Wilde Lake boys basketball puts on offensive clinic to defeat River Hill, 83-63, for spot in regional final

Jacob Steinberg, Howard County Times, Columbia, Md.
·3 min read

Mar. 1—Wilde Lake boys basketball had its best practice week of the year leading up to Tuesday night's Class 3A East Region II semifinal against River Hill.

That carried over to the game as the No. 2 seed Wildecats matched their season-high for points in aw 83-63 win over No. 3 River Hill. Nathan Hiteshew scored 22 of his season-high 35 points in the second half. Wilde Lake, which connected on nine 3-pointers, advances to Thursday's regional final at top-seeded Long Reach.

"All week they've been playing as a unit, they've been locked in," Wilde Lake coach Jay McMillan said. "We got some extra shots up, put in some extra work individually all week and the hard work showed, getting shots up in the morning before practice and shots up after practice. It's good to play in our home gym on the rims that we shoot on."

Wilde Lake (20-3) was motivated to avenge a season-opening 55-54 loss to the Hawks. The Wildecats set the tone from the outset as Dylan Gooden drove hard to the rim for the opening two baskets. Using their length and athleticism, the Wildecats also forced the Hawks (14-7) into several backcourt turnovers. Michael David and Hiteshew added baskets during the run, extending Wilde Lake's lead to 10 less than four minutes in.

"We dug a hole and I've got to take my hat off, they came here to play," River Hill coach Matt Graves said. "They gave it to us, threw the first punch and we never recovered. We showed glimpses of recovery, but not enough."

The Wildecats maintained their offensive momentum into the early stages of the second, pushing their lead to 28-11. However, River Hill bounced back with a 10-2 run, spearheaded by Aiden Igwebe and Demetre Koutras. Igwebe's second 3 of the period brought the Hawks within eight inside the final minute, but Wilde Lake immediately answered. Xavier Gilliam converted a three-point play, promptly followed by a Hiteshew triple, extending the Wildecats' lead to 14 at the break.

Early in the third, River Hill's Josh Abu blocked two of Hiteshew's shots, the second of which led to another Igwebe 3-pointer, part of his team-high 23-point night. That momentum was short-lived as Wilde Lake scored the next seven points, including a 3-pointer by Kain Corkeron that extended the lead to 19.

"It was good to see because a lot of time we hold the lead in the first half, but then we start to take our foot off the gas going into the third quarter," said Corkeron, who finished with 22 points. "It was good to see that we could carry that energy through the entire game."

Hiteshew capped off the third quarter with a tough floater off the glass, giving him 22 points entering the fourth. However, he wasn't done. The senior connected on a trio of 3s in the opening four minutes, the third of which hit every part of the rim before falling through the hoop, prompting a quick smile and a laugh.

"Coach always tells me, 'Next play,' so just not worrying about those two blocks," Hiteshew said of his mentality. "Just keeping my shot going, since my shot was falling tonight, I just kept shooting."

He capped off the performance with one final transition layup off the glass, showered with a rousing ovation from both the student section and his teammates.

The Wildecats turn their attention to Thursday's regional final, maintaining that one-game-at-a-time mentality.

"We wanted to make sure we won the first game, so we could put ourselves in a position to keep playing," McMillan said. "We stay focused with our preparation. We don't get too high or too low, that's what we can always lean on. Guys are always locked in for the moment and onto the next one."