Wilson holds off Wyomissing 48-41 in Berks League crossover matchup
WEST LAWN>> Four minutes of Christian Sload helped Wilson survive Wyomissing on Friday night.
Sload — who may be more celebrated on the soccer pitch as Wilson’s deadly striker in the fall — went on a personal 9-point run late in the second quarter to give his Bulldogs the lead for good in a 48-41 home win over Wyomissing in a Berks League non-section encounter Friday night.
Sload’s personal 9-0 run — he was the only player on the floor to score during the span — helped turn around what was a 19-13 deficit 1:46 into the second quarter into a 22-19 advantage 4:12 later, with the halftime break approaching.
Wilson (1-1) never trailed after that. The Berks Section 1 hosts were able to maintain and build on the margin against their Section 3 guests. The closest the Spartans got after Sload’s run was 23-21 on the first bucket of the second half.
“That was a big boost for us with Christian having that little run there, because we struggled all night,” Wilson head coach Matt Coldren said. “We’re struggling just taking care of the ball and we’re making bad decisions. We’re thinking a little bit too much. We need to be more under control.
“They (Wyo) had 19 points in the first half, and through our stats, 15 of them were off our mistakes.”
Sload finished with a team-high 17 points. He had 13 at the break.
Wyomissing (0-2) came out flying, pushing the pace and willing to engage Wilson up and down the court in a frenetic — if sloppy — first half. The Spartans built that six-point edge early in the second quarter thanks to a 7-1 run before it all felt apart.
“We lost focus for a couple of minutes; we weren’t consistent in that time frame,” Wyo head coach said Toph Miller said, “and against a team like Wilson, you do that, they’ll take advantage of that and they did. We have to get better at that.
“They were the bettter team tonight. We can’t be satisfied, and we’re going to work to get better.”
Wyo was plagued by cold shooting and careless possession, especially during the third quarter — eight minutes that cost them a shot of regaining control of a contest they’d lost while Sload was sizzling hot.
“We had seven turnovers in the third quarter,” Miler said. “Sloppiness came from quick shots at out end, and quick shots can be turnovers.”
The Spartans found second-half offense from Jarvey Bolton — but with Wyo lacking flow, consistency or the ability to staple together a run, his contribution felt more of the trading-baskets variety than a potential game-changer. Bolton had four points at the half, but finished with a team-high 17 points, sharing game-high honors with Sload.
Wilson picked up the win, but Coldren said he needs to tinker with the approach going forward. Though victorious, Wilson’s head man wasn’t really happy with what he saw.
“I’ve got to rethink what we’re doing on offense,” Coldren said. “Doing what I call our ‘old motion’, almost like a freelance, I don’t if we’ve got the personnel to do that. Put kids in better situations where they belong.”
