By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — What a difference a year makes in high school basketball. After losing six seniors to graduation after last season, including some top performers, West Wilkes couldn’t keep up with host Watauga on Jan. 3, losing to the Pioneers 88-51.
A year ago, Watauga barely eked out a 99-95 win over the resilient Blackhawks. Fast forward and the game would not have been as close as the final 37-point deficit had head coach Bryson Payne not pulled his starters and top bench players for the entire fourth quarter. Even so, this was a game for Pioneer Nation to be introduced to the future and they didn’t disappoint. With smothering defense, the Watauga up-and-comers outscored West Wilkes 11-7 in the final stanza.
“They had a game last night,” Payne acknowledged to reporters after the final buzzer had mercifully sounded, “so they might have been a little tired. We played up-tempo and they couldn’t keep up. Plus, we executed up and down the roster and shot very well tonight.”
In big man Harrison Holbrook, West Wilkes actually had the game’s highest scorer on the floor with his 22 points, but the Blackhawks had little else to show for their offensive production. Meanwhile, Watauga had three players in double figures, led by Josiah Railey’s 19 points, along with 16 points scored by Wyatt Kohout and 12 points by Jackson Pryor. Altogether, 12 Pioneers put points on the board for Watauga on the night.
Now 9-3 on the young season, Watauga goes on the road Jan. 5 to play at North Wilkes before returning home on Jan. 12 for their Northwestern Conference opener vs. 4A rival South Caldwell.
SCORING SUMMARY
- WWK – Harrison Holbrook (22 points)
- WAT – Josiah Railey (19)
- WAT – Wyatt Kohout (16)
- WAT – Jackson Pryor (12)
- WAT – Maddox Greene (8)
- WAT – Landon Smith (7)
- WAT – Cade Keller (7)
- WWK – Blake Broyhill (7)
- WWK – Cameron Greer (6)
- WAT – Brady Lindenmuth (5)
- WWK – Ja’Kaden Larrimore (5)
- WAT – Levi Stone (4)
- WAT – Logan Greene (3)
- WAT – Paul Taylor (3)
- WWK – Eli Johnson (3)
- WAT – Eli Bishop (2)
- WAT – Jackson Love (2)
- WWK – Hayden Frye (2)
- WWK – Branson Davis (2)
BONUS PHOTOS
