West York throttles Wyomissing in Class AAA first round
Tuesday’s District 3 Class AAA first-round game between West York and Wyomissing was all Bulldogs from beginning to end.
West York, the No. 5 seed, throttled visiting No. 12 Wyomissing, 77-26, to book a spot in Friday’s quarterfinals.
The Bulldogs (18-6) got ahead early and sparked their blowout win with a 15-point run just 2 1/2 minutes into the game. They took a 30-5 lead over the BCIAA Division III runner-up Spartans at the end of the first quarter.
It was all West York for the remainder of the game as its dynamic offense was too much for Wyomissing’s zone defense. On the other end, the Bulldogs’ defense stifled the Spartans for the entirety of the game.
West York rotated its starters out halfway through the second quarter; the full starting lineup only took the court together one last time at the start of the second half before being taken out again into the third quarter.
When it was all said and done West York hung up a season-tying best 77 points, while only allowing a season-best 26 points.
However, Wyomissing (14-9) wasn’t at full strength, and West York head coach Bill Ackerman acknowledged that after the game.
“I thought we were prepared going in, and they just weren’t playing with their full lineup, but I’m proud of my guys,” Ackerman said. “Sometimes you lose focus in something like that, and I though we played up to the level that I expect from us.”
It truly was a team effort on the part of the Bulldogs, as 10 of its 14 players registered points in the game, which solidified Ackerman’s confidence in his team’s depth.
“My guys one through 14 work their tail off in practice, so it’s nice to reward them with some playing time — especially since this is our last game on this floor.”
It was a completely different story for the Spartans, who were down three players because of academic ineligibility with one being dismissed from the team for “disciplinary reasons.”
Wyomissing head coach Christopher Miller acknowledged that missing four starters didn’t make things easier for the Spartans.
“Let’s face it, that’s a very, very good team and credit to their coaching staff and whole program — they’re a team that does all the right things,” Miller said.
“Preparing against them is tough but I’m very proud of the guys on the floor, and their attitude and ethic were fantastic … but they were a strong team, and we just didn’t have it to handle them.”
Only six players scored for the Spartans, while as a team they failed to record more than nine points in any quarter.
West York will travel to Warwick High School to play No. 4 Steelton-Highspire at 5 p.m. Friday
Senior guard Kyle Einsig — the sixth man — led the team with 18 points. Einsig, who fell out of the starting lineup earlier in the season because of injuries and sickness, impressed Ackerman with his resolve.
“He played very well, and he’s been playing very well for us,” Ackerman said. “He had a tough thing to go through: he wasn’t healthy early and I asked him to sit out a week to get healthy, so I inserted (Ian Lalic) in the lineup, and I told him we were sticking with that, which is a tough thing to handle as a senior — and he’s handled it great … he’s obviously a dangerous player for us coming off the bench.”
