The Owensboro boys’ basketball team got perhaps their most impressive win of the season, and they did it in convincing fashion with a 66-55 home victory over Evansville Bosse on Friday night.
The Red Devils (12-7) dominated from the very start, jumping out to a 20-4 lead over a Bulldogs (12-5) team that entered with a seven-game win streak.
OHS head coach Rod Drake said it is only January, but this win was important in terms of confidence for the postseason.
“This is huge,” he said. “We probably won’t play another team of this caliber unless we make it into the state tournament.”
Drake had a good feeling going into the game, and he said preparation was key.
“Tonight we came ready to play,” he said. “I thought we were going to play well tonight. We had a couple good practices this week after the Madisonville game.”
The Red Devils lost 78-61 to Madisonville-North Hopkins on Tuesday, though they beat the Maroons 71-58 earlier this season.
Determined not to have the same result against Bosse, Owensboro looked to score early and had plenty of success. Gavin Wimsatt scored the first six points for the Red Devils, while Amari Wales and Darrion Wimsatt combined for 15 as the team took a 27-11 lead after the first quarter.
“We were more aggressive tonight,” Drake said of the fast start. “We were going to the hole and looking for fouls.”
Darrion Wimsatt added 10 points in the second frame, though Bosse was able to trim the deficit to 43-31 by halftime.
The Bulldogs made a few pushes in the third quarter and twice cut the Owensboro lead to six points, but they couldn’t get any closer. Amari Wales hit a pair of big 3-pointers to help the Devils maintain a comfortable lead.
Drake said Wales doesn’t let the big moments get to him, allowing him to make clutch shots with ease.
“He’s unconscious,” Drake said. “He doesn’t know what he’s doing out there. He’s a sophomore that takes big shots. He looks like he’s just going through the motions.”
With time running out and unable to cut into the lead, Bosse extended their defense to half court and began playing zone. Though the Bulldogs largely took Darrion Wimsatt out of the game in the second half, the rest of the team took care of the ball and cruised comfortably to a win.
“We knew (the extended defense) was coming, but I was shocked they payed a zone,” Drake said. “It played to our advantage because we had three or four ball handlers out there. We beat a good basketball team tonight.”
Up next: Owensboro vs. McLean County, 3:30 p.m. Saturday
Scoring
Bosse 11-20-16-8–55
Owensboro 27-16-12-11–66
Owensboro: Darrion Wimsatt 20, Gavin Wimsatt 16, Amari Wales 16, Jaiden Greathouse 7, Imonte Owsley 4, Aireon Phillips 3
