Davis returns; Webb stings Hornets

Hunter Foutch (24) and Miles Davis reach for a rebound for Webb. (T-G Photo by Danny Parker) [Click to enlarge]

Webb utilized a strong defensive performance and total dominance in the paint to outlast Huntland 50-39 at the Barton Athletic Center on Saturday night.

Nursing a 31-30 advantage heading into the final period, the Feet (7-4) scored the first six points of the fourth and never looked back.

The Hornets (11-5) drew to within five late. Logan Burchett rebounded a missed free throw from teammate Luke Baum and quickly was sent to the charity stripe with 1:34 remaining. The junior guard calmly sank both attempts to extend their upper hand out to 45-37.

Webb coach Jeff Mitchell admitted his team made some rookie mistakes by fouling twice with the lead and less than two minutes to play, but he was pleased at how they held Huntland to one shot on several occasions.

"If we can rebound it, we're going to be OK. That limits their possessions," he said.

Most athletic teams suffer at the Bell Buckle school coming off of any kind of a break from school with students heading out of town. Working with skeleton rosters at practice leaves little time to get everyone on the same page prior to game day. That was evident as the Feet struggled at times from the field and made only half their free throws in the final period.

"It's encouraging to win and not play our best, but we knew we wouldn't play our best. And, I don't wanna play our best right now," Mitchell said. "We hope that in a month we're playing really well and have our legs."

One welcome addition to the Webb lineup was post Miles Davis. The 6-foot-4 youngster missed the first 10 games thanks to an injury that left him in a walking boot.

In his return Davis netted 11 of his team-high 18 points in the fourth quarter and posted a 4-for-6 effort at the foul line.

"We knew it was going to be different," Mitchell said of working Davis into the rotation. "We've got to learn how we're going to sub and just learning to play with another big body in there. For the most part, we just didn't have much continuity, but we kind of knew that."

Mitchell knew of Huntland's grit and didn't want to get into a jump-shooting game with them. Instead he said he wanted to feed the ball into the paint to take advantage of Webb's size.

Bill Carter (33) searches for a loose ball for the Feet. (T-G Photo by Danny Parker) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

B.J. Robertson's 3-pointer with 1:33 left in the opening period gave Huntland a 12-5 advantage. The Feet countered with six unanswered points. A Davis steal and layup eased Webb ahead 15-14 with 3:37 to go in the second quarter. They never trailed again.

Baum followed Davis in the scoring column with 14 points. Hunter Foutch tallied 10 to give the victors three players in double figures.

Joseph Wilkinson drew twine in every quarter and led the Hornets with 13 points.

Webb receives one of their greater tests to date when Davidson Academy challenges them on the hardwood Tuesday night in Bell Buckle.

"You've got to win on your home floor. So, it's going to be important to try and squeeze out a 'W'," Mitchell noted of the East/Middle Region rivalry.

"Practice is going to be important here coming up cause we've got to learn to play with each other a little bit throwing a new player in there that we haven't had."