No. 3 Warriors close out Classic with a win over Powell

WORLAND - The Worland Warriors were not playing in the game they would have liked Saturday afternoon but they did close out the Pinnacle Bank Big Horn Basin Classic boys basketball tournament with a win. The Warriors bested their 3A Northwest rival, the Powell Panthers 66-59 at Worland High School.

Defensive consistency eluded the Warriors (5-4) for most of the weekend, even in their win against Powell the miscues were there. But for all their struggles the Warriors found a way to victory, their fifth win of the season.

"That's the important thing to keep in perspective. We haven't changed as a ball club yet, we played exactly the same just the outcome changed," said WHS boys basketball coach Aaron Abel. "That's the key thing to keep in mind, we're still playing average basketball and we still need to continue to grow and get better. I thought Devon Mercado played well for us and when Wyatt [Wyman] went down with injury, he soaked up those extra minutes and stepped up big for us. He took an offensive foul and came up with a key finishing stop there."

Junior reserve guard Devon Mercado slammed the door shut on Powell's comeback attempt when he picked off a skip pass by the Panthers and cruised in for an easy layup, putting the Warriors up 66-59 with seconds remaining in the game.

Mercado's role is to be a 3-and-D player for the Warriors, a player that can knock down the open 3-pointer and play strong defense. When Wyatt Wyman left the game in the fourth quarter due to injury., he stepped up, did exactly what was asked of him and helped his team to victory.

"I just wanted to bring a lot of energy to the team and try to help the best I can," said Mercado. "I haven't always been a shooter, so I've focused on defense and try to get better and better. I want to keep improving, getting quicker on defense and keep pushing myself."

Added Mercado, "Since I come off the bench I just want to push the starting five, help them get better, help the JV get better. I just want to be a vocal leader and bring lots of energy to practice."

The Warriors pick-and-roll defense hurt them all game, as the Panthers were effective at running the pick and roll for easy looks at the basket. Communication and getting over the screen sooner will help Worland better defend the pick and roll.

"We tried something different, something we call a corral. We wanted to keep the integrity of our defensive matchups. We've been a switch team on ball-screens and [against Powell] we wanted to keep all of our matchups the same. So we decided to corral the pick and roll.

"Guys were dying on the ball-screen right now. It's partly, as we say it ELO, early loud often, when you're communicating a screen and we need to get earlier and louder with it. We also have to fight through the screen, we just can't die on it and think our help defense can be trusted to fix it. We have to fight through it, while at the same time trusting our health," said Abel.

The Warriors have four days of practice to iron things out before the start of conference play, which they open against the same team they played on Saturday, the Panthers. Friday's contest vs. Powell will be a good test to see how much progress Worland has made over those four days.

"We've got a few drills we do to have the guys focus on finishing layups by focusing their eyes on the rim, having their shoulders square to the rim, finishing through contact and avoiding charges. Defensively, we've got some things we're going to put in to get ready for Lovell and Powell. Hopefully, it's going to be a good week for us with having a four-practice week," said Abel.

The Warriors host the Panthers at Worland High School at 7 p.m. Friday and on Saturday they travel to Lovell to take on the Lovell Bulldogs at 7 p.m.