Wolves Win Consecutive Games Against Deacons
Morgan Doyle, Sports Information Director Assistant
College Place, Wash. – Jacob Vargas began the game with a layup followed by Dylan Browning putback taking the Wolves to 4-0 over the Deacons. After a tight start, the Wolves took the lead with 40-31 at the end of the first half. Walla Walla continued to take control of the game throughout the second half and finished the game with an 80-71 victory.
Walla Walla started the game off slow, but soon took charge and dominated in rebounds. Jacob Vargas and Browning walled off the hoop, forcing New Hope to take a multitude of three-point shots in the first half.
With 10 minutes left in the first half, Josh Hager nailed a three and Spencer Woodworth quickly followed with another three, putting the Wolves up 18-15. Roy Zavala and Jordan Underwood score back-to-back buckets, bringing the score to 38-28. With 3 seconds left on the clock, Deacons Jebari Robinson, shot a 3 bringing the half-time score to 40-31 in favor of Walla Walla.
In the second half, the Wolves started off strong with a layup from Browning, followed by a three-point shot from Wesley Burke. After a timeout from New Hope, Christian Chapman from the Deacons put in a 3 and brought the score to 47-34 Wolves.
The Deacons began to come back, but a Josh Hager three gave the Wolves to a lead of 51-45. Browning took the ball coast to coast a layup, and Underwood took a pass from Browning in for a layup to put the Wolves up 55-45.
With five minutes left on the clock, Walla Walla led 66-59. After a timeout from the Wolves, Burke hit back-to-back three's to widen the gap over New Hope. With 30 seconds left on the clock, Deacons Jaylen Rose banks two free throws bringing the score to 74-68.
Zavala drove in and made a key layup to slow down the Deacons, but a three-pointer from New Hope's Demario Harris keeps the score tight at 76-71 with 16 seconds left. Burke got fouled and made a pair of free throws. The Deacons took the ball quickly down the court but Vargas sent a Christian Chapman layup attempt out of bounds with a massive block that took the air out of the Deacons comeback attempt and effectively ended the game.
Wesley Burke's 19 points was a team high, followed by Dylan Browning with 17, Roy Zavala with 12, and Jacob Vargas with 11. Lead scorers for the Deacons were Jaylen Rose with 17 points and Jebari Robinson with 11 points.
Next weekend men's and women's basketball take to the road to compete at Salish Kootenai College.