‘Wall’ing off Irish boys at Webb; KCHS girls roll with defense
KNOXVILLE — Lukas Walls put the Webb School of Knoxville Spartans on his back, putting on a basketball clinic on how to score versus rival Knoxville Catholic, which happened in Lee Athletic Center at Webb Friday, Jan. 20.
“We played with everything we had tonight,” said Walls, a 6-foot-5 senior wing who scored 29 points. The senior and his Spartans (17-6 overall, 2-0 in Division II-East Region) used an 11-0 run to turn a 15-11 deficit into a 22-17 lead in the first 3:30 of the second quarter en route to a 72-64 win, played before a packed house.
“I think it was playing with pace, matching the physicality,” said Zach Gulmire, Webb interim coach in absence of head coach Ricky Norris, about a 17-4 third-quarter run giving the Spartans a 54-40 lead. “... Effort and execution kind of married.”
About Walls, his coach said, “That’s just kinda what he’s done all year. He’s a big-time player for us.”
Jaylen Pompey, Webb sophomore point, scored 13. Freshman wing Shavar Young had nine.
“They came up with some 50-50 balls that really hurt us,” said Luke Smith, first-year head coach for the Irish (15-4, 2-1). “Pompey hit two threes off of offensive rebounds ... Lukas Walls was terrific all night. He drives down the lane and we don’t pick up the ball.”
Three Irish were in double figures scoring: junior guard Caleb Asbaty (18), senior guard Yesan Warren (17) and sophomore post Deondrea Lindsey (13).
Lady Irish 46 Webb 28
Getting payback Friday, 46-28, after losing to Webb 55-48 during a December tourney in Cleveland, Travis Mains’ Lady Irish girls (12-10, 3-0) used a tough zone defense to hold the Lady Spartans (12-7, 1-1) to only five points the final 12 minutes of the first half.
Sydney Mains, KCHS junior wing (the coach’s daughter), scored a game-high 17 despite a sprained ankle. Amaya Redd, sophomore guard, added 11.
For Webb, freshman point Meeyah Green led with nine points. Senior forward Madelyn Ladd had eight.
