Warren’s Julian Stadelman scans the floor during Friday’s season-opener against Morgan. Warren won, 69-28.
(Photo by Aaron Lee)
VINCENT — As the old adage goes, “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.” While that may be true, a win to start the year can kickstart a season filled with success. After Warren’s 69-28 dismantling of Morgan on Friday, things are looking bright for the Warriors.
In the first quarter of the game, Warren outscored the Raiders 22-10. Jacob Sealey hit two threes early in the game to get the points rolling for the Warriors. From there, Warren never looked back. Connor Barry had a nice three-point play, making the layup and drawing the foul for the and-one.
Right before the end of the half, the score sat at 34-17. Julian Stadelman got the ball in the waning seconds of the second quarter, looking to make another field goal before time expired. He set up to take the 3-pointer, readjusted and then let the defender make the first move. Stadelman then drained the three for a buzzer-beater to give the Warriors a 20-point lead going into halftime.
It was more of the same in the second half. Warren’s defense continued to cause problems for the Raiders and prevented them from getting off many shots. This is echoed in the final shot totals. Warren managed 53 shots throughout the game, whereas Morgan only shot 33 times.
The fourth quarter was controlled by 5-foot-9 junior Colin Anthony, who was everywhere. He’d take shots outside, as well as sneak in for rebounds. Anthony had a layup on a loose ball, followed by two threes, the latter of which was set up by a no-look pass by Nick Cressey. Later, Anthony contributed an excellent assist on a pass to Sealey. While the game was most likely out of reach at that point, Anthony made a statement: the Warriors were not going to let up.
Warren won the game by a final score of 69-28, more than doubling the point total of its opponent.
Head coach Blane Maddox gave his thoughts after the game, “I thought it was a good team effort. I thought we played defense hard. Offense at the half-court has to get better, but in transition we looked really good.”
On starting the year with a win, Maddox said, “It’s nice to get a good start. We have big expectations, and we wanna play good for 32 minutes and we just gotta keep working to get better.”
Regarding Stadelman’s second quarter buzzer-beater, Maddox explained, “He’ll shoot it from anywhere. Sometimes I gotta reel him in, but he wants to shoot. He’s been shooting well in practice, got a little flat in the second half, but he and Trent (Taylor) led us well.”
Anthony finished 4 for 7 from the field for 10 points.
“Colin Anthony showed what he can do. Big heart in a little body. He’s a good rebounder, a surprising rebounder. Took three charges tonight, I don’t know how many assists he had. He had a wonderful game, and I’m happy for him,” said Maddox of Anthony’s big night.
Maddox concluded, “I’m just happy. Big crowd tonight. Thanks for showing up to the staff (who were honored before the game). Good day to be a Warrior.”
Warren heads to Wheeling on Wednesday to take on Linsly at 7:30 p.m.
Contact Aaron Lee at [email protected]
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