WCDS learns from tough overtime loss

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on January 16, 2013 1:47 PM

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Wayne Country Day knows the regular season is quickly coming to a close.

The Chargers realize there's no time to dwell on the past and that now is the time to build toward the postseason.

After letting a win slip away on Friday night, Wayne Country Day responded with a dominant 82-50 victory over Coastal Plains Independent 1-A Conference foe Oakwood on Tuesday evening. The Chargers' Deshar Thomas led all scorers with 29 points and Lee Atkinson added 17.

"We took away from Friday night that we need to have a little bit more passion and a little bit more discipline," Wayne Country Day head coach Terry Jones said. "The season is coming down to a close. It won't be long and this thing is going to be over. We don't have many more opportunities to say, 'we're going to get them next time.'

"We've got to start doing stuff today."

The Chargers (10-4 overall, 2-1 CPIC) dictated the pace of the game early and forced the Eagles into an up-tempo style of play. Wayne Country Day executed well in transition and distributed the ball unselfishly on offense.

Thomas' 18 first-half points helped the Chargers build a 45-21 lead by halftime.

"We tried to push it up and get some open shots," Jones said. "We like to get it out and get it up quick in a good situation we don't want to rush anything. We did a good job of that tonight."

Thomas knocked down five of Wayne Country Day's 3-pointers. Atkinson also drained a 3-pointer and consistently beat defenders off the dribble to get to the rim.

"Those guys are excellent shooters when we can move the ball and get high-percentage shots," Jones said. "I like for them to score in volume but I want them to be able to do more with less effort. When we create shots for one another life can be a whole lot easier."

The lead swelled to 63-32 by the end of the third quarter and Jones found plenty of minutes for players off the bench in the fourth quarter.

The Chargers travel to archrival Greenfield on Friday.