Wildcat boys outlast Augusta at home

Some may have called it “ugly”, others may have called it “hard-fought”. Whichever it was, it was a win for the El Dorado High School boys’ basketball team Friday night.

Coach Gary Melcher’s Wildcats survived a wild fourth quarter for a 54-48 home win over Augusta, moving their record to 2-2 in AVCTL Division III and 2-5 overall. It was El Dorado’s second win in their last three games, with the loss being by two points in overtime at Andover Central last Tuesday.

The first half was a low-scoring affair, with neither team building much of a lead. The Wildcats led 17-16 at the break, then used a 15-10 third-quarter advantage to take a 32-26 lead heading to the final period. The Wildcats were getting several baskets with cuts to the basket away from the ball.

The Wildcats got the lead up to nine points twice in the fourth quarter, but Augusta’s three-point shooting kept them close. The fourth quarter turned into a foul-fest by both teams down the stretch, as both teams combined 52 free-throw attempts for the game, most of them coming in the final period. Both teams scored 22 points in the fourth quarter.

The ‘Cats made enough of their attempts down the stretch to keep the Orioles at bay, and they also broke Augusta’s press twice in the final minute, resulting in layups by Jason West and Adam Just. El Dorado finished 17-for-27 from the line while Augusta was 18-for-25.

West finished with 13 points for the Wildcats while Steven Shaver added a season-high 10. Just, Christian Locke and Spencer Jensen each added eight. Augusta’s Brett Rawlings led all scorers with 24 points while Travis Erwin added 10.

“I think we learned a little from the Andover Central loss,” Shaver said. “We had chances to put them away, and we didn’t do it. We had chances to put this game away, and it took us a while, but we did it. Hopefully, this is just the beginning of big things for us the rest of the season.”

The El Dorado girls fell to 1-6 on the season (0-4 in league play) following a 55-39 loss to Augusta. The Lady Cats got seven straight early points by Shelby McAllister to keep within a point at 10-9, but the Orioles would slowly pull away from there throughout the rest of the game. Augusta led 16-11 after one quarter, 25-17 at the half and 37-26 after three periods.

McAllister led El Dorado with 14 points while Alyssa Ruff and Lindsay Klein each added six. Ashley Leckliter, Brea Rice and Megan Fleener each scored four points while Haleigh Williams added one. Augusta got 22 points from Alexa Poore and 15 from Nellie Gillies.

“We didn’t do a very good job of guarding their shooters early in the game,” said EHS head coach Kevin Wishart. “Poore and Gillies hit some shots early and put us in a hole. We fell behind 10-2, and I was happy to see us get back to 10-9, but we gave up a couple threes before the end of the period. Our biggest problems were protecting the ball and missing some defensive assignments. We still aren’t communicating enough on defense. I’m still confident we’re not that far away from breaking through.”

The Wildcats play at Andover Tuesday night. The girls’ game is scheduled for 6 p.m., with the boys’ game to follow at 7:30.

Varsity Boys

Augusta 10 6 10 22—48

El Dorado 8 9 15 22—54

Augusta—Rawlings 24, Carman 8, Furr 2, Smith 4, Erwin 10. FG 13 (4), FT 18-25.

El Dorado—Jason West 13, Christian Locke 8, Adam Just 8, Tyler Barnes 4, Spencer Jensen 8, Steven Shaver 10, Taylor Clites 3. FG 18 (1), FT 17-27.

Varsity Girls

Augusta 16 9 12 18—55

El Dorado 11 6 9 13—39

Augusta—Rives 1, Reichard 6, Schwemmer 2, Gillies 15, Crawford 7, Poore 22, Downs 2. FG 20 (8), FT 7-22.

El Dorado—Shelby McAllister 14, Alyssa Ruff 6, Ashley Leckliter 4, Haleigh Williams 1, Lindsay Klein 6, Megan Fleener 4, Brea Rice 4. FG 14 (2), FT 9-17.