First-year Coach Rick Halteman has no regrets when assessing his Wright City boys basketball team’s season.A few close games escaped the Wildcats’ during a 13-13 season, but there was plenty of evidence to show progress from November to February.Wright City was particularly successful in tournaments, finishing second at both Clopton and Hermann — a feat not before accomplished in seven seasons.“We try to set high goals for ourselves,” said Halteman. “We were able to achieve some of those this year. You can’t always control everything. You’ve got to do your part and let the chips fall where they may, and I felt like our guys put forth a worthy effort all season.”The Wildcats struggled through the month of December, before regrouping after the break. They opened January at the Clopton Tournament and battled through a tough slate of Eastern Missouri Conference games, gaining ground along the way.“We peaked somewhere in January,” said Halteman, whose team closed with a run through the Hermann Tournament, which included an upset over Warrenton.“The Hermann Tournament was probably a high for us, being able to beat Warrenton and being in the championship game atmosphere,” said Halteman. “We were playing probably our best basketball at that time.”It was at that time Halteman saw his three biggest contributors step up in unison after missing a beat in the first semester.Senior Ty Davis, who finished the year averaging 18.8 points and 9.1 rebounds, didn’t hit his offensive stride until several weeks into the season.“His athleticism and the skills that he has on both ends of the floor really paid off for us,” said Halteman. “One thing that Ty brought to the table was that he made his teammates better. He was a coach on the floor and pushed guys to get better.”Then the Wildcats became very reliant upon him for a while, before senior guard Bret Noble began catching fire.Noble went on a surge that included seven straight games with 20 or more points.“As a senior he realized his opportunities are dwindling and he played with a sense of urgency this year,” said Halteman. “The kid played hard all the time, never subbing out in some games.”After being a non-threat early on, he became a necessary target for opposing defenses, averaging 15.4 points and knocking down 57 three-pointers by season’s end.“Sometimes our strength was our outside shooting and perimeter play,” said Halteman. “There were some teams able to stop that, though, and we weren’t as consistent on offense as I would have liked to be.”Perhaps the biggest breakthrough occurred inside during January, when senior Christian Thompson returned to his old form. He was particularly unstoppable at the Hermann Tournament.“When Christian played that way, it made us so much better,” said Halteman. “He’s got a lot of heart and plays with so much intensity. There’s no doubt his contributions were plenty.”Although not usually the tallest player on the court, Thompson compensated with a strong base and a knack for getting in position for rebounds. He averaged 9.7 points and 8.9 boards per contest.“Whenever we had Ty, Bret and Christian all playing their best at once, we became a pretty tough team,” said Halteman.Senior Adam North also helped out underneath the basket after returning from a preseason practice injury.The Wildcats also looked to senior guards Luke Bruning and Chance Ludy for defensive prowess and outside shooting.Halteman says the ability to play solid team defense down the stretch helped the Wildcats claim a key conference win over Clopton and hang tight with Bowling Green.“When I look back on the season I feel like we did everything we could as far as tournaments and overall wins,” said Halteman.WILDCAT SENIORS LED CHARGEDerrick Forsythe photo.