WAYNESBORO – It might be way too early to call Waynesboro’s 49-33 varsity boys’ basketball win against West Perry on Tuesday a “must win.”
But it sure was a much-needed win and should help, at least in the short term, boost the Indians’ confidence as they press on in a very unique season. And, it was the first Mid-Penn Colonial Division contest of the season.
It’s no secret that this year’s squad is young in its own right, especially in terms of varsity experience. Five new starters, lots of player combinations at the guard position by head coach Tom Hoffman and a chance to see incremental growth moving forward.
“They are really, really young – like six or seven ninth-graders out of 18 in the program, maybe more,” said Hoffman after the game. “So it had nothing to do with who we were playing, it had something to do with getting the piano off our back and be able to take a deep breath and still learning some valuable lessons but coming away with a win.”
It seems like everyone is a work in progress in 2023-24, even the coaching staff. While Hoffman and his assistants work to fit the pieces together, the Tribe got a big boost from a reserve off the bench in Nate Nystrom. Needing a scoring lift after falling behind 20-16 at halftime, Hoffman sent in Nystrom, who immediately delivered a momentum-changing three-point shot that gave Waynesboro a 25-20 lead with 5:05 left in the third quarter.
Nystrom made another trifecta three minutes late that extended the advantage to 35-22.
“Nate just keeps getting better and better and plays with intensity that we need. The added bonus was he was making shots We needed some guys to step up.”
Another wrinkle to Hoffman’s game plan involved moving Farin Parks, all 6-foot-4 of him, to the point guard slot.
“Our guards are young, so just before halftime switched out a little bit – Farin has a little more experience and has some size,” Hoffman explained. “I put him at the point and thought our flow and tempo got a little better.
While Waynesboro’s guard play will be an ongoing thing, the inside play of forwards Alex Torbica and Grant Thompson is getting interesting. Torbica put up some Ryan Shaffer-like numbers, scoring 24 points and pulling down 14 rebounds, including 10 on the offensive glass. Torbica logged some iron-man numbers in terms of playing time, being on the court for 26:59 out of 32 minutes.
Parks added eight points and a team-leading five assists.
Hoffman is still concerned about fouls but doesn’t seem alarmed that the Indians are a shadow of their former selves from three-point range. Waynesboro was 3 of 13 from the arc. The Tribe finished the game 21 of 49 from the field (43 percent) and shot only six free throws in the game, making four of them.
However, Waynesboro out-rebounded West Perry 27-12 and took advantage off 22 Mustangs turnovers.
The Indians play the next three games on the road, beginning Friday against Northern at Dillsburg. Waynesboro travels to South Western High School on Monday for a non-conference game and is at Big Spring Tuesday for another league matchup.
All four games on Tuesday (boys’ and girls’ junior varsity and boys’ and girls’ varsity) will be played in Newville. That’s because the Bulldogs will be in Waynesboro for the annual Pack the House Night on Jan. 19.
