Wyatt boys basketball tops Aledo to stay perfect in 7-4A

By Greg Bogomol

Special to the Star-Telegram

ALEDO — Making just one of their first 17 shots isn’t quite how Fort Worth Wyatt coach Rodney McFadden wanted to start the second half of District 7-4A play at Aledo on Tuesday, especially when the opposition is hitting 50 percent of their shots. But what could have been a disastrous start was saved by a Chaparral defense that forced eight Aledo turnovers in the opening minutes of the game.

When all was said and done Wyatt (15-9, 8-0) left the quarter with a 6-5 lead on their way to a 61-50 victory. “I told them we were fortunate in the first half making just 25 percent of our shots,” said McFadden, whose team improved to 15-9 overall and 8-0 in District 7-4A. “We played well defensively and got lots of offensive rebounds. We tend to start slow, then kick it in.” Aledo (15-13, 3-5) didn’t go away easy. The Bearcats fought back to close to within four at the half, despite attempting just 16 field goals. Wyatt was eight for 28. Byron Smith’s dunk on an alley oop pass in the third period seemed as though it was going to ignite Wyatt, but after an Aledo timeout the Bearcats regrouped and eventually drew even at 31-31 on a pair of free throws from Taylor Johnson. He finished with a game high 21 points. “I told them after they called timeout that we needed to settle down and focus because that play was over,” McFadden said. “We just got caught up in the emotion and lost of focus there for a minute before getting it back. That’s part of just being an inexperienced team.” They put the game out of reach going on a 10-0 run from late in the third period and into fourth, building a 41-31 lead less than a minute into the fourth quarter. Wyatt's Andrew Nunley who scored four of his 11 points during the run, while Smith, Deon Daniels and Kendrick Salone who each added two. Smith led the Chaps with 16 points.

Aledo wasn’t able to close it to less than nine the rest of the way.

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