By CHARLIE HUST
The WCHS Trojans truly had ‘fun-in-the-sun’ over the holiday break, traveling to Panama City, FL., and winning the Marlin Classic hosted by J. R. Arnold High School.
Webster now sports a very impressive 12-1 record and head coach Jon Newton was extremely happy with the trip south and the play of his squad.
“All-in-all we were very pleased with the trip, we accomplished what we set out to do and that was enjoy each other company and bring back a championship to Kentucky,” he stated. “We were viewing this as two trips in one ... business and pleasure ... and I think we successfully achieved both of those. The coaching staff feels we achieved just as much off the floor as we did on the court. We really came together as a team and did a lot of team-bonding activities. We took advantage of the warm weather a did a couple of workouts on the beach. The guys really enjoyed that, they didn’t really view it as a cardio workout even though that was the whole purpose.”
Webster County 59
University School
of Nashville 51
Off to a very slow start in the Marlin Classic opener, the Trojans needed a little boost. They got it from junior forward Jon Stubblefield.
He drained four 3-pointers in the first half and propelled WCHS to the victory.
“When we started so slowly, we needed someone to step up and make some plays and Jon did that for us,” Coach Newton explained. “He kept us in the game and that set the stage for a good second half and the win.”
Stubblefield finished with a game-high 18 points, followed by 16 points from Mason Roland and 10 points from Max McMain.
Zac Shoulders and Shawn House added five points apiece while Cayden Edmonson added three points and six rebounds plus two points and two boards from Colten Durrance.
Webster County 70
J. R. Arnold High 57
The Trojans gave the host school a good lesson in ‘good ole Kentucky basketball’ in the second game of the tournament, leading the contest from start to finish.
Powerful performances from Mason Roland and Cayden Edmonson fueled the rout. Roland led all scorers with 29 points while Edmonson controlled the paint, finishing with his second double-double of the season—16 points and 13 rebounds.
“Cayden really came to play against J. R. Arnold and Mason just played unreal during the entire tournament. When a play needed to be made or game had to be taken over, it seemed that he would do that,” continued Newton.
Roland finished the 3-day tourney averaging 21 points, eight assists, four steals and 3.5 rebounds per game. He also canned 90 percent of his free throw attempts (35-of-39).
Jon Stubble field was also in double figures with 10 points while Max McMain added eight points and Zac Shoulders five. Shawn House completed the scoring column with one field goal.
Webster County 69
Cannon County, TN 52
The Trojans topped off the southern trip with a tourney championship trophy and another convincing victory in the final game of the Marlin Classic.
And the WCHS coaching staff was grinning from ear-to-ear as their talented trio of guards finally got on track and put together numbers that will make Region 2 teams take notice.
Led by a season-high 22 points from Max McMain, plus 20 points from Mason Roland and 19 from Zac Shoulders, the Trojans were red-hot from the tip in the dominating victory.
“Max and Zac really stepped up big in the championship game. It was the first game of the season that our three guards were all playing well. They were really clicking tonight,” Newton added. “I think our entire team really improved and anyone that was put out on the floor gave us positive contributions throughout the tournament.”
Cayden Edmonson added four points in the victory while Shawn House scored two points along with a season-high 10 rebounds. Jon Stubblefield completed the scoring with two points.
• Several “skills competitions” were held in conjunction with the Marlin Classic weekend and three Trojans participated in the activities.
WCHS senior Zac Shoulders finished second in the 3-point shooting competition while junior Jon Stubblefield won the Combined Scoring Contest.
• The Trojans will take on arch-rival Union County Friday night in the second game of a boy-girl doubleheader at Union County High School. Crittenden County will visit Trojan gym next Tuesday.