Epping boys basketball blows past shorthanded Wilton-Lyndeborough
WILTON - Sean Young told his Epping High School boys basketball team Friday night that it shouldn't matter who was on the floor for Wilton-Lyndeborough.
WILTON - Sean Young told his Epping High School boys basketball team Friday night that it shouldn't matter who was on the floor for Wilton-Lyndeborough.
The Blue Devils needed to focus on the things Young wanted them to do, and if they were successful, they'd come out on top.
It couldn't have gone much better for Epping, as the Blue Devils lead 24-2 at the end of the first quarter on the way to a 62-45 win over the Warriors, who were playing without senior Jordan Litts.
Brett Couture led Epping (2-0) with 16 points while Colby Wilson had 15 and Dylan Derosier added 12, as the Blue Devils never trailed, going on a 22-0 run to end the opening frame. Epping led by as many as 31 in the first half before the Warriors (2-1) closed the gap in the second.
"We couldn't be any happier with the way we came out of the gate," Young said. "I don't care what group of guys were on the court, the big thing we pushed was that we were going to come out of the gate and take care of business no matter who we're playing against.
"We came out with all kinds of intensity. Our goal was to beat them to every loose ball and rebound, get a hand on a ball, crash. I felt like we did a really good job."
The Blue Devils did all of those things early in the game, as the Warriors tried to figure out how to play without Litts, who was out after hurting his right hand Wednesday against Derryfield. WLC coach Ken Garnham expects the senior to be back for Monday's game at Pittsfield.
"You take the best player in Division IV out of the mix, and boy oh boy, does it make a difference," Garnham said. "This was going to go one of two ways. We were either going to have a barnburner of a game, or they were going to blow us out. They blew us out. We just weren't ready for that intensity. We learned a lot about what we need to do to compete."
Ty Carrier led WLC with 14 points while Trey Carrier had 10, all in the second half. After scoring 23 points through the first three quarters, WLC nearly matched that in the fourth.
"(Young) still had some of players out there and he was working on some different things, but that often happens at the end of a game when you're down by a lot," Garnham said. "We played hard, hustled and did more things toward the end. We didn't give up. All those cliches, but it's true. Our effort in the second half was certainly better."
Epping was able to go on its 22-0 run in the first thanks to its ability to control the offensive glass and eight turnovers by WLC. The lead stretched to 37-7 with 3:37 left in the opening half, but the Warriors had a 6-4 advantage the rest of the way and trailed 41-13 at the break.
An 11-2 run to open the third quarter put Epping up by 37 points, 52-15, and it was a 31-point game going into the fourth. The Warriors outscored the Blue Devils 22-8 in the final eight minutes.
"Being up big at the half, it's difficult to maintain that intensity," Young said. "Most of our stuff is out of the full court, where we create a lot of stuff. When we get into a half court, we don't understand how to have a lot of intensity.
"It will be a different game at our place (on Feb, 24), but I like our chances. We're going to be able to cause teams a lot of matchup problems, even if they have the best player in the state, which Litts is the best player in the state. We have a lot of experience, a lot of maturity, and we have guys who can play physical basketball."
