WELLSVILLE — The Wellsville boys basketball team had a rusty start to the season that started with an upset loss to Leetonia and continued that run with a 50-32 loss to Toronto on Friday night.
“We have to stay positive.” Wellsville coach Nate Scott said. “I think our players gave up at some point, but we can’t do that. We’re young and we have to keep fighting until the end.”
Wellsville (3-3) kept pace with the Red Knights, who led 29-20 at halftime, in the first half, but turnovers and poor shooting took a toll on the Tigers.
“We had a lot of good looks. Our best shooter was 0-9 from the 3-point line.” Scott said. “We had a lot of stupid passes that weren’t forced, and there’s no reason to put them on the court like middle schoolers, but they’re young and they have to learn that hard.”
The Tigers made 3-of-19 from the 3-point line and had 14 turnovers, but that wasn’t the only problem the Tigers had to deal with.
Toronto (6-1) relied heavily on 6-foot-6 senior Kayden Benton, who scored a game-high 25 points and gave the Red Knights a big advantage.
“They had a big kid who probably grabbed 12 rebounds.” Scott said. “We couldn’t answer him.”
“I don’t think I did anything like I would normally do.” Toronto coach Sean Tucker said: “Sometimes when you have a 6-foot-6 kid and he’s grabbing the rebounds, the players get a little bit complacent, but a lot of times he doesn’t grab the rebounds. So we need more guys. We need to get them on the board.”
Cam Baker supported Benton with nine points.
Scott, in his first year as head coach of the national team, is still trying to find a spark within a young team.
“I want to win more” Scott said. “I understand it’s a process, but we have a game tomorrow so we have to bounce back.”
Richie Dowling led the Tigers with nine points and five rebounds. Elijah Douglas had six points, four rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
Toronto won the junior varsity game 60-43.
Chase Heckathorn and Brady Fair led the Red Knights with 12 points each.
Haydin Oliver led Wellsville with seven points, and Austin Adkins and Andrew McKee each added six points.
Wellsville will look to prepare quickly as they travel to Steubenville Central on Saturday night.
“It’s tough, but at least I can come to practice and not feel the negative effects of losing and get ready for tomorrow’s game.” Scott said. “I hope they can play better. We want to win.”
Toronto hosts Southern on Saturday.
TOR: 13-16-11-10–50
Us: 12- 8- 5- 7–32
Toronto scoring: Aiden Philby 0-0-0, Nolan Dickenson 1-3-5, Noah Carafa 2-0-5, Cam Baker 3-0-9, Brody Wimters 0-0-0, Brady. Fair 0-0-0, Tanner Ensell 3-0-6, Michael Henry 0-0-0, Landon Grimes 0-0-0, Kayden Benton 11-3-25. Team total: 20, 6-9: 50.
Wellsville Scoring: Richie Dowling 3-3-9, Elijah Douglas 2-0-6, Corben Kersey 0-0-0, Landon Ramsey 1-1-4, Dalton Behana 0-0-0, Nate. McGraw 3-0-6, Haydin Oliver 0-0-0, Darnell Law 0-0-0, Tyrell Watkins 3-0-6, Austin Adkins 0-0-0, Tashaun Williams 0-0 -0, Andrew McKee 0-0-0. Team total: 12, 5-8: 32.
3-point goals: Toronto 4 (Baker 3, Carafa), Wellsville 3 (Douglas 2, Ramsey).