Waubonsie just happy to win

After a one-sided loss to rival Neuqua Valley last week, the Waubonsie Valley boys basketball team was looking for any kind of win Thursday night when it played host to Lake Park.

So that's why the Warriors had few complaints after holding off the pesky Lancers 52-47. Sure a second quarter that featured 9 turnovers and just 2 Steve Strickland 3-pointers was not great, nor were the 22 turnovers on the night. The 7 missed free throws in the second half were not necessary either, but hey, a win's a win.

"Last week we got drilled and we were a little shaken," Warriors coach Steve Weemer admitted. "So right now we've got to grind out wins. We'll keep plugging away, but a win's a win."

Waubonsie Valley (9-7, 3-2) got off to a strong start as Jelani Johnson connected on a pair of 3-pointers and Strickland and Alex Stokowski also hit from long range as the hosts built an 18-11 lead after one quarter. But Lake Park guards Danny Baylis and Matt Drufke powered their team to a 26-24 lead at the half following a Baylis 3-pointer off a cross-court pass from Drufke just before the buzzer to end the half.

Baylis had 7 of his game-high 19 points in the second quarter while Drufke went 4 of 4 in the quarter before finishing the night with 12 points and 6 rebounds for the Lancers, who fell to 3-14 on the year and 0-5 in the UEC.

But the Warriors used a 13-5 run in the third quarter to take a 37-31 lead that set the stage for a back-and-forth final quarter that closed with the visitors down just 50-47 and possession of the ball with 13 seconds left. But the Lancers couldn't set up a solid 3-point shot at a tie and called time out with three seconds left, only to have Johnson steal the inbounds pass to seal the victory.

"It wasn't a pretty game offensively for either team," Lake Park coach Cray Allen said. "Their defense won out in the second half."

After the two early 3s, Johnson did not score again in the first half, but still managed to finish with 17 points and 5 steals for the Warriors, who also got a huge lift from Strickland, who tallied 14 points off the bench including a critical three-point play that gave the home team a 50-45 lead with 34 seconds left in the game.

"I just felt like I had an open lane and took it," said Strickland, whose driving one-hander off the glass elicited an excited fist pump from the senior guard. "Tyler Castro blocked off my man and I had an opening."