Sports

Wolverines Boys Fall to Wheaton Knights

A litany of second-half breakdowns lead to 23-point loss

After scrapping in the early going and narrowing the Wheaton Knights’ lead to two points in the second quarter, Watkins Mill suffered one of its worst defeats of the season Friday night, a 68-45 loss with only a week left until the playoffs.

Wheaton raced out to a 20-14 lead at the end of the first quarter, Watkins Mill cut the lead to 21-19. But the Knights—led by Rayshawn Taylor’s 20 points—turned it on from there, taking an eight-point lead at half, boosting the margin to double digits in the third quarter, and running off with a blowout win in the fourth.

Watkins Mill coach Jay Tringone credited the Knights for their solid play, saying that he expected Wheaton to make a strong showing in the playoffs.

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The loss ran Watkins Mill’s losing streak to 10 games and dropped their record to 8-13. The Wolverines’ second-half performance left much to be desired, giving the team a lot to work on ahead of the playoffs, which start Feb. 25.

“We took a step backwards tonight. We hung tough for a little bit there, and then it kind of got away from us,” Tringone said. “We have to be much better defensively. Everybody has to box out, everybody has to rebound, it has to be a complete team effort. Hopefully we can figure that out between now and next Friday.”

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A bright spot against Wheaton was Alex Sotomayor, one of several JV players called up to varsity earlier this month when four Watkins Mill players were lost for the season because of academic ineligibility.

Sotomayor, a sophomore, led Watkins Mill in scoring Friday night with 10 points—eight of them in the first half.

“Kids that put the ball in the basket can just put the ball in the basket, and he’s one of those of those kids,” Tringone said. “He just knows how to put the ball in the basket, and he’s got a really bright future if he continues to work on his game.”

Watkins Mill

Alex Sotamayor 10 points

Carlos Sanchez 8

Le’nard Wilson 7

Justin Meade 6

Jessie Sodolo 5

Darnell Henson 4

Kevin Brooks 3

Deondre Jolley 2

Wheaton

Rayshawn Taylor 20

Aaron Murray 12

Malik Wilson 12

Isaiah Hill 9

Dwayne Maurn 5

Anthony Murray 5

Alex Affia 3

Yonas Million 2


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