Short-Handed Bears Beat Trojans

WOODLAWN - With half the team unable to play due to illness, the Woodlawn Bears managed to get past the Parkers Chapel Trojans, 52-45, in a key 8-2A conference game Tuesday night at home, setting up a showdown for second place in the 8-2A standings Thursday night when they host the Junction City Dragons.Woodlawn improved to 18-8 overall and 8-4 conference play with Tuesday’s win. Junction City is 15-6 overall and 9-3 in league action, a game ahead of the Bears. Poyen currently leads the 8-2A standings at 11-2.Bears Coach Logan Adair said he had concerns before Tuesday night’s game about having a limited bench against Parkers Chapel, especially after the Trojans knocked off Woodlawn, 58-44, back on Dec. 20 at Parkers Chapel.Eight of the 16 players on the team were unable to play due to the stomach virus or flu. Adair said his two top scorers, Jude Roberts and Garrett Weatherford, were healthy for the game.Woodlawn led 11-1o at the end of the opening period but the Trojans went in front, 31-27, by halftime. The Bears surged ahead in the fourth quarter for the win.Roberts had 25 points for Woodlawn while Weatherford finished with 12.Poyen 60, Woodlawn 54POYEN - Woodlawn’s Ryan Rutledge hit a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter to cut Poyen’s lead to two, but the league-leading Indians withstood the rally and held on for a 60-54 victory over the Bears in an 8-2A conference game last Thursday night at Poyen.The Indians led for much of the game, and were up by as many 12 in the second half. But after Rutledge drained a 3 to cut the Poyen lead to two early in the fourth, the Indians answered and stretched their lead to eight before eventually settling for the six-point win.“We defended well enough to win, but we couldn’t score well enough to win,” said Woodlawn Coach Logan Adair about the game.After seeing some success shooting the ball in recent games, Adair said he f...