Austin Goes Awesome

Governor guard pumps in 20 as WB denies Admirals

Austin Haworth defends at the perimeter against Farragut on Monday. Photos by Jolanda Jansmna

By Stefan Cooper
Editor
Blount Press Row

It’s just so nice to see a team shoot free throws like this in the clutch.

Reed Daniels gets airborne at the basket.

When Farragut turned up the heat the last four minutes, William Blount beat back the Admirals with 14-of-16 shooting from the foul line in a 60-53 district win for the Governors Monday night at Marvin Boring Gymnasium.

Austin Haworth led the barrage with a 6-for-6 display, the William Blount point guard going on to lead all scorers with a game-high 20 points, connecting four times from 3-point range.

“Free throws will win or lose a game for you,” William Blount coach Kevin Wendle said. “Today, they won it for us.”

Reed Daniels and David Kinlaw had nine points each as the Governors (12-9, 3-4 District 4AAA) led from start to finish, threatening to blow it open on more than one occasion. Joel Graham, with some timely buckets, and Derek Delaney, whose rebounding played a critical role throughout, both finished with eight points each.

Farragut shooting guard Cameron Turner got really hot in the second half to finish with 17 for the Admirals, including a trio of treys. Billy Williams got Farragut 14 points around the basket, with Brian Park adding 11.

Derek Delaney lays in tow off the break.

Leading, 12-10, after a quarter, William Blount began to assert itself in the chase to the half. With Daniels giving the Governors a presence in the lane, Delaney working the glass at both ends, Graham’s 3-pointer from the left wing lit the fuse on a 14-8 run. Haworth, one of the district’s best shooters from deep, hit twice from downtown.

“We’ve been shooting a lot in practice,” Haworth said, “going over everything, and everything was coming together tonight. We played as a team and we played with confidence. We were able to hold the lead and fought back.”

Combined, it pushed William Blount out to a 28-22 lead at the half. It’s what the Governors did in the second half that has head coach Kevin Wendle hopeful of a strong closing run to the regular season.

“When you can take their best shot and say, ‘OK, now it’s our turn,’ that’s a good omen,” he said.

The Admirals (6-11, 3-4) got within 39-34 to start the fourth. A Graham deflection at the defensive end, leading to a Daniels free throw, steadied William Blount. Daniels cut to the basket for two more soon after.

Josh Hensley sails to the rim.

With 4:11 remaining, the Admirals put Delaney on the line for two, the Governor senior converting on both. Kinlaw pumped in a much-needed bucket at the rim.

Haworth, 4-for-4, and Daniels, 2-for-2, then set the tone for the last three minutes as Governor after Governor stepped to the line and converted to keep the Admirals at arm’s length.