The Weatherford Eagles basketball team played its home opener Tuesday night and won 68-39 against Cache.
After an overtime loss Saturday against Anadarko, coach Derrick Bull said his team played much better against Cache.
“When we played Anadarko Saturday, we did not guard very well,” Bull said. “I was disappointed Saturday, so we focused really hard on guarding in practice. We came out, responded well and took care of business.”
Weatherford defended well in the first quarter. They only allowed seven points and were ahead 15-7 at the end of the first quarter. CJ Nickson scored seven of those 15 points for Weatherford. Tate Sage was efficient as well on defense as he recorded three rebounds.
Weatherford outscored Cache 5-0 to open the second quarter and was ahead 20-7 early in the second quarter. Bull called a timeout.
“I called that timeout for us to catch our breath,” Bull said. “We were a bit short-handed tonight and needed a quick breather. After that, we were rested and ready to go.”
Following the timeout, Weatherford ran the floor and was ahead by as many as 20 points with plays like Nickson finding Jennings open on a fast-break layup. Cache hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but Weatherford was ahead 36-16 at halftime. Nate Reherman defended well and recorded seven rebounds in the first half.
The defense allowed only three points in the third quarter. Weatherford outscored Cache 15-3. Reherman had a block for Weatherford. Then, with less than a minute to play, Jennings forced a steal and on the fast break, threw the ball off the backboard and Nickson made a two-handed slam dunk above a Cache defender. Weatherford was ahead 51-19 at the end of the third quarter.
“This play was not drawn up and they did the same play Friday against Harding Charter Prep,” Bull said. “Now, it was not above another player, but CJ was trailing behind Cade and CJ came crashing in on the glass. Both plays were all on them.”
Weatherford won the game 68-39.
“We are playing well right now and am happy with this win,” Bull said. “We have played well in every game, except the game against Anadarko Saturday. Anadarko is a solid team, but we did not play our best. For the most part, we are getting better and better.”
Jennings went 7-12 from 3-point range and scored 30 total points. Nickson scored 14 points and recorded eight rebounds.
Reherman scored 10 points and recorded eight rebounds. Tate Sage was efficient on defense as he recorded eight rebounds. Ethan Sage guarded well and Bull said these three guys definitely make Weatherford a more complete team.
“Those three guys are not our main scorers, but are capable of chipping in and scoring when needed,” Bull said. “Nate has done a great job rebounding the basketball and the Sage twins have been solid too and both knock down shots too.”
“Blanchard is a good team,” Bull said. “They are not as talented as they were last year, but they play really hard and are a well-coached team. It will be a tough task, but we need to win our final game of the 2021 year heading into Christmas Break.”