The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
The West Central 7th Grade Boys Basketball team claimed the Regional title last Wednesday, January 21, in Bushnell with a 32-29 victory over the host Spartans.
The Spartans had gotten the better of the Heat earlier this season in the Sand Valley Conference Tournament claiming the title with 7-point win over WC.
Jacob Chockley opened the scoring by burying a triple to give the Heat a 3-0 lead, but the Spartans ended the 1st quarter on a 7-2 run to take a 7-5 advantage into the 2nd quarter.
The two squads battled back and forth in the 2nd quarter, with the Heat reclaiming the lead at 11-9 on a Chockley bucket.
However, the Spartans once again ended the quarter on a run, this time 6-0, to take a four-point advantage into halftime, 15-11.
To open the second half, West Central took the lead on a 7-point run by Kyle Meyer (split a pair of free throws and made two 3-pointers). Chockley extended the Heat run to 9-0 with a pair of free throws, giving West Central a 20-15 lead.
After the Spartans went 1-2 at the charity stripe, Emmett Guile sank another 3-pointer for the Heat to push the advantage to 23-16.
The Spartans would answer and again end the quarter on a run, this time 9-0, as they cashed in 3 free throws on 4 attempts and buried 2 threes to take a 25-23 lead into the final quarter.
The 4th quarter scoring opened with more free throws for the Spartans, and their run grew to 11-0 to push their lead to four.
Chockley answered for the Heat with a 3-pointer to close it to a one-point game, 27-26.
The Spartans cashed in again at the free throw line to push the lead to three, 29-26.
But down the stretch, it was West Central that took advantage of BPC fouls, closing the game on a 6-0 run while going 6-12 from the line to secure the 32-29 victory and punch their ticket to the Sectional Championship in Lewistown.
Kyle Meyer and Jacob Chockley both finished with a team-high 10 points.
On Monday, January 26, West Central traveled to Lewistown for the Sectional final to face another team that got the better of them earlier in the season.
Nauvoo-Colusa caught the Heat at an inopportune time, as West Central was missing players due to illness, and the Vikings cruised to a 30-point win back on December 7.
This time around, things wouldn’t be so easy for the Vikings. Nathan Good opened the scoring for the Heat to give them an early 2-0 lead, but the Vikings answered with a 6-0 run.
Guile went on a 5-0 run including a triple to end the quarter and gave West Central a 7-6 advantage after the opening period.
Nauvoo opened the 2nd quarter with a 5-0 run of their own to regain the lead at 11-7. The teams traded buckets until a Good three-point play and a Chockley fast-break layup gave the Heat a one-point lead.
Good pushed the Heat run to 7-0 with an inside score to make it 18-15 with under a minute to play in the half.
The Vikings answered with a 3-pointer to tie it, but Meyer answered right back with a 3 of his own before the intermission horn to give West Central a 21-18 lead at the break.
Out of halftime, both teams traded empty possessions before Guile buried a 3-pointer to make it 24-18.
Guile stayed hot, burying another 3, and Tucker Corzatt got free on a press break as the Heat built their biggest lead of the night at 29-18 with just under 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.
The Vikings wouldn’t go away quietly. Nauvoo went 3-4 at the line to end the quarter, making it 29-21 after three.
The Viking run continued into the 4th quarter as two inside scores cut the Heat lead to four, 29-25.
West Central responded with a pair of inside buckets by Good, and the Vikings took a timeout trailing 33-25 with 2:33 left to play.
The Vikings got some good looks to cut into the Heat lead but couldn’t convert enough of them.
West Central handled the Viking pressure just enough, and Meyer salted this one away at the free throw line, going 4 for 4 as the Heat secured a 37-27 win.
Emmett Guile led West Central with 13 points. Nathan Good tallied 11 points and 7 boards, while Kyle Meyer added 7 points and 5 assists for the Heat.
With the win, West Central advances to the 7-2A state tournament hosted by Meridian High School in Macon.
The Heat will face undefeated Winchester West Central at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.
If the Heat can get past the Cougars, they would play in the semifinals at 5:00 p.m. Saturday in Macon.