Latrobe boys basketball coach Wetzel sees positives despite loss to Woodland Hills

By: Josh Rizzo
Friday, December 17, 2021 | 9:14 PM

Latrobe coach Brad Wetzel didn’t believe the scoreboard reflected his team’s effort on defense Friday night at Woodland Hills High School.

The Wildcats, who conceded an average of 77.7 points entering their Section 3-5A opener, allowed the Wolverines to barely reach the mark in a 77-52 defeat. Woodland Hills, which improved to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in section after finishing last season 0-10, utilized good decision-making to defeat Latrobe.

The Wolverines shot 76.9% (10 of 13) from the field in the first quarter and 53.8% (14 of 26) for the half. It was a season high in points for Woodland Hills, which had set a season high when it beat York William Penn, 64-62, in its opener.

“The No. 1 thing we are focused on right now is not allowing open paths to the hoop for layups,” Wetzel said. “It has hurt us all year. I thought there was some improvement in that area tonight. It’s not where we need it to be for sure.”

Woodland Hills found plenty of avenues to the rim throughout the game. The Wolverines made only two 3-pointers and were active on the glass.

Delirius Robinson led Woodland Hills with a game-high 24 points and nine rebounds.

“We knew we could run,” Wolverines coach Eugene Wilson said. “We felt like we would be able to get out and commit to it. When we got in the paint, it was about making good decisions. I think overall the guys made good decisions when they got in the paint.”

Despite the Wolverines hot start from the field, Latrobe (0-4, 0-1) held the lead late in the first quarter, 20-17, following a 3-pointer from Tyler Mondock.

The Wildcats, who made 4 of 6 3-point attempts in the first quarter, ended up shooting 30% (6 of 20) for the game.

Landon Butler led the Wildcats with 22 points, and Chase Sickenberger also reached double figures with 11. Latrobe was able to generate offense by forcing turnovers in the backcourt and capitalizing with a few easy layups

Woodland Hills committed 23 turnovers.

“I think for us, it’s brick-by-brick,” Wetzel said. “We’re trying to find improvements, and I thought we were able to find a few minutes tonight where we looked like the team we could be. The question is can we string them together and get some sustained minutes like that?”

The minutes following Mondock’s trey would prove to be the most painful. Layups from Deontae Williams, who scored 17 points, and Micah Jones allowed Woodland Hills to take a 21-20 lead into the second quarter.

That kicked off a 13-2 run that allowed the Wolverines to stretch their lead to 30-22. Woodland Hills closed the run with four free throws on consecutive possessions for Chaz Cobbs, who finished with 16 points.

Latrobe’s offense swooned in the second quarter. The Wildcats shot 3 of 18, including 1 of 7 from the 3-point line. Latrobe also missed all three of its free throws.

Woodland Hills took a 38-27 lead into halftime and never allowed the Wildcats to cut the deficit below 10 in the second half.

Wilson thought Woodland Hills was effective with the different defenses it played throughout.

“We are aggressive in our zone. We felt that was going to get them closer to a breaking point in terms of decision-making as well,” Wilson said. “In the second half, our defense came to fruition when we went to man.”

Tags: Latrobe, Woodland Hills