With winless year in rear view, resurgent Henderson beats Oxford for 2nd win

WEST CHESTER >> Well, that definitely qualifies as a big step forward.

Last season, the West Chester Henderson boys basketball team suffered through an 0-22 season. After four games this season under first-year coach Rob Frattura, and courtesy of a hard-fought 56-44 win over Oxford Saturday afternoon at Reichert Gymnasium, the Warriors stand at 2-2 for the season.

Henderson (2-2) outscored the Hornets (1-2) 48-29 over the last three quarters, getting big games from senior Luke Weirman and sophomore Jordan Laudato. Weirman led all scorers with 16 points while Laudato controlled the paint, pouring in 15 points to go along with 13 rebounds and two blocked shots.

“We fell behind in the first period but once we figured out their defense it led to some easy baskets for us,” Laudato said. “After the first quarter it was pretty much our game and we played good 3-2 zone defense and I think that bothered them. Coach Frattura is great and we had a great junior varsity team last year, so to be 2-2 is real good for us right now.”

Oxford shot a cold 14 for 43 from the field and the Hornets turned the ball over 19 times for the game. But it was still just a 21-20 game at halftime with the Warriors holding a slim lead after trailing Oxford, 15-8 after the first quarter. Things went back and forth in the third, but the Warriors broke things open by closing the quarter on an 8-0 run.

Leading 29-27, Henderson took off. Laudato grabbed one of his 13 rebounds and hit a streaking Weirman for a basket. Oxford came down the floor and turned the ball over, and sophomore Shawn Fay scored in tight. Sage Harkins took a nice feed from Weirman to score on the baseline, and after another Hornets miss, Nick Dinacci closed the run with a nice bucket in the lane, and it was a 37-27 Henderson lead after three quarters.

“Last game we played mostly man to man defense and it did not go real well,” Fay said. “Today we mixed things up and got after them and we really sped them up and caused some turnovers. Things got tight late in the game, but after coach called a timeout we relaxed and finished the game out.”

Fay was referring to a late Oxford run that almost allowed the Hornets to steal the win. Henderson looked home free with 5:03 to play after Laudato scored in tight to give the Warriors a 43-30 lead. But, Oxford fought back, causing three straight Henderson turnovers, and when Brandon Sivels hit a layup off one of those turnovers, it was suddenly a 45-41 game with 2:11 to play.

Frattura called a timeout and Weirman came down the floor for an easy layup. With the game getting away from them, Oxford’s Christian McCartney, who buried four 3-pointers and led the Hornets with 14 points, missed on a three with Laudato again grabbing the rebound. Laudato hit Fay who passed to Sage Harkins, who was fouled on a drive and hit two free throws to put the Warriors back up with 1:30 to play.

And just like that, and the Warriors had doubled their win total from last season … in the second week of December.

“They really played their zone defense well,” Oxford coach Brian Urig said. “They cut off the passing lanes and after the first period they dictated the pace of the game.”

After talking to his team, Frattura said the Warriors’ defense and Laudato’s big game under the basket were the difference Saturday.

“All good teams can play a lot of different defenses,” Frattura said. “And today our 3-2 was good at times and not so good at times. And we had four underclassmen on the floor in the fourth quarter with Luke Weirman being the only senior. and Jordan had such a big game inside for us. We made it interesting at the end and they got it from 13 points to four, but we found our legs and finished it out.”

West Chester Henderson 56, Oxford 44

Oxford 15 5 7 17 – 44
W.C. Henderson 8 13 16 19 – 56

OXFORD (44): McCartney 5 0-0 14, Sivels 3 0-0 6, Ruddy 4 2-2 12, Campbell 1 4-4 6, Repetz 2 1-2 6, Rozich 0 0-1 0. Totals 14 7-9 44.

W.C. HENDERSON (56): Weirman 6 3-7 16, Laudato 6 3-6 15, Harkins 4 4-4 12, Dinacci 1 1-2 3, Armstrong 1 0-0 2, Fay 3 1-2 7, Briglia 1 1-2 1, Bertrando 0 0-0 0, Brooks 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 13 -25 56.

3-point goals: McCartney 4, Ruddy 2, Repetz, Weirman.