Wolverines hold on late in win over Red Oak

Red Oak’s potential game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer clanged off the rim and East Mills survived a 43-40 boys non-conference tilt in Malvern Friday.
Playing their first game in nearly two weeks, the Wolverines (4-3 overall, 2-0 in the Corner Conference) were a little sluggish but got the job done, said head coach Dan Stoakes.
“We came back from Christmas a little winded, but we got in shape and played good defense,” Stoakes said. “Our defense has been our staple. We just need more offense to go with it and we got that tonight.”
Other than a brief 8-0 second quarter run that allowed the Wolverines to take a 22-16 halftime lead, the two teams traded punches for much of the game and were within a basket of each other for much of the second half.
A layup by Sheldon Vandenberg made the East Mills lead 44-30 with just under two minutes to go before a pair of Reese Montgomery free throws cut the margin to 42-40 with 1:29 to go.
Neither team would score another field goal the rest of the way.
A free throw by Jackson Embree would be the final point of the game, pushing the lead to 43-40 with 24.3 to go to set up the Tigers’ final possession. Red Oak had two good looks in the final seconds to tie the score. The first, a wide-open wing three by Brayden Sifford clanged off but the Tigers rebounded, and head coach Ron DeVries called a timeout to set up a final play. But Carson Roeder’s contested three also was off as time expired.
DeVries said the last set was designed for leading three-point shooter Brett Erickson to take the shot, but the Wolverines did a good job taking that away.
“We had a triple screen set up for Brett and we didn’t really get it set up well and Carson took the shot as time was running out,” DeVries said.
    Stoakes thought Erickson might take the final shot and his team was well prepared.
“We were switching everything at the end,” Stoakes said. “We thought Erickson was the only one that could hurt us so we switched everything so they couldn’t get a good look. They still got a good look, which happens but you just hope the home court advantage helps you out.”
For the game, the (Joel Stevens/ The Red Oak Express.) Wolverines held the Tigers to 27.6 percent shooting from the field – 16-of-58 – including just 4-of-27 from behind the arc.
“We know our defense is going to be there every night; we just have to finish at the rim better,” Stoakes said. “We missed a lot of layups early and some open shots we can make. But we’re getting more fluid and getting the shots we want.”
Mason Camden led East Mills with 11 points. Vandenberg and Embree each pitched in 10 points. Embree added 12 rebounds and three steals.
Montgomery paced Red Oak with 20 points and 19 rebounds. Sifford added nine points and Roeder eight.