A 16-2 deficit at the end of the first quarter proved to be too much for the Warrenton Warriors to overcome in a 20-point loss Friday.
Warrenton (3-21) lost its eighth straight game Friday, falling to St. Charles West 69-49. Warrenton trailed by 14 points at the end of the first quarter and by 18 points at halftime.Early on, Warrenton let their play be dictated by making baskets, Coach Mark Thomas said. He said they could not hit a shot early on in the game.
“I think early on we missed six points worth of layups,” Thomas said. “And so we’re down 4-0 and we should have been up 6-4. So we just got to do a better job of concentration at that point. Not to make excuses but two days of no practice. Snow day game. No school. So kind of changes everything for everybody. But same boat for them. That’s a really good program. Really good team.”
Warrenton more than doubled their scoring output in the second half compared to the first half. Thomas talked to the team at halftime about coming out in the second half and “getting back to what we do.” Shots fell for Warrenton, which made it look a lot better, Thomas said.
“I felt like first half, we were playing slower than we have the past three or four games,” Thomas said. “And that’s what we talked about at half. Get back to doing what we’ve been doing well and shots will fall because they’ll be in rhythm.
Thomas believes the Warriors guarded well most of the game. They did struggle with rebounding on the defensive side of the ball, he conceded.
“We struggled on the defensive glass,” Thomas said. “They outrebounded us down there quite a bit. That’s just got to be better technique. The ball’s in the air. You can’t jump for it. We’ve have to get down and box out. Move a guy backwards instead of just standing looking for the ball and trying to outjump people.”
The Warriors shift their focus to Hannibal, who they will play in the first round of the district tournament. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. Feb. 28.