WAYNESBORO – The Waynesboro Indians varsity basketball team has its version of the Big Three, and they all scored in double digits to help propel them to their third straight win on Friday.
Jaylon Bean scored 15 points. Ryan Shaffer and Reese Cover each finished with 14 points, as Waynesboro improved to 3-1 after defeating Big Spring, 68-45, in a Mid-Penn Colonial Division contest.
The Tribe beat James Buchanan on Tuesday, 62-42, in a game that Cover and Bean posted 13-point scoring nights.
Waynesboro countered Big Spring’s pesky 2-3 zone defense with a back-breaking perimeter shooting effort, combined with patient and precision passing, to penetrate the zone in the first half, which enabled the Indians to forge what would prove to be an insurmountable 17-0 lead with 2:41 left to play in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs finally got on the board with 2:13 remaining in the opening stanza, but the damage was done. Waynesboro’s lead remained in double figures at the end of the first period, 21-7 and stretched to 37-14 by halftime.
Bean sank a baseline three-point field goal to open the scoring, and Waynesboro never looked back. Shaffer contributed with passing to go with his scoring, feeding Cover inside for inside points, and Shaffer made a follow-up basket to make it 7-0 before spectators could get comfortable in their seats.
Tanyon Shaull and Bean made back-to-back three-pointers that increased the lead to 17-0.
The Tribe then put pressure on Big Spring after points with a half-court trap defense, enough to disrupt the Bulldogs from settling into a half-court offense.
Waynesboro outrebounded Big Spring, 33-15. The Bulldogs snared just four offensive boards, while the Indians grabbed 19 defensive rebounds to sharply reduce the amount of second-chance shots for the Bulldogs.
The second half wasn’t exactly déjà vu, but after Big Spring went on a 7-1 run early in the third quarter, Waynesboro answered with a 12-3 run that gave the Indians a 57-26 lead to end the stanza and a rare running clock to start the final quarter of play.
Cooper Hough and Blake Carbaugh each had four assists. Garett Blount came off the bench to score nine points (all threes). Hough and Michael Young each had three steals.
Waynesboro, which played its first four games at home (including the Franklin County Tipoff Tournament), will play the next five games on the road. The Indians are at West Perry on Monday, Northern York on Wednesday, the Lions Club Holiday Tournament at Gettysburg on Dec. 27 and 28, and at Boiling Springs on Jan. 4. The next home game is Jan. 7 against Greencastle-Antrim.
