Wolverines capture Cougars for 7th District win

Your Wakeland Wolverines revenged a 20 point blowout last night against The Colony by defeating the Cougars 73-50 on their own home floor. The Colony rolled in the first round of district play and beat down the Wolverines by 20 points, so Wakeland returned the favor. It was a crucial win for the Wolverines because they are now tied with the Cougars for second place in the district standings. Wakeland came out hot from beyond the arc by hitting 7 of its 8 "3's" in the first half alone, thanks to Josh Harris and Zol Singleton. Even though the Wolverines were already up by double digits at the start of the 3rd, they put the pedal to the medal and ended any hopes of a Cougar comeback. When it was all said and done, Wakeland basically dominated every aspect of the game. Junior Varsity Coach Blake Reedy mentioned to The Colony Courier, "tonight was the exact opposite of what happened last game..., tonight we made the open shots, and physically abused the boards..., and they didn't!" Josh Harris led the Wolverines with 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Zol Singleton added 12, while Cameron Walker got his 10th double-double of the year with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Jackson Lamb came off the bench and put in 10 along with Noah Westerfield handing out 7 dimes. The win puts Wakeland's overall record at 21-5 and 7-3 in District 9-4A. The Wolverines will battle the Lobos of Little Elm on Friday Night, which just so happens to be Middle School night, so come out and enjoy some high-flying basketball. Go Wakeland!

Don Sparks Photography

Wakeland trips Titans for sixth District Win

Your Wakeland Wolverines did somethig this past Friday night, that they haven't done in a long time. They won in less dramatic fashion than what they are used to. I'm not sure if it was the bright lights of the cameras from Time Warner Cable or if it was the student section that shot the noise level through the roof. Whatever it was, your Wolverines were tenacious on defense and were methodical on offense as they tried to slice and dice Centennial's match-up zone. Even though the Titans found themselves up by three at the end of the first quarter, the Wolverines quickly took the lead in the second and never looked back. In a game that didn't see very many possessions, Wakeland took advantage of every opportunity, which helped them win by a score of 54-47. Halftime entertainment was provided by the Boys manager, Brian Spinella as he hurled a halfcourt shot that banked in off the glass and the crowd erupted into a 7.8 on the Richter scale. Varsity Assistant Coach Marty Tidwell responded to a question from a TWC reporter in a post-game video interview, "what we try to do is keep things real simple, a lot of coaches will say "you need to do this or you need do that..., all we say is "score more points than the other team!" Josh Harris led the Wolverines with 12 points and 3 assists while Sean Watkins added 11 points. Cameron Walker and Zol Singleton both scored 10 points. Noah Westerfield was the top rebounder of the night with 6 boards. The win puts Wakeland's overall record at 20-5 on the season with a 6-3 record in District 9-4A. The Wolverines find themselves currently in third place with just 5 games remaining. Wakeland will be back in action on Tuesday night as they will travel to The Colony for the first time in school history. Hope to see you at the game because it'll be a barn burner. Go orange and blue!

Don Sparks Photography (Varsity)

The Shot Heard Around The World

Wolverines rise above Eagles

Your Wakeland Wolverines got back to their winning ways this past Tuesday night by defeating the Eagles of Prosper by a score of 56-52. Once again, the Eagles came out hot by hitting four "3's" in the first quarter of play, which helped them jump out to a first quarter lead. However, the Wolverines came roaring back in the second quarter and never found themselves down again. Wakeland did have a few chances to pull away in the second half, but turnovers and the inability to put the ball in the basket helped the Eagles hang around to make it another nail biter until the final buzzer. Head Coach Brent Benningfield commented to KSWV 91.7 "we seem to shoot ourselves in the foot sometimes and make games closer than they really should be..., I'm just glad we were able to hang on!" Josh Harris led the Wolverines with a career high, 21 points. Cameron Walker tallied up his 9 double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, while Noah Westerfield grabbed 11 boards and scored 7 points. The win brings Wakeland's overall record to 19-5 with a 5-3 record in District play. The Wolverines find themselves in sole possession of third place, however they must defend their home court on Friday night against the Centennial Titans if they want to keep their play-off spot in tact. JV begins at 5pm, 9th at 6:30pm, and Varsity at 8pm. Its been rumored that Time Warner Cable will be there to film the game live because this match-up has been featured as the game of the week. Stay tuned for more details, go orange and blue!

Heritage hustles Wolverines for key District win

Your Wakeland Wolverines dropped a key game in District play this past Friday night against the Coyotes of Heritage by a score of 80-63. If the Wolverines could have secured a win, they would have positioned themselves towards the top of the District ladder at the end of the first round. However, the loss still clogs the district race as Heritage, Wakeland, and Frisco are all tied for the last two play-off spots as we go into the second round. The Wolverines and Coyotes pushed the offensive pace in the first two quarters of play by trading buckets back and forth. Unfortunately, the Wolverines were outscored by 14 points in the last few minutes of play at the end of the first half, which gave the Coyotes a 10 point lead going to half. Wakeland came out in the second half and pounded it down low to tie the game by the start of the fourth quarter. At the beginning of the fourth, the Coyotes reigned supreme as they hit consecutive "3's" to go on a 12-0 run, which ultimately ended Wakeland's hopes of a road victory. Freshmen Coach Joe Lewis stuttered, "it was a game that was back and forth for the most part, but unfortunately the runs they had in the second and fourth quarter were just a little too much for us to overcome." Cameron Walker led the Wolverines with 18 points and 8 rebounds while Josh Harris added 13 points and 7 boards. Michael Sullivan came off the bench and hit three "3's" for 9 points on the evening. Wakeland's overall record drops to 18-5 with a 4-3 record in District 9-4A after the first round of play. The Wolverines will be back in action on Tuesday night as they will be hosting the Eagles of Prosper. The JV starts at 5pm, 9th at 6:30, and the Varsity will tip-off at 8pm. Go orange and blue!

Wolverines rattle Raccoons with buzzer beater

Once again, your Wakeland Wolverines won in dramatic fashion as they beat tollway rival, the Frisco Raccoons by a score of 56-55. Junior Point Guard Sean Watkins hit a three pointer with about .001 seconds remaining in the game to secure the victory for the Wolverines. Wakeland found themselves down by two with just 20 seconds remaining after a Frisco guard missed the second free-throw during the double bonus. After crossing half-court, Coach Benningfield called timeout to make sure the offense was on the same page. When the ball was inbounded, Sean Watkins came off two screens from the top of the key and hit Cameron Walker on the roll to the low post. Cameron Walker's sky hook fell short, and there was a mad scramble for the ball, after a few desperation attempts, power forward Noah Westerfield secured the ball and hit Watkins on the opposite wing for the game winner. When the ball swished through the net, the Wakeland student body rushed the court in celebration while the opposite stands stood stunned in the turn of events. After the madness subsided, the student body hoisted Watkins up on their shoulders as if he was the main character in "Rudy". Junior Varsity Coach Blake Reedy gasped, "when I saw the shot go in, I started to jump up and down..., I haven't gotten that high off the ground since my 12th birthday party on the trampoline!" Watkins just didn't hit the game winner, he had an impressive stat line with 13 points, 5 assists, and 4 steals. Noah Westerfield added 12 points and grabbed 9 boards, while Josh Harris and Cameron Walker both scored in double digits. The crucial win brings Wakeland's overall record to 18-4, but more importantly moves them to 4-2 in the district standings with just one game left in the first round of play. The Wolverines will be back in action on Friday night against Eldorado rivals, the Coyotes of Heritage. Varsity will tip-off at 8pm, so get there early because the "Coyote Den" will be packed! Go orange and blue!

Wolverines fly past Redhawks in last second thriller

Your Wakeland Wolverines got back to their winning ways on Friday night by defeating the Redhawks of Liberty 50 to 48 in a must have game. Wakeland extends their winning streak to 15 in a row against Liberty since the birth of the cross-town rivalry. Wakeland and Liberty slugged it out all night like boxing heavyweights and anyone who knows anything about this rivalry, knew that it was going to come down to some last second heroics. On a Liberty free-throw to tie the game with just 20 seconds to go, Sean Watkins brought up the ball and penetrated deep into the lane and kicked out to Zol "Big Shot Bob" Singleton for his first and only "3" of the game, which sent the Wolverine crowd into a frenzy as they stormed the court because of the victory. Varsity Assistant Coach Marty Tidwell commented to ESPN 8, "I might need to start adding Just for Men to my hair at the end of the season, I've already had to sit and watch ten of these nail bitters, and we're not even through the first round of District!" Sean Watkins made school history by shattering the single game assist record with an astounding 11 assists. He was in a tie previously with '10 graduate Kevin Graham with 8. Josh Harris led the Wolverines in scoring with 16 points even though he had to bow out early due to a shoulder injury. Noah Westerfield added 11 points while Cameron Walker put in 9. The win brings Wakeland's overall record to 17-4, and improves their District record to 3-2. The Wolverines will look to avenge last year's 30 point loss to the Raccoons of Frisco at home on Tuesday night. It's been rumored that the game might be televised on TWC, so stay tuned for more details. Varsity will tip-off at 8pm. Go orange and blue!

Don Sparks Photography (Varsity)
Don Sparks Photography (JV)
Don Sparks Photography (9th)

Wolverines run out of gas against Lobos

Your Wakeland Wolverines dropped their second district game this past Tuesday night with a loss to the Lobos of Little Elm by a score of 64-51. Both teams lit it up from beyond the arc in the first half by combining for 10 "3's" in just the first two quarters of play. However, as the Lobos maintained their pedal to the medal, the Wolverines just came up short towards the end of the game. Wakeland's inability to convert in transition the last four minutes of play enabled the Lobos to extend their lead at the free-throw line when the Wolverines had to start fouling. Head Coach Brent Benningfield stated in a post locker room meeting, "obviously I'm not happy with the outcome, but if we would played with that kind of intenisty and focus against The Colony last week, this would have only been our first District loss!" Sean Watkins led the Wolverines with 13 points while Josh Harris added 12 points. Once again, Cameron Walker and Noah Westerfield cleaned the glass with 7 boards a piece. The loss bring Wakeland's overall record to 16-4 with a 2-2 record in District play. The Wolverines will be back in action on Friday night in a home match-up against the Liberty Redhawks. Go Wakeland!

Don Sparks Photography (Varsity)