Mt. Carmel, Ill. – Jejuan Weatherspoon came up big at the right moments for the Wabash Valley Warriors on Saturday.
The 6-foot-5 sophomore scored 10 points in overtime to lead the Warriors to an 88-82 Great Rivers Athletic Conference win over Kaskaskia at Spencer Sports Center.
"He did take over in the overtime and came up with some big shots," said Warrior assistant coach Tanner Morris.
None bigger than the and-1 following a 3-point field goal which took the lead from two to six points and put the game away.
Morris called it a "huge momentum switch for us."
It was Weatherspoon who had hit a preceding 3-ball with 1:32 left in OT which gave the Warriors a lead they would not relinquish.
Their third win in a row pushed the Warriors to 9-6 on the year, and a much brighter standing in the GRAC and Central district races. WVC is now fourth in the league at 4-4, and fifth in the district standings at 6-5. In the latter, the Warriors are still within one game on the loss side of second place.
Kaskaskia fell to 6-8 and 2-6 in the GRAC with the loss.
Wabash Valley could have won the game in regulation time if not for a late 3-pointer by the Blue Devils which knotted the score at 68-68 and forced the extra five-minute period.
Weatherspoon finished the night with a game-high total of 22 points. He opened the second half with two quick buckets, part of a 7-0 Warrior which run wiped out Kaskaskia' 38-32 halftime advantage.
If getting the ball into Weatherspoon's hands more in the second half sounded like a main Warrior talking point at halftime, Morris said that is not the way their offense works.
"We never really preach getting one individual guy into the offense," Morris said. "Our offense is really free-flowing. We just move the ball, and the ball always finds its' way to the guy who is shooting well and playing well. It just happened to find Jejuan quite a bit tonight."
Assistant coach Isaac Wodajo, who joined Morris at the post-game press conference, said the Warriors switched to a man-to-man defense in the second half.
"We just tried to be more aggressive and deny," Wodajo said. "It was a great team win. Everybody stayed connected and grinded out a tough win."
Arthur "LA" Fayne was next in scoring for the winners, with 18 points. TreVon Smith and Javier Turner added 17 each.
Kaskaskia was paced by Chauncey Hughes with 18 points. Shomari Tilleett finished with 17, while Payton Sheen wound up with three 3-pointers and 16 points.
WVC heads for Belleville on Wednesday and a game against Southwestern (8-6, 3-5). Then, on Saturday, the Warriors get another crack at sixth-ranked John A. Logan (11-2, 8-1) when the Vols call at Spencer Sports Center for a 3 p.m. game.