Green Wave gets needed win over St. Al

Published 12:04 am Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Ben Hillyer | The Natchez Democrat — Cathedral’s Jardarius Anderson goes up for a shot over St. Aloysius’ Elliot Bexley in the Green Wave’s 73-67 overtime victory Tuesday night. Anderson led Cathedral with 18 points in the game. It was Cathedral’s first win in 2013.

NATCHEZ — It had been 31 days since the Cathedral School boys’ basketball team tasted victory, and the visitors from St. Aloysius High School did everything they could to keep the Green Wave starving for a win Tuesday night.

Cathedral had chances to put the game away at the end of the fourth quarter but missed some opportunities, and St. Al fought its way to overtime.

But Alex Weadock came alive for Cathedral and scored seven of his 11 points in overtime to push the Green Wave to its first win since Dec. 28.

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“We are so thankful,” Cathedral head coach Peter Arnold said. “When you lose eight in a row, it’s just good to get a win. Our kids have been trying so hard to win a game, and we sure didn’t do it the smart way.”

The Green Wave did not handle its fourth-quarter lead well, and Arnold was disappointed his team missed free throws and committed turnovers that allowed St. Al to tie the game.

Two of those fourth-quarter misses from the free throw line came off the hands of Weadock, and Arnold said he was proud of the way his sophomore guard bounced back in overtime.

“I was happy for Alex Weadock,” Arnold said. “He stepped up and hit some huge free throws in overtime after missing two big ones in the fourth quarter.”

Jardarius Anderson led Cathedral with 18 points, and R.J. Givens chipped in with 17 points. James Coley also reached double-figures with 12 points.

St. Al’s Elliot Bexley led all scorers with 20 points, and Connor Smith and Ben Welp each added 13 points of their own.

Welp did most of his damage in the first half, as he scored 12 points in the opening two quarters to push St. Al to a 31-25 lead at the break.

Cathedral had a big third quarter led by 11 points from Givens to take a one-point lead into the final quarter.

But St. Al ran into foul trouble late in the game when Bexley and Smith fouled out, and Arnold said that gave Cathedral a huge advantage.

“In the overtime session we had good matchups, because of the guys that fouled out,” he said.

The Green Wave showed a lot of resiliency during its eight-game losing streak, Arnold said.

“When you keep working and keep losing, it could have a very negative impact,” Arnold said. “It’s nice to see them get a win.”

Cathedral (7-15, 1-6) will travel to face West Lincoln Friday. St. Al will travel to face Piney Woods Friday.

Cathedral girls 47, St. Al 37

Sarah Beth Willard went out with a bang on senior night for the Lady Green Wave.

The senior scored 20 points to lead Cathedral to a 47-37 victory over St. Aloysius Tuesday night.

“Sarah Beth pretty much took over, and our seniors came to play,” Cathedral head coach Randy Smith said.

The Lady Wave used a big second quarter to pull away from the visitors from Vicksburg. Cathedral outscored the Lady Flashes 15-2 in the second frame.

Ann Thomas led St. Al with 11 points, and Claire Gamble added nine.

Kennedy Gray scored eight points for Cathedral, and senior Taylor Beesley added seven.

Cathedral improved to 8-13 on the season and 3-4 in MHSAA Region 7-1A. The Lady Wave will face West Lincoln Friday. St. Al will travel to Piney Woods Friday.