Waterford battles hard for region victory

SANDY — Don't be fooled by Waterford's 54-40 victory over North Summit on Wednesday. It wasn't nearly as easy as it would seem.

The Ravens worked tirelessly for 32 minutes on the offensive and defensive end, effectively disrupting the Braves' game plan, but more importantly capturing the team's first region victory as a 2A school.

"Yes, I was concerned about their shooting, but I was also concerned about their team overall because they're exceptionally well coached," said Waterford coach Reid Monson. "I'm proud of my team, because if you beat a team like North Summit, you've done something."

What the Ravens essentially did was announce their intentions of being a Region 14 contender, not the new whipping boy.

"If we play together like we did today, I believe we can play with anybody," said Monson.

The methodically-patient Ravens made 17 of 27 shots Wednesday, far eclipsing the woeful shooting percentage of their counterparts, who only made 16 of 56 field-goal attempts.

Leading by 13 entering the fourth, Waterford (5-3) dictated the pace of the game, as evidenced by its measly three field-goal attempts in the final quarter. The Ravens made all three shots, preferring to ice the game at the line as they made 12 of 15 free throws in the final quarter. Nine of those foul shots came after North Summit (6-5) clawed its way back into the game at 45-38.

Waterford's brand of basketball is very conducive to protecting a lead, because it takes the air out of the basketball throughout much of the game, anyway.

"I don't want to say we're not athletic enough, but it's the tempo that we're going to try and choose to play at," said Monson. "We've never been about running up and down trying to outscore somebody. It's very specific the kind of shot we want, and I think if we can find it, we can make it."

On Wednesday, most of those shots belonged to 6-foot-8 senior Jason Parkin. He racked up a game-high 21 points., in addition to grabbing 12 rebounds and swatting seven shots. During one memorable sequence in the fourth quarter, he rejected back-to-back North Summit shots.

"He can shoot, he can drive, he can certainly post and he provides a defensive presence," said Monson. "He is somebody who should be touching the ball a lot."

J.T. Nebeker chipped in with 10 points, while Alex Orr added nine. Of Nebeker's 10 points, five came during a decisive second quarter stretch in which Waterford opened up an eight-point lead thanks to an 11-0 scoring spurt.

The Ravens' lead dipped below eight points only twice the remainder of the game.

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E-mail: jedward@desnews.com