By Greg Chrapek
WKTV Contributor
Wyoming built a big lead against Zeeland East playing with plenty of fire and intensity, but in the end, it was their ability to stay cool as ice at the free-throw line that put away an 82-78 win in OK Green action Friday evening.
With the Wolves clinging to a three-point lead with 29 seconds remaining in the game, senior Alyjah Chandler drained a pair of free throws to give Wyoming an 80-75 lead. After Zeeland East responded with an old-school, three-point play, Avonte’ Wiggins put the game on ice for Wyoming by dropping two more free throws that hit nothing but net with five seconds remaining in the game.
“I just tried to stay calm in that situation,” said Chandler, who also scored a team-high 23 points. “We had some close games early in the season so I just tried to stay composed and hit those free throws.”
Momentum was on Zeeland’s side late in the game as the Chix battled back from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter and tied the game with a pair of free throws of their own with 2:14 remaining in the game.
Adding more momentum to the Zeeland comeback was when Wyoming senior guard Quintin Williams was called for his fifth foul with 2:28 remaining in the game after coming back in a minute earlier. Williams tied Chandler for high-scoring honors for the Wolves with 23 points and his defense also was a big part of Wyoming’s early success.
Wyoming subs come through
While the Wolves lost Williams, their subs off the bench came in and stepped up, stemming the tide of the Zeeland comeback.
“Our bench guys came in and did a nice job,” Wyoming Coach Thom Vander Klay said. “We have a good rotation and those guys really stepped up for us down the stretch.”
Wyoming benefited from a total-team effort right from the opening tip. Playing aggressive defense and pushing the ball on offense, the Wolves dictated the tempo of the game as they took a 17-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Wyoming kept its foot on the gas during the second quarter as the lead grew to 31-18 before Zeeland East charged back at the end of the first half. Relying on its one-two combination of sophomore wing B.J. Walker and junior center Layne Risdon, East cut the Wyoming lead to 36-30 at halftime.
Walker proved to be a steady source of points the entire game for Zeeland as he finished with 33 points, while Risdon scored 19 points as he utilized his height advantage in the paint.
“Every game we try to start with a lot of pressure,” Chandler said. “We try to use our speed to our advantage and I thought we did a pretty good job of that tonight.”
Wyoming continued to utilize its quickness in the third quarter as it quickly built its lead back to double digits. Steals by Williams led to fast-break buckets on the other end of the floor as the Wolves built a 45-32 lead early in the third quarter. The Wolves were up 55-43 midway through the third before East began to chip away at the Wyoming lead and foul trouble began to hamper the Wolves.
“We tried to dictate the pace of the game like we always do,” Vander Klay said. “When we couldn’t that’s when they made their run. Having Quintin in foul trouble really stung us, too. There sophomore, number two, (Walker) took over and he’s a really nice player and their big guy (Risdon) was a load for us to handle, but we stayed calm and hit our free throws at the end.”
Williams also scores 23 for Wyoming
Along with 23 points from Chandler and Williams, the Wolves received 13 points from Wiggins, eight points apiece from Warren Williams and Maxi Morales and seven points from Gage Behrenbrinker.
With the win, Wyoming improved to 4-8 overall, 3-4 in the conference, while Zeeland West fell to 10-4 overall, 5-3 in the league.
Wyoming returns to action Tuesday when it hosts Holland Christian and then travels to Grand Rapids Union next Friday.
