Season ends in Districts

Despite a 51-42 loss to Binger-Oney in the District tournament to end the Bulldogs’ season, first-year head coach Jackson Embry is pleased with his team.

“This season was a blast. Our goal is to make it to State, so in that aspect we failed, but as a team we built the culture and created a buzz around basketball in Wayne,” Embry said.

The Bulldogs were slow starters last Friday holding a 4-3 lead after one quarter of play.

“Our defense played well, but we just couldn’t get our shots to fall,” Embry said.

Down by as much as 18 during the contest, Wayne battled back thanks to an offense that heated up in the final stanza.

The Bulldogs scored 19 points in the fourth and closed to within six with seconds to play.

“We fought back in the fourth quarter with the shot we wanted at the end, but it didn’t fall. That was the story of the night.”

Ethan Mullins led the team with 24 points in his final game. Junior Kaleb Madden had six and Jaxon Dill and Jr. Perez each added four.

Last Tuesday, Wayne got the 84-63 win over Maysville for their final regular-season game.

“Lots of guys scored for us against Maysville. That was the offense we’ve been needing all year,” Embry said.

Seven Bulldogs scored in the win with Madden, Mullins and Perez leading the way. They had 25, 22 and 16 respectively.

“I’m proud of our offensive game. That is how we’ve wanted to play all year.”

Finishing the season with a 10-11 record, Embry laments the ending, but is happy with the foundation.

“I’m proud of the guys’ character. It’s cool to be a basketball player.”

Despite losing the senior class’ experience, Embry is excited for the future.

Madden has improved his scoring each year and is poised to do the same in his final season. Also getting experience for Wayne this year was sophomore Wyatt Webster and freshmen Jaxon Dill, Adolfo Vasquez and Ty Kemp.

Five seniors will be lost to graduation, including Ethan Mullins, Jr. Perez, Andy Lee, Brannon Lewelling and Dom Sampson.

“Losing Brannon early was a silver lining since it helped us to grow and develop our younger players.”

Mullins was a four-year starter for the Bulldogs, as was Lewelling before his injury.

Perez and Lee were both three-year starters.

Girls

The Wayne Lady Bulldogs were knocked out of post-season play last Friday with a 49-24 loss to Binger-Oney.They finished with a 13-8 record.

“We had a good season, it just ended way too early,” head coach Bill Burnett said.

“I’m extremely proud of the girls in that they never gave up and fought hard to the very end.”

Offensively, the Lady Bulldogs were stymied all game against the Lady Bobcats. Kaylee Madden was the leading scorer for Wayne with eight.

The Binger three-pointer was a killer for Wayne.

“They flattened out our zone and were hot enough with threes to keep us at bay,” Burnett said.

Last Tuesday Wayne added another win with a 60-47 victory at Maysville.

Seven Lady Bulldogs were on the board, led by Lorensa Martinez’s 20 points. Daliyah Fuentes and Kaylee Madden add 12 apiece.

“We got off to a great start. The first quarter was our best eight minutes of the year. And our stingy defense allowed us to hold a comfortable lead most of the second half,” Burnett said.

Several girls with years of experience will be lost to graduation for Wayne. Seniors include McKenzie Fisher, Lorensa Martinez, Mayce Trejo, Haiden Parker and Shyleigh Mantooth.

“The seniors laid a good foundation for us to build on.

“The underclassmen stepped up and gained valuable experience. We are expecting bigger and better things out of them next  year,” Burnett said.