WBHS falls in state opener

Lithia Springs, using an aggressive defense, jumped out to a 14-8 lead after the first quarter and a 32-24 lead at halftime.

Sokol said a big swing in the contest was the end of the first half and the start of the third quarter.

“We had a chance to go in at halftime down by six and ended up trailing by eight,” the coach said. “Then in the second half, we suddenly found ourselves down by 13. Still, I don’t want that one game to take away from our season.”

Trent Demeritte, one of four seniors on the squad, finished with a team high 16 points. D.J. Butler, another one of the team’s seniors this season, battled foul trouble in the contest, and was held to seven points.

Alonzo Nelson-Ododa finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks while Travis Demeritte contributed five points and Bubba Bradley added four points.
Bradley is another of the team’s seniors.

“More than anything, we just seemed a step behind from the beginning,” Sokol said. “We had a hard time even getting the ball inbounds. We weren’t able to execute the small things, We knew what we needed to do, but we were even confused about what defense to be in. Maybe I didn’t prepare us mentally before the game.”

Having Butler in foul trouble played a factor, the coach said.

Nick Grovogel, the team’s other senior, connected on a three-pointer at the buzzer to make the final score more respectable.

It was the first home state tournament game in basketball history for WBHS.