Western Boone Jr. - Sr. High School

DOVER – It was an inside-outside game in a Western Boone 50-48 Sagamore Conference basketball win over Crawfordsville. The Athenians were on the outside, hitting 11 three-pointers. The Stars lived inside, with 17 of their 18 field goals coming in the paint. Add a 13-of-16 night from the line for WeBo, and they move to 5-12 for the season and 2-3 in the conference, while C’ville drops to 7-9 overall and 3-2 in the league. “We finally got it done,” WeBo coach Dustin Oakley said. “We were aggressive defensively all night, and did a great job inside. Our guards did just a great job of starting the penetration and then dropping the ball off to our bigs close to the rim. We executed for 32 minutes.” “We have three guys who play hard all the time,” Crawfordsville coach David Pierce said after the game. “We have to find a way to have more than three at a time, and that means some lineup changes. We are two games under .500 and what we have been doing isn’t working, so some changes need to happen.” The Stars never trailed, although C’ville did tie the game at 17 in the second, and overcame a nine-point deficit late to tie the game at 45 and then again at 48, but the Stars came right back at the rim on the next, just like every, possession. A Levi LaGrange field goal with 7.4 seconds left gave the Stars their last lead, and a shot by Crawfordsville was blocked at the buzzer. “This could be a signature win,” Oakley said. “We have won three of our last four. It’s a huge win for the kids, and for the program. It is a reward for all the hard work they put in during the off-season, and this is a win that can energize our younger guys and get them excited about Western Boone basketball.” The Stars, who earned their third win over a Montgomery County team this season (two over North Montgomery) were led by Luke Barta, as the senior finished with 13 points. He completed his double-double with 11 rebounds. “It was his best game of the season,” Oakley said. LaGrange came off the WeBo bench to add 10 points, earning a shoutout from his coach. The home team was 18-of-37 from the field and an impressive 13-of-16 from the line. They hit one three out of four tries. They finished with 29 rebounds and 11 turnovers “We let them get to the rim too much,” Pierce said. “We even tried packing the defense in, but give WeBo credit. They had five guys on the floor who played hard all the time. We didn’t.” The Athenians were led in scoring by Tyson Fuller, as the junior hit six three-pointers for 18 points. Cale Coursey had a dozen, and Ethan McLemore added 11 points to go with a team-best seven rebounds. The junior also had four steals, two blocks and three assists. Crawfordsville for the game was 16-of-44 from the field, 11-of-24 from deep and 5-of-8 from the line. They had 24 rebounds, with Fuller and Alec Saidian each grabbing six boards. They finished with eight turnovers. Both teams are back in action Saturday afternoon. The Stars head to Clinton Central while the Athenians travel to Riverton Parke. Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.