Yough boys tough out victory over No. 4 Washington, move into tie for 1st
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Tuesday, January 30, 2024 | 10:10 PM
Yough’s Terek Crosby grabs a rebound from Washington’s Braiden Wise on Tuesday.
Yough’s Zander Aird scores past Washington’s Ruben Gordon on Tuesday.
Washington’s De’ondre Daugherty drives on Yough’s Austin Matthews on Tuesday.
Washington’s De’ondre Daugherty blocks the shot of Yough’s Austin Matthews on Tuesday.
Yough’s Zander Aird scores over Washington’s De’ondre Daugherty on Tuesday.
Yough’s Austin Matthews scores between Washington’s Travis Crutcher and Ruben Gordon on Tuesday.
Washington’s Ruben Gordon grabs a rebound from Yough’s Ryan Westerman on Tuesday.
Yough’s Terek Crosby scores over Washington’s De’ondre Daugherty on Tuesday.
Yough’s Zander Aird scores past Washington’s Travis Crutcher on Tuesday.
Washington coach Ryan Bunting urges on his team against Yough on Tuesday.
Yough’s Austin Matthews grabs a rebound over Washington’s Zxotian Willis and Ruben Gordon on Tuesday.
Yough’s Austin Matthews scores Tuesday against Washington.
Yough’s Terek Crosby celebrates a fourth-quarter 3-pointer against Washington on Tuesday.
Yough’s Austin Matthews fouls Washington’s De’ondre Daugherty on Tuesday.
Yough could feel the tread on a 15-point advantage wearing thin as Washington crept closer with a third-quarter turnaround.
But the host Cougars never gave up control, relying on their defense and a big fourth quarter from Terek Crosby for a 43-35 victory over the fourth-ranked Little Prexies on Tuesday night in a matchup of the top two teams in Section 4-3A.
Yough (15-4, 8-1) relied on senior toughness that a group has forged from playing many big games together to hold back Washington (11-7, 8-1) and move into a tie for first.
The Cougars have won eight in a row. They gave their section-best 45.5 defensive scoring average a boost with this one.
“We take pride in our defense,” Yough coach Jim Nesser said. “We knew Wash was going to make a run. Last time, they pressed us, and we got out in transition. This time, we had to grind out offense.”
Crosby, the WPIAL’s scoring leader at 28 points per game, scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth after the Cougars managed only five points in the third.
“We never gave up,” Crosby said. “They had that huge run but we knew we had to fight through it.”
Crosby scored seven straight in the fourth, including a straightaway 3-pointer to make it 37-32 with 3:40 to play.
Senior guard Zander Aird, who is in the process of enrolling in the Army, scored on a coast-to-coast layup, and Crosby put back his own miss for a 41-35 advantage with 1:28 left.
Aird finished with 11 points, and senior Austin Matthews added eight.
“We were all locked in tonight,” Aird said. “To win games, we know we’re going to have to work on defense and grind it out. This is a big momentum boost for us.”
Washington was held to single digits in the first and fourth quarters.
“In the second half, (Washington) extended their 2-3 zone out with a matchup on Terek,” Nesser said. “So, what did we do? We got him the ball at the top and let him go.”
Matthews and Crosby each had buzzer-beaters to end the first two quarters.
Yough ran out to a 13-4 lead after the first quarter, with Matthews capping the frame with a tip-in. Sophomore Ryan Westerman hit a couple of 3s for the Cougars.
Crosby made a scooping layup from under the basket to close the second quarter with the Cougars ahead 25-12.
For as cold as Washington was early, Yough was nearly that off in the third when it was outscored 18-5, resulting in a 30-30 game heading to the fourth.
Big man De’ondre Daugherty, Matthews’ 6-5 post counterpart, scored 11 of his 14 in the third to rally the Prexies.
“For us to be a really good team, we know it has to be more than Terek and Austin,” Nesser said. “We shared the ball and let Terek be Terek when we had to. That is a sign of maturity.”
Senior guard Zxavian Willis added 10 points for Washington.
Last year, the teams shared the section title with 10-2 records. It marked the first time Yough had won a section since 2005.
Now, the Cougars are in the hunt for back-to-back section crowns for the first time.
“We want to do whatever it takes to win,” Crosby said. “When we have more guys scoring, that creates so much more for us. They can’t just guard me.”
Washington, which started the season 0-5, had won 11 of its last 12 coming in.
Yough lost the first matchup between the teams 61-53 despite 28 from Crosby (28 ppg), who is nearing 1,900 career points.
In that game, senior guard Reuben Gordon made four 3-pointers as Washington pulled ahead to stay in the fourth after leading just 32-29 at halftime.
Gordon had eight this time.
Just five players scored for each team.
Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.
Tags: Washington, Yough
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