The Wayland boys’ varsity basketball team seemed to do whatever it pleased Friday evening in an easy 72-28 victory at Grand Rapids Catholic Central.

The Wildcats, with the verdict, lifted their O-K Gold Conference record to 5-3 and they are now 14-3 overall.

They grabbed a 9-0 advantage in the first minute and a half, with senior point guard Dilon Aten getting three steals, leading to easy fast-break baskets. The ‘Cats’ suffocating full-court pressure defense result in bad Cougar passes and lots of steals. Then closer the basket, Catholic Central had absolutely no answer for 6-9 pivot Lacey James and 6-6 sophomore forward Zac Nieuwkoop.

Wayland enjoyed a 24-7 cushion at the close of the first quarter and mounted a 40-19 lead at intermission. It did not yield a single field goal in the third period until the buzzer sounded. It outgunned the host squad 27-3 in that eight-minute stretch, causing the running clock to start late in the third quarter.

With a 67-22 advantage and a running clock, coach Mike Hudson decided to let everybody play. All members of his basketball team except one broke into the scoring column.

James, who spent his freshman year as a student at Catholic Central, scored 17 points. Mitchell Dykstra added 13, Avery Hudson 12 and Aten 11. James snared 10 rebounds, Aten came up with five steals and five assists and Hudson also had five steals.

Sean Campbell netted eight points for Catholic Central.

PHOTO: Sophomore guard-forward Mitchell Dykstra scored 13 points for Wayland in its rout over Catholic Central. (Photo courtesy Kenny Ritz)