Whilst being interviewed after 
a ballgame, basketball coaches seem overly fond of explaining “the D was the key” to victory.
Wayland coach Mike Hudson didn’t even need to say it Tuesday evening. It had to be painfully obvious most of all to visiting Mattawan, the victim of a tenacious pressure defense that caused an avalanche of turnovers and easy baskets for its inhospitable hosts during a 64-35 decision that wasn’t in doubt throughout the evening.
The early stages of the game went so badly for the visiting Wildcats that they failed to score a single point in the first five minutes and they had just one two-pointer and one three-pointer, both by guard Gabe Pelak, in the entire first half. Mattawan made 10 of 14 free throws for its other 10 points while heading into intermission staring at a 33-15 deficit.
Senior point guard Dilon Aten came up with three consecutive steals of passes in the first two alone, and he and his teammates made sure their visitors had a terrible night in Wayland and a really long and depressing bus trip back home.
Aten and sophomores Avery Hudson and Zac Nieuwkoop both had five points in teh first half, but once again it was 6-9 senior pivot Lacey James who inflicted the most offensive damage. James seemed to do just do as he pleased with the basketball near the basketball and scored 14 points in the first 16 minutes.
The home-standing Wildcats sculpted a 22-4 advantage in the first eight minutes, and a good share of it could be chalked up to a defense that allowed only two Mattawan baskets in the entire first half.
One fan declared, “It’s a good thing Mattawan is making its free throws, otherwise this game would be a blowout.”
The news flash was that it already was a blowout and it would only gradually get worse.
Mattawan did come as close as 13 points, 33-20, early in the third quarter, but Aten drilled one of his five three-pointers for the evening and put a sudden stop to any ideas of any kind of a comeback. Mattawan scored only four points in the rest of the third period and was down 47-24 at the start of the final stanza.
Wayland widened its lead to as many as 30 points early in that last quarter and Hudson emptied his bench.
James led the Wildcat scoring parade with 24 points. Aten finished with 17.
Darek Ditto, the 6-5 senior, scored 14 points for the visiting Wildcats and Pelak had 10.
The Wildcats are now 13-3 overall and they will be at Grand Rapids Catholic Central for an O-K Gold Conference encounter at 6 p.m. Friday.
PHOTO: Lacey James (32), shown in action here against South Christian, pretty much did anything he wanted to do Tuesday night while scoring 24 points against Mattawan. (Photo courtesy Kenny Ritz)
