WAYNESBORO – What a difference a game makes.
Last Friday the Waynesboro varsity boys’ basketball team struggled to score 40 points against visiting Northern York.
Though it was a win, it wasn’t characteristic of a Waynesboro team that is used to imposing its will against opposing teams. The Indians won that game, 43-29.
On Monday, Waynesboro found its rhythm and got a lot more scoring distribution along the way, as the Indians dominated South Western 77-56.
“We weren’t embarrassed, but we were a little disappointed by our game on Friday (against Northern), especially in front of the home crowd,” said Waynesboro head coach Tom Hoffman. “We just weren’t at our best. Much of that was credit to Northern.”
Senior Ryan Shaffer led Waynesboro with 20 points. The Indians had four players score in double figures, with seniors Tanyon Shaull and Jaylon Bean each tallying 15 points and senior Michael Young adding 13 points to go with three assists and six rebounds.
The Indians had a short memory of Friday’s game, which despite being a win, wasn’t quite up to the standard that the 7-0 team has set for itself.
Either way, the combined score of Monday’s and Tuesday’s games was 141-81.
“(South Western) wasn’t quite as big across the board as Northern was,” Hoffman said. “Either way, our whole game plan was to pound it inside, keep pounding it inside. We tried to make that a conscious effort. Ironically enough, it was the threes that helped us.”
Waynesboro made nine three-pointers against South Western, including four by Shaffer and a pair by Shaull.
If it were not for South Western making eight threes, the score would have been even more lopsided.
“I just thought our intensity level and energy was the difference. Jaylon was grabbing offensive rebounds above everybody and being strong. We were kind of clicking on all cylinders, but mostly in the second quarter,” said Hoffman.
Against Big Spring the following night, Shaffer, who scored 21 points against the Polar Bears, joined Shaull in the 12-point club, while Young led his team in the scoring column with 13 points. Jaylon Bean came close to double digits and finished with 9 points during a 64-25 Mid-Penn Colonial Division win.
Waynesboro led 17-3 after the first quarter and took a 37-7 lead into the locker room at halftime against the Bulldogs.
It took one quarter for Waynesboro to get the engine going. Once it did, a small trickle became a flood and the Mustangs were playing from behind the rest of the game.
The Tribe never trailed, and Shaffer broke an 11-11 tie with a three-point field goal. Waynesboro led 18-15 after the first quarter, then began to pull away as the second period progressed.
Shaffer took a nice pass from Young and converted an easy two points to start the second-quarter scoring, points made possible by a turnover. After South Western missed a scoring chance, Bean made a putback shot, and after another missed shot by the Mustangs, Shaffer not only got the defensive rebound but was fouled at the other end and made both free throws to make the score 24-15.
Each team traded missed scoring chances, but Waynesboro made good on its next opportunity. Bean fed Shaull for a layup and a 26-15 lead.
Max Wisensale helped keep the Mustangs within relative striking distance. He drained a trifecta to get them three points closer; however, the Indians had an answer every time South Western made some headway.
Wisensale scored 16 points in the first half and ended with 20 points. Waynesboro’s ability to take Wisensale out of the scoring enabled the Tribe to pull away.
From 26-18 the Tribe’s lead swelled to 39-21 as Waynesboro outscored the Steeds 13-3 over the next few minutes, making it 39-21 after backup guard Kellan Smith sank two foul shots.
The second half was more of the same. South Western opened the scoring, but Shaull made a follow-up shot, Bean made a close-range basket and Young swished an outside shot for a 48-28 advantage.
The closest the Mustangs came after that was 54-38.
Bean led Waynesboro on the boards with nine rebounds. Shaffer had seven rebounds, all on the defensive end. Waynesboro hosts James Buchanan on Friday night in a league contest.
