HORSEHEADS RALLIES PAST WAVERLY, 63-5

By: Tim Birney | Waverly Athletics | February 25, 2021 | Photo courtesy Peter Kent

HORSEHEADS — Horseheads closed the game with a 16-6 run to rally for a 63-57 win over Waverly here Thursday night in on-league boys basketball action.

“We committed some costly turnovers, and missed shots inside that hurt us,” said Waverly coach Lou Judson.

The game was tied at 43-43 heading into the final eight minutes. The Wolverines took a 51-47 lead with 5:35 remaining, but the Blue Raiders closed strong.

Horseheads won their first match-up six days ago, 65-49.

“Tonight, we were pretty locked in defensively,” said Judson. “We came and played with a little chip on our shoulder.”

The difference in the game was the free-throw line, where Horseheads made 20 of 27 attempts, while Waverly made 7 of 11.

“We played a good basketball game tonight, and I think we outplayed (Horseheads) in many facets of the game, except for the free-throw line, and that cost us,” said Judson.

Freshman Joey Tomasso led Waverly with 23 points and four steals, while Westbrook had 11 points, six rebounds, and two assists, juniors Brennan Traub and Davis Croft scored six points apiece, and senior Kobe Decker chipped in with four points. Senior Peyton Bowen grabbed five rebounds, and senior Ryan Lambert had five steals, and two assists.

Andrew McLaughlin led Horseheads with 21 points.

“I’m super-proud of the guys, they played hard tonight,” said Judson.

“Horseheads is a good basketball team, and they’re physical. We brought it tonight,” added Judson. “We played a very good basketball game. I’m not into moral victories, for sure, but against most teams we play, we would have won tonight.”

Waverly, now 5-2, returns to action Saturday afternoon at Elmira.