By Michael Lindsay
Girls
The York Institute Dragonettes ran away with a 54-21 victory over Oakland Friday evening behind a dominant performance from Clemson-commit point guard Reese Beaty.
“The biggest thing tonight was the defense,” said York head coach Michael Green. “We played pretty well.”
Beaty posted 23 points in three quarters while hitting four three-pointers.
“We went two games without Reese and she’s still kind of working her way back,” Green said. “When she comes out strong like that, and we’ve got everybody ready to go, we’re pretty tough.”
The Dragonettes never trailed Friday as Beaty opened the contest with nine consecutive points on two three-pointer and an and-one to give York a 9-2 lead with 5:45 left in the first period. Beaty finished the opening frame with 16 points as York Institute led 20-5 advantage after one quarter.
York’s dominance continued into the second period as they pushed their lead to 25 points by halftime, 36-11.
The Dragonettes held Oakland to only one point in the third quarter as they led 50-12 after three periods before winning by a 54-21 final score.
“They (Oakland) have been missing their best player all season so we weren’t sure if she’d be back tonight or not,” Green said. “Our girls kind of needed this with all the competition we face.”
York Institute improves to 6-2 overall with the victory and is set to host Cookeville next on Tuesday.
York Institute (54): Reese Beaty 23, Raylee Werner 9, Emma Cooper 7, Emma Pile 5, Josie Ashburn 4, Cali Franklin 2, Anna Beth Dunford 2, Zoe Gibson 2
Boys
The old coaching cliche “It isn’t over until the final buzzer sounds” rang true in Jamestown Friday as the York Institute Dragons overcame a 9-point deficit with 1:10 remaining in regulation to defeat Oakland in overtime, 62-60.
“A great effort on our guy’s part tonight,” said York head coach Rodney Pile. “We showed a lot of heart and never gave up.”
Senior guard Jackson Conatser led the Dragons with 18 points, including two game-winning free throws with 4.2 seconds remaining in overtime with the game tied at 60.
“Jackson had a great game, especially in the fourth quarter and overtime,” Pile said. “He’s played a lot of basketball here and we have a lot of confidence in him.”
Along with Conatser’s 18, Will Beaty and Bryson Bilbrey scored 14 points each. Heath Wattenbarger hit double-figures with 11.
Oakland held a 13-10 lead after the first quarter and pushed their advantage to 7 points (20-13) with 4:13 remaining until halftime. York Institute closed the gap late in the frame as a Bilbrey three-pointer cut the Patriots’ lead to 22-20 at the break.
“The first half was a defensive slugfest,” Pile said. “Both teams were playing really solid defense and neither team could get anything going.”
York forward Will Beaty took control in the third quarter as the sophomore forward scored 10 points in the frame, including a basket with 1:10 left in the period to tie the game at 31.
“Will really gave us a spark and has some good moves,” Pile said. “He finished some shots inside and got us going.”
A Bilbrey free throw with 3 seconds left in the third gave York Institute a 32-31 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Oakland retook their advantage in the fourth quarter as the Patriots used an 8-0 run midway through the frame to push their lead to 9 points (42-33) with 3:25 remaining.
The Patriots looked poised to leave Jamestown with a victory as they led 50-41 with 1:10 remaining.
York went to work offensively as baskets by Conatser and Bilbrey cut Oakland’s lead to 50-45 with 48 seconds left. Two pairs of free throws by Conatser and Wattenbarger brought York Institute back within a possession ( 51-49) before a Conatser finish at the basket tied the game at 51 points with 22 seconds left in regulation.
The Patriots missed a shot at the buzzer, sending the game to overtime tied at 51. York Institute took advantage of Oakland’s struggles at the free-throw line as the Patriots went 1-7 from the stripe in the final minute.
“We got it going towards the end of the third quarter, but once we got the lead we let up and let them get a 9-point lead,” said Pile. “We kept playing and they missed some free throws. We were able to make some shots and some plays at the end to get to overtime.”
Oakland struck first in overtime with a basket before a pair of Wattenbarger free throws tied the game at 53.
Back-t0-back baskets from Bilbrey and Conatser pushed York’s lead out to 57-53 midway through overtime. The Patriots chipped away at the Dragons’ advantage and tied the game at 60 points each with 15 seconds remaining.
Inbounding from their side of the court, York Institute found Conatser with 8 seconds remaining, where he was fouled with 4.2 seconds on the clock.
Conatser stepped to the free-throw line and sank both shots to give the Dragons a 62-60 lead with less than 5 seconds remaining. Oakland’s desperation three-pointer missed left to preserve York’s comeback victory by a 62-60 final margin.
“I kept telling the guys there’s plenty of time left,” Pile said. “We have to force the action and make plays. They helped us out some by missing some free throws, but our guys never gave up.”
York improves to 3-3 overall and hosts Cookeville on Tuesday.
York Institute (62): Jackson Conatser 18, Will Beaty 14, Bryson Bilbrey 14, Heath Wattenbarger 11, Andrew Hall 5
