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The Diamond Wildcats basketball team is on some kind of tear as of late.
The Wildcats have won eight straight after defeating Jasper and Spokane on Friday and Saturday. The impressive thing about their current win streak has been the margin of victory in each. They have won seven games in a row by at least 28 points.
Friday night’s margin of victory: 60.
Ryan Jinks scored 17 points to lead five Wildcats in double figures as Diamond clubbed Jasper, 79-19 to celebrate homecoming.
Other scorers in the game for Diamond were: Kyle Heman 13, Logan Myers 10, Chance Hardy 10, Trent Hayes 10, Scott Corn 8, Jared Huffman 5, Darren Russow 1 and Brodie Bien 1.
“I think this game, more than anything, showed us what we can do when we play good team defense,” Diamond coach Josh Cook said. “I thought we did that tonight, especially in the third quarter. It was a great effort all around.”
In the third quarter, Jasper did not score.
Saturday, after the game and ensuing homecoming dance the night before, the Wildcats had a quick turnaround and a matinee game against Spokane.
The Wildcats got off to a quick start and then got a spark in the third quarter en route to a 70-42 win over the Owls.
Diamond was led by Myers with 17 points. The junior forward also yanked down 10 rebounds. Fellow junior Hayes also had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
“We went to a double big lineup with Myers and Hayes there in the second half and they both ended up with double-doubles for us,” Cook said. “We really settled down on defense and forced them to take contested jumpers.”
For Diamond the spark came with the third quarter about halfway gone. Leading by 10 points, Corn was taken down hard by a Spokane player on a play away from the basketball and there was no foul called. Cook stood up and screamed for the official to protect his players and was assessed a technical.
After that, Spokane never stood a chance.
The Wildcats went on a run to close out the quarter and an eight-point lead after two technical foul free throws for the Owls turned into a 20-point lead after Corn hit a buzzer beating trey from the corner.
“When that technical happened and Scotty got thrown to the ground that definitely re-energized them,” Cook said. “Because they did have homecoming last night with a dance and a lot of stuff going on and then less than 24 hours later they had to turn around and play today. So, this was a trap game for sure. The guys responded extremely well.”
Other Diamond scorers against Spokane were: Heman 12, Corn 11, Huffman 10 and Jinks 6.
Diamond (15-2) will take on Monett on the road Tuesday.
“They are a good team. They are very well coached and they play hard,” Cook said. “They like to get up and down the floor a little bit. It will be a good challenge for us.”
The Diamond Wildcats basketball team is on some kind of tear as of late.
The Wildcats have won eight straight after defeating Jasper and Spokane on Friday and Saturday. The impressive thing about their current win streak has been the margin of victory in each. They have won seven games in a row by at least 28 points.
Friday night’s margin of victory: 60.
Ryan Jinks scored 17 points to lead five Wildcats in double figures as Diamond clubbed Jasper, 79-19 to celebrate homecoming.
Other scorers in the game for Diamond were: Kyle Heman 13, Logan Myers 10, Chance Hardy 10, Trent Hayes 10, Scott Corn 8, Jared Huffman 5, Darren Russow 1 and Brodie Bien 1.
“I think this game, more than anything, showed us what we can do when we play good team defense,” Diamond coach Josh Cook said. “I thought we did that tonight, especially in the third quarter. It was a great effort all around.”
In the third quarter, Jasper did not score.
Saturday, after the game and ensuing homecoming dance the night before, the Wildcats had a quick turnaround and a matinee game against Spokane.
The Wildcats got off to a quick start and then got a spark in the third quarter en route to a 70-42 win over the Owls.
Diamond was led by Myers with 17 points. The junior forward also yanked down 10 rebounds. Fellow junior Hayes also had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
“We went to a double big lineup with Myers and Hayes there in the second half and they both ended up with double-doubles for us,” Cook said. “We really settled down on defense and forced them to take contested jumpers.”
For Diamond the spark came with the third quarter about halfway gone. Leading by 10 points, Corn was taken down hard by a Spokane player on a play away from the basketball and there was no foul called. Cook stood up and screamed for the official to protect his players and was assessed a technical.
After that, Spokane never stood a chance.
The Wildcats went on a run to close out the quarter and an eight-point lead after two technical foul free throws for the Owls turned into a 20-point lead after Corn hit a buzzer beating trey from the corner.
“When that technical happened and Scotty got thrown to the ground that definitely re-energized them,” Cook said. “Because they did have homecoming last night with a dance and a lot of stuff going on and then less than 24 hours later they had to turn around and play today. So, this was a trap game for sure. The guys responded extremely well.”
Other Diamond scorers against Spokane were: Heman 12, Corn 11, Huffman 10 and Jinks 6.
Diamond (15-2) will take on Monett on the road Tuesday.
“They are a good team. They are very well coached and they play hard,” Cook said. “They like to get up and down the floor a little bit. It will be a good challenge for us.”
