Whitworth leads after a highly contested first half

PIRATES, 31-26

Just a quick halftime note.

The Loggers had no clue how to attack Whitworth’s 1-3-1 zone early on, with UPS scoring just four points in the first 11 minutes, 58 seconds. Usually by then it would have scored about 28 points.

The Pirates led at that point 17-4 and it probably should have been more. They missed three contested but makeable layups, all of which came off potential Bryan Williams assists.

The Loggers’ defensive strategy has been built around denying Williams the ball, because they can’t defend him when he gets it. That worked fairly well in the game’s first few minutes but as the half wore on, the holes were there for the senior from Mead who found the right guy.

Unofficially, I have Whitworth with 13 turnovers, more than probably acceptable to Jim Hayford.