WEST WILLIAMSON – The Williamson Wolfpack, coming off a disappointing loss against Tug Valley Tuesday, landed a hard fought win over the Sheldon Clark Cardinals Thursday night, 53-48. The game came down to the wire which inevitably came down to the free throw line.

With a short lead throughout the game, Williamson led the Cardinals by 8 points going into the 4th quarter, 38-30. A series of scores from the Cardinals saw the game tied minutes into the final quarter, 42-42. However, the change in dynamic didn’t rattle the Pack and Sheldon Clark got into some foul trouble, allowing Williamson to regain the lead and add some breathing room in the final minute of play.

“We’re slowly improving and we finally made some free throws,” said Williamson Head Coach Curt Fletcher. “We put some extra time in at the free throw line during practice and it seemed to pay off.”

During the Pack’s last outing against Tug Valley, they made 8 of 19 from the free throw line. At Thursday’s game, they made 9 of 11 free throws in the 4th quarter alone, and 17 of 23 overall, a vast improvement in percentages from their previous outing. On the other end of the court, Sheldon Clark sank only 3 of their 11 free throws.

Williamson’s Chris Hatcher sank all 9 of his free throws, 4 coming in the last minute of the ballgame. Hatcher scored 15 points overall with 8 rebounds.

The Pack’s Nick Lee also had a stellar night, tying Hatcher for the team high of 15 points with two three-pointers and 10 rebounds, all of them defensive.

“I give Sheldon Clark credit; they made some long threes. Those long shots can cause some long rebounds and at the end, one rebound could have changed the outcome of the game,” continued Fletcher.

Williamson had 30 rebounds to the Cardinals’ 25. Williamson also out shot Sheldon Clark, sinking 17 of 33 from the floor, compared to Sheldon Clark’s 21 of 54.

Williamson’s Chuckie White scored 10 points for the Pack, Jarrid McCormick scored 7, Bobby Hurley scored 4, and Austin Banks got on the board with 2.

The Cardinals’ Tyler Lafferty scored the game high of 19 points. Also scoring for Sheldon Clark was: B.J. Moore with 13 points, Curtis Whitt with 8 points on two three-pointers and two free throws, Kelley Hayes with 6 points, and Nick Bowen with 2 points.

The Wolfpack (3-5) looks to take their momentum into Friday’s home game against the Pikeville Panthers.

Sheldon Clark will look to bounce back in away games against South Floyd Tuesday, Jan. 26 and against Johnson Central Thursday, Jan. 28.

WHS- 10 12 16 15-53

SCHS- 9 11 10 18-48