Five Takeaways: Wyoming vs. Reading
Friday night’s Wyoming vs. Reading match up had all the pre-game juice to be an intense, important contest. But after Evan Prater (2020 PHO #25) and-one dunk to start the game the Cowboys were off and running, breezing to an…
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Continue ReadingFriday night’s Wyoming vs. Reading match up had all the pre-game juice to be an intense, important contest. But after Evan Prater (2020 PHO #25) and-one dunk to start the game the Cowboys were off and running, breezing to an easy 67-37 victory at Sports Plus. Findlay commit Joey Edmonds (2019 PHO #32) led all scorers with a game high 27 points, knocking down four trey’s in the process, while the before mentioned Prater had a strong 19 point performance. The Blue Devils were led by 2019 G AJ Brown who finished with 14 points on the evening.
Five Takeaways
- The length that the Cowboys possess in their starting line-up was too much for Reading to overcome. The Blue offense for much of the evening revolved around either posting AJ Brown in a 4 around 1 situation or penetrating and finding cutters around the basket. But with the length and athleticism that Wyoming possesses, passes were regularly deflected and shots altered at the rim for Reading. They just did not have a counter attack.
- With all the success that he is having on the football field, it might be easy to forget just how good Evan Prater is on the basketball court. Standing 6’5 he really good handle in the open court along with the ability to finish at the rim and through contact. He attacked the offensive glass with aggression and showed versatility on the defensive end. It’s easy to see why Wright St. extended an offer to the young man.
- Reading still has a way to go in order to contend with the big dogs in the Cincinnati Hills League and the D-III powerhouses in Cincy. While they do have a one point victory over Indian Hill, they have lost to Deer Park and Wyoming by a combined 56 points along with a double-digit loss to D-III blue blood North College Hill. Beating quality opponents is the next step for this up and coming program.
- Even with this dominating performance I still have concerns about Wyoming come tournament time, particularly when it comes to their depth. When you look at some of the other D-II teams in the Cincinnati area, in particular the big 3 this year in the CMAC (Aiken, Hughes and Taft), they bring major punch off the bench. And while players 1-4 in their rotation can play with anyone, can the same be said for the rest of the roster.
- This victory gives Wyoming a game lead over Deer Park and Indian Hill, with one game left against Deer Park and two against Indian Hill. Expect this league race to go down to the last day of the regular season in February.