Warriors' defense stifles Senior again
DUBUQUE – Once again, Cedar Rapids Washington leaned on its pressure defense to win a game down the stretch.
And for the second time in 10 days, Dubuque Senior was a victim.
Washington advanced to the Class 4A substate final with a convincing 63-41 victory over the Rams Friday at Nora Gymnasium.
It was the second road victory for Washington at Senior. The Warriors defeated the Rams, 55-50, on Feb. 15.
Senior ends the season with a 10-12 record.
The Warriors (16-8) will meet Dubuque Hempstead, who posted a 58-54 road upset of No. 5 Cedar Rapids Kennedy in the other substate 4 semifinal.
Washington overcame a small halftime deficit and put together a monster second half offensively. The Warriors outscored Senior by a 41-17 margin over the last 16 minutes and forced Senior into 15 second-half turnovers.
“At the beginning of the year, we were playing close to six guys,” Washington Coach Brad Metzger said. “Now, I feel like I can throw nine guys out there and get some fresher bodies.
“(The press) is not something we’ll do for 32 minutes, but it’s something we’ll look at doing over the last 12 minutes and the end of the game.”
Josh Oglesby scored a game-high 25 points for Washington, while point guard Wes Washpun added 20 and harassed Senior’s guards throughout the game.
Cyb Moa stepped up and provided a third scoring option for the Warriors. Moa finished with 14 points and was 9-of-14 from the free-throw line.
“It’s huge when we get a third scorer. Bottom line.,” Metzger said. “Josh and Wes, through 24 games, have worked extremely hard and done all kinds of things.
“The key to some of our biggest wins have been the third guy. If we can get a third guy in double figures, it will be big for us.”
Josh Weeber, Senior’s leading scorer, scored 26 points in the team’s first meeting. On Friday, Weeber tallied 13 points in the first half, but the Warriors shut down the Rams’ dynamic forward down the stretch. He had only two points in the second half.
Oglesby credited the Warriors’ box-and-1 and 1-3-1 zone defenses in slowing Weeber’s offensive production over the final two quarters.
“We really focused our defense on (Weeber),” Oglesby said. “We just confused him and got up in his pants. I’ve played in AAU ball with him, and I saw guys getting in his shorts and frustrating him.
“I thought that’s what we should do tonight. He got his points, but he didn’t get 26.”
Washington and Hempstead met on Jan. 25 in Dubuque. The Warriors came away with a 46-33 victory, but the Mustangs’ 3-2 zone was able to hold Oglesby to 13 points on 4-of-11 shooting.
“It’s the playoffs, now,” Oglesby said. “You’ve got to play who you got to play. If Hempstead is going to beat Kennedy, you can’t come into the game thinking you’re going to win because you beat them by 13 last time.
“We just got to play each game like it’s your last and give it all you have.”
Moa, one of three juniors in Washington’s starting lineup, hopes he can help his senior teammates Oglesby and Washpun return to the Class 4A State Tournament in Des Moines. He will have an opportunity on Tuesday night at the U.S. Cellular Center.
“I want to get them back there,” Moa said.
C.R. WASHINGTON (63): David Tann 1 0-4 2, Wes Washpun 7 6-10 20, Cyb Moa 2 9-14 14, Josh Oglesby 9 5-5 25, Sean Bredl 1 0-0 2, McCauley Todd 0 0-0 0, Jason Oney 0 0-0 0, Alex Carr 0 0-1 0, Trent Hoekstra 0 0-0 0, Austin Bergstrom 0 0-0 0, Zach Williams 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 20-34 63.
DUBUQUE SENIOR (41): Connor Weitz 0 0-0 0, Kyle Haber 4 2-4 10, Josh Weeber 3 8-8 15, Connor Grant 4 1-4 9, Seth Bonifas 3 1-2 7, Kyle Holdridge 0 0-0 0, Mitch Duve 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 12-18 41.
Halftime – Senior 24, Washington 22. 3-point goals – Washington 3 (Oglesby 2, Moa), Senior (Weeber). Total fouls – Washington 20, Senior 26. Fouled out – Bonifas, Holdridge.
Last Updated on Friday, 25 February 2011 22:39
