Wildcats whipped at tourney
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Hitting the floor with just six players, the Wildcats were at a disadvantage before the opening tip against the Warriors’ 15-man roster. But Dibrell held its own for the first few moments, trying to play a possession game to not only save their own strength, but limit the Warriors’ offensive opportunities.
Turnovers proved disastrous, however, and Woodland seemed to take advantage of every opportunity the Wildcats gave it, as they turned 10 first-half takeaways into a 26-3 lead, holding Dibrell without a field goal for a span of 10 minutes and 50 seconds before 11 points from Dylan Blair made it a 26-8 game at halftime.
The third quarter belonged to the Warriors, as they used a 10-0 run to further pad their lead, and went into the fourth quarter with a 42-15 advantage.
With mostly reserves in for the Warriors in the fourth, Dibrell turned in its most productive period of the game, with 12 points, including six from Cody Bond. But Woodland’s Embry Mills scored off a pair of offensive rebounds, and his team’s 10 points in the period were enough to erase any thoughts of a Wildcat comeback.
Nick Borren led the way for Woodland with 16 points, while Cameron Bailey had eight. Nathan Bush and Mills finished with six each, while Tyler Fletcher, Justin Fann and Bradley Coppinger had four apiece. Daniel Taylor and Heath Simons chipped in two each. The Warriors moved on to Thursday’s semifinals, where they will face either Cannon County Eastside or Centertown.
Dibrell got 14 points from Blair, while Bond had eight and Tyler Adcock scored three. Justin Yott added a pair of free throws to round out the Wildcats’ efforts.