing going into the postseason," noted Judson. "We're just playing extremely well and at a high level."
Senior Hogan Shaw and junior Ben Shaw scored buckets off steals in the first 18 seconds of the game to give Waverly a quick 4-0 lead.
Hogan Shaw knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, and ended the first quarter with 11 points, while senior Porter Daddona scored six points, and Ben Shaw and freshman Braiden each knocked down 3-pointers and scored five points apiece in a 27-7 blitz in the opening stanza.
Hogan Shaw and Ben Shaw, who canned another 3-pointer, scored four points apiece in the second quarter, and Judson drained a 3-pointer as the Wolverines used a 16-14 advantage in the stanza to extend its lead to 43-21 heading into the halftime locker room.
"We ended up with six 3-pointers in the first half, four of them in the first quarter," said Judson. "The ball is finding the right guys at the right time.
"Obviously a lot of that starts with a defensive rebound and a push," noted Judson. "We have four guards and a forward on the floor, so we're able to get the ball up the floor quickly, and any one of my guys can shoot the basketball, so there's a lot of weaponry on the floor.
"Right now, we're rebounding on the defensive end better than we were early in the season, which allows to get out and run.
"These games late in the season ... I feel we've improved so much in the last three or four weeks it's going to give us, I hope, some confidence going into the playoffs," added Judson.
Hogan Shaw connected on a 3-pointer and scored five points in the third quarter, and senior Carter Davies added an old-fashioned three-point play in a 12-3 run that extended Waverly's lead to 55-24 heading into the final eight minutes.
Hogan Shaw led Waverly with 20 points ad three assists, while Porter Daddona had 10 points, five rebounds, two assists, and one blocked shot, and Judson had 10 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals
Junior Carson Rockwell had 10 points, three rebounds and two assists, while Ben Shaw added nine points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals, sophomore Sam Cheresnowsky chipped in with four points, four boards and two assists, sophomore Jack Pipher added six rebounds and two assists, and Davies and Eric Lewis each chipped in with three rebounds.
Waverly collected 15 offensive rebounds in the win, including a team-high four by Judson.
Waverly returns to action March 4 in the semifinals of the Section IV, Class A playoffs, most likely at Oneonta. (The official brackets will be released Thursday.)
"The good thing about it is we had the chance to play (Oneonta) a couple weeks ago on our home floor," said Judson. "The outcome wasn't what we wanted, but we know we can play with a team like that.
"Obviously, it's going to be a more difficult test at their gym, which is a very difficult place to play," added Judson. "However, I really think with how we're playing right now, we have the confidence to go up there and win."
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IN PHOTO 1: Waverly's Ben Shaw. IN TOP PHOTO: Waverly's Hogan Shaw. . ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
