Standing in front of a locker room full of dejected athletes on Friday, Coach Mark Scacewater spared the criticism. The second-year leader couldn't help but appreciate the progress his Wright City basketball team exhibited in its first week of the season. The Wildcats won their initial two contests before falling to Lutheran St. Charles 54-37 in the championship game of the Winfield Tournament on Friday. "I told them not to hang their heads, because a year ago we got eighth," said Scacewater. "This year we were winning at halftime of the championship." After finishing last in the 2008 tournament, Wright City entered as the lowest seed in the bottom half of this year's bracket. The Wildcats conquered top-seeded Christian High in the season opener and upended No. 2 North County Tech 46-45 in the semifinal. "We relished the opportunity to play the spoiler role," said Scacewater. "I think a lot of the guys felt disrespected, so it really vamped up our level of play." While he's not searching for moral victories, Scacewater believes his team may have faced its most formidable opponent of the season on Friday. "Certainly, we're happy with the improvement, but in future tournaments we won't be happy with anything less than first place," said Scacewater. Despite its inferior seed, the Wildcats clung to a 22-19 advantage at halftime. They came out in a zone that limited Lutheran's offense but could not manage the scoring balance to build a lead on their opponent. Early perimeter accuracy and a plethora of turnovers by the Cougars enabled Wright City to hang within striking distance. Lutheran led 11-8 after one quarter. When the Wildcats threw on a fullcourt press, Lutheran began committing consecutive turnovers in the second quarter. "I think our length kind of disturbed them, because we had quite a few deflections in the first half," said Scacewater. "The downside of that was we got tired a little quicker, and I think that showed in the second half." Three unanswered buckets, including a trey and lay up by Shakar Butler, helped the Wildcats to a three-point advantage. Wright City used a trio of three-pointers by Greg Jackson to hold on to the edge at halftime. The Wildcats' inside presence took a hit when junior Deon Bradshaw was called for two early fouls. His court time was limited for much of the last three quarters. When he was on the floor, he was forced to play more delicately on defense. "When he got the second foul, I had to tell him to be less aggressive for the rest of the half," said Scacewater. "He's too valuable not to have on the floor. So, it really hindered his defensive prowess." Wright City began to miss Bradshaw on both ends of the floor in the third quarter. The Wildcats' scoring became reduced to senior Shakar Butler, who finished with 15 points. Lutheran became the aggressor in the third quarter, jumping ahead 39-34 to close out the quarter. Scacewater says his team's lack of depth and Lutheran's athleticism began to show early in the fourth. "The turning point probably came midway through the second half when we stopped scoring on the offensive end," said Scacewater. "They did a superior job with their help-side defense, clogging up the middle." Lutheran limited the Wildcats to just three points during the entire fourth quarter. Jackson cooled down offensively in the second half, finishing with nine points. Sophomore Brent Ringes dropped in nine points. Despite the second half let-down, Scacewater says his team showed it's capable of winning most games on the schedule. "I think we proved that we could compete with everybody on our schedule, and we're just a few steps away from being a very successful team this season," said Scacewater.