Derrick Webb, Staff Writer
WAVERLY — Another winter is at its dawn and Trey Robertson is still a white-hot shooter.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Waverly’s all-state guard has only gotten better since his junior season, which is awful news to any opponent trying to figure out how to stop him from scoring.
In a 62-34 win over South Webster on Tuesday, Robertson was phenomenal while receiving minimal playing time. In the first half alone, he scored 22 points, hit six 3-point field goals and tallied seven assists.
The Tigers’ offense undoubtedly runs through him, and against the Jeeps, it ran like a fine-tuned machine.
“He does everything,” Waverly coach Travis Robertson said. “I’ve had the opportunity to coach some great players and Trey is at the top of the list. I think what sets him apart is even though he’s 5-foot-11, he rebounds, he’ll defend and I could probably not come to practice and he’d be running that practice for us. That’s a great thing to have. When he has big games, he’s efficient. He’s been close to triple-doubles every night. So to find what he does for us, it’s everything.”
While Trey continued to hit treys, he also found teammates Will Futhey and Hudson Kelly wide open early and often. That duo combined for 22 points and forced the Jeeps to pick a poison.
“We talked about making energy plays,” Travis Robertson said. “We can get out and throw the ball over top to Will [Futhey] and Hudson [Kelly], and pay them for getting out and running the floor hard, it brings us energy. Then you’re going to sit down and defend a bit better. It picks everybody up. Our goal each night is to make as many energy plays as possible.”
Tale of the tape
From the jump, literally, Waverly was in control.
Futhey scored with 6:56 left to give the Tigers a lead and scored again, after Kelly followed suit, to make it 6-0 with 4:25 left in the first.
South Webster got on the board with 3:54 left, thanks to two free throws from Trae Zimmerman, but Waverly answered with a lay-in from Futhey and a 3 from Robertson to force the Jeeps into a timeout, trailing 11-2.
After the short break, Zimmerman hit a 3, but Braylon Robertson countered with a triple before Trey Robertson dialed long distance for a 17-5 count. Kelly scored with 19.5 seconds left and Braylon Robertson connected from deep at the 4.7 second mark to make it 22-5.
PHOTOS: Images from Waverly’s win over South Webster
And the rout was on.
“When you’ve got Trey, Mark [Stulley] and Will coming back as the core guys from last year, that’s a pretty good core to build off of,” Travis Robertson said. “I think people think we’re better than we were last year. I’m not really sure that we are at this point. But I think by the time the season ends, we possibly could be. These guys have their eyes set on big goals. We just need to work hard to get better each day.”
Nothing changed in the second.
Futhey made it a 25-7 score before Trey Robertson hit back-to-back-to-back 3’s with 6:22, 5:49 and 4:24 to go, extending the advantage to 35-9. The Tigers went into halftime with a 47-18 lead and the game operated with a running clock throughout most of the second half.
Stat book
Robertson led all scorers with 24 points alongside three rebounds, three steals and nine assists. Will Futhey added 15 points and seven rebounds, Kelly seven points, Wade Futhey added six points, six boards and three dimes, and Braylon Robertson chipped in with six points.
Zimmerman was South Webster’s go-to scorer, registering 18 points along with three rebounds and a pair of assists. Cam Carpenter also chipped in with eight points and a team-high six rebounds.
What’s on tap
Waverly will be back in action on Saturday, taking on Division I Newark. Meanwhile, South Webster attempts to bounce back on Friday at Minford.
“[Newark] will try to dribble-drive us to death on the wing,” Robertson said. “So we’re going to have to work on dribble penetration help. They’re pretty good at it. They make you suck in. We’re going to have to work on showing our help early and cutting off angles to the bucket. They’re by far the best team we’ve seen all year. It’s going to be a tough one.”
BOX SCORE
South Webster: 5-13-7-9 — 34
Waverly: 22-25-11-4 — 53
South Webster: 14-41 FG, 3-10 FT, 3-13 3pt., 22 rebounds (Carpenter 6), 15 turnovers, 5 assists (Zimmerman 2). Scoring: Zimmerman 18, Carpenter 8, Roberts 4, Rawlins 2, Shupert 2.
Waverly: 23-45 FG, 6-9 FT, 10-22 3pt., 25 rebounds (Will Futhey 7), 9 turnovers, 21 assists (T. Robertson 9). Scoring: T. Robertson 24, Will Futhey 15, Kelly 7, Wade Futhey 6, B. Robertson 6, Stulley 2, Morrison 2.
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