Warrenton Head Coach Mike Uffmann was prepared for the Fort Zumwalt East pressure. The Warriors and Lions met Dec. 5 in the Winfield Tournament, and Warrenton had plenty of tape to watch from their …
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Warrenton Head Coach Mike Uffmann was prepared for the Fort Zumwalt East pressure.
The Warriors and Lions met Dec. 5 in the Winfield Tournament, and Warrenton had plenty of tape to watch from their 38-36 loss.
“We simulate that in practice all the time, so it’s nothing they haven’t seen,” Uffmann said after his team’s 60-52 loss Tuesday in the first round of the Warrenton Winter Classic. “We knew we were playing them for about a week, so we knew it was coming at us.”
The Warriors struggled to hold onto the ball most of the night.
Zumwalt East deployed a 3/4 court press that wasn’t focused on turnovers as much as speeding the Warrenton offense up, and it worked.
Warrenton guards were able to get the ball past halfcourt, but running the offense efficiently was a struggle at times.
“We didn’t look at Caleb or Trevor enough,” Uffmann said.
And when Warrenton players were able to drive past the defense, they had a hard time converting in the lane.
“We got a little too sped up and didn’t finish at the rim, and that’s been our kryptonite all year,” Uffmann said. “At some point, it has to click.”
Warrenton trailed 25-22 at halftime but cut its deficit to 29-28 early in the third quarter.
A pair of turnovers, followed by Zumwalt East layups, however, extended the margin to seven.
After getting within one point at 37-36 late in the third, Zumwalt East scored on consecutive trips and followed a Warrenton bucket with a homerun inbound pass over the press for a layup.
A few minutes later, Warrenton went to a small lineup and pressed the Lions the rest of the night.
“I don’t think that hurt us because we play with four guards a lot,” Uffmann said. “But it might have made us play a little quicker than we wanted.”
The Warriors face Elsberry Thursday at 4 p.m in the consolation semifinals.
Warrenton won the initial meeting Dec. 9, 50-48.
“They play hard,” Uffmann said. “They battled a good Zumwalt West team, so I told our guys we can’t take them for granted.”
Trevor Alberternst maneuvers around a pair of Fort Zumwalt East defenders Tuesday night. Warrenton lost, 60-52.
