Yellow Jackets pick up 63-30 road win at Red Bird

John Stepp, The Sentinel Echo, London, Ky.
·2 min read

Dec. 8—It was a great night of basketball for the Williamsburg Yellow Jackets when they traveled to Red Bird and picked up a 63-30 win on Tuesday night.

It was the third win of the season for the Yellow Jackets, who were coming off an impressive 78-65 win over Buckhorn on Saturday.

It was a complete team effort from Eric Swords' squad, as 10 different Williamsburg players found the scoring column on Tuesday.

Senior Evan Steely led all scorers with 19 points on the night, followed by junior Martin Shannon who added 12. Fellow junior Cade Hatcher also scored 12 for the Yellow Jackets.

It was also a strong defensive effort from Williamsburg. The Yellow Jackets held Red Bird to just nine field goals through the first three quarters.

Sword said while his team struggled to shoot the ball from the perimeter against the Cardinals, he was happy with the way they played on the defensive end of the court.

"We struggled shooting the ball from three tonight, as we were only 3-of-15 from there," said Swords. "But our kids played hard defensively and made up for it."

Steely and Shannon went to work early for the Yellow Jackets in the first quarter. Steely scored nine points and Shannon added six as Williamsburg took a 19-6 lead after one. Steely added eight more points in the second and the Yellow Jackets got four more from Hatcher, extending their lead to 39-15 at the half.

The second half was all Williamsburg. Six different players scored for the Yellow Jackets in the third quarter, and Sword turned to his bench for the fourth, cruising to the 63-30 win.

Sword said that he was pleased with the win on Tuesday and the solid start to the season, but Williamsburg will get their biggest test of the year in their next game.

"It was great to be able to get everyone some playing time tonight. We are looking forward to Harlan County coming in on Friday," said Swords. "I believe they are playing as well as anyone right now. It will give us a chance to see where we stand among the best in the region."

Williamsburg 63, Red Bird 30

Williamsburg 19 20 16 8 — 63

Red Bird 6 9 6 9 — 30

Williamsburg (63) — Steely 19, Shannon 12, Hatcher 7, Lay 6, McFarland 4, Perkins 4, Bowling 4, Saylor 3, D. Ellis 2, Potter 2

Red Bird (30) — Ngulunga 6, Onosumba 11, Ilunga 6, Bynum 4, Manwill 3