Woodrow Wilson guard Landyn Wolfe may not have been a household name prior to Saturday’s rematch with Oak Hill inside the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center.
The 6-foor-3 senior sure is now.
Scoring a game-high 20 points and making two crucial defensive plays in crunch time, Wolfe was the difference maker for the Flying Eagles in a 48-38 win over the Red Devils.
“Landyn hit a big, big shot and I think there were about three big defensive plays that he saved us on,” Woodrow Wilson head coach Ron Kidd said. “He got a rebound on a missed layup when they would have got that ball and put it back in. He also had a block on a wide open layup. Landyn really stepped up big for us tonight. He showed a whole lot of Beckley pride.”
With the home team playing Saturday without one of its top scorers in Maddex McMillen, Oak Hill focused its attention on Beckley’s other threat, Elijah Redfern.
“(Wolfe) played well and hit some tough shots,” Oak Hill head coach Benitez Jackson said. “You are going to get open shots when you have Redfern, one of the top guards in the state. We put our efforts into stopping him, unfortunately for us, somebody else beat us.”
Through three quarters of play, neither team could gain an advantage. The game went to the final eight minutes tied 37-37.
For over five minutes neither team could score before Ethan Vargo-Thomas made one of two free throw attempts to give Oak Hill a 38-37 lead with 2:39 to play.
Twice during the scoreless streak, Oak Hill watched good looks at the basket go awry on layup attempts against the Woodrow defensive pressure.
“We just didn’t make shots. I thought we got some good looks, but I give Woodrow Wilson a lot of credit. They were able to use their size and length around the basket,” Jackson said. “I think it gave us some trouble getting some shots off and maybe sped us up a little bit.”
Trailing by one point, Redfern attacked and when Oak Hill collapsed, the sophomore guard pitched it to the hot hand.
Wolfe delivered Beckley’s first points of the final period with a 3-pointer that hit nothing but net with 2:26 to play.
“Confidence. That has been the difference, straight confidence,” Wolfe said of his ability to step into the big moment. “When I have confidence, I feel like I can hit from anywhere on the court. There isn’t nothing like a feeling knowing that you hit a big shot like that.”
Wolfe’s play Saturday night came as no surprise to Kidd.
“He is really stepping up for us. He is showing what we, and especially (assistant) Coach (Dave) Barksdale, has seen in him,” Kidd said. “He can play basketball. He just has to get confidence and do the things we want him to do.”
Wolfe’s heroics in the final two minutes were far from over.
A Beckley turnover led to a breakaway by Vargo-Thomas who raced to the other end for what looked to be a game-tying layup.
Wolfe chased down the Oak Hill guard and blocked the attempt to keep his team in the lead.
“They showed toughness right there. We were up, then Oak Hill tied it up and took the lead, but our kids kept battling,” Kidd said. “That is what you have to do. You have to gut it out in times like that.”
Forced to foul, the Red Devils sent Wolfe to the line for back-to-back 1-plus-1 attempts. Wolfe made all four shots plus two more free throws to put the game on ice.
After a tough start which put Oak Hill down nine at the half, Saturday ended up being another tough sectional battle that slipped away from the Red Devils.
“We made some shots in the third quarter, but then in the fourth quarter, we went cold. They didn’t let us drive the ball like we did last time,” Jackson said. “We knew that was coming. They did a good job of making some adjustments. We just have to be ready to go if we face them again.”
The loss snapped a seven-game skid for the Flying Eagles and was arguably Woodrow’s best defensive effort of the season switching to some zone.
“I was proud that we could hold them to 38 points tonight. Over there, they got 66,” Kidd said. “Just give a lot of credit to (assistant) coach (Steve) Kidd for putting in that 32 and 22. That is what we decided to play tonight.”
The win also keeps Woodrow in firm control of its postseason fate for home court advantage in sectional play.
Beckley has wins now over the Red Devils and Greenbrier East against the one setback at Oak Hill two weeks ago. Princeton and Beckley are scheduled to meet twice over the remainder of the regular season.
“It is good knowing we control our own destiny in regards to the sectional, but we still have to play Princeton and we have East here,” Kidd said. “We still have to get better on both sides.”
OH: 5 16 16 1 – 38
WW: 13 17 7 11 – 48
Oak Hill
Jacob Perdue 6, Omar Lewis 5, Leonard Farrow 2, Sammy Crist 17, Tre Foster 5, Cade Maynor 2, Ethan Vargo-Thomas 1. Totals: 15 2-4 38.
Woodrow Wilson
Landyn Wolfe 20, Elijah Redfern 16, Sam Peck 3, Caleb Gravely 5, Mike Miller 4. Totals: 15 13-13 48.
3-pointers – 6 (Perdue, Lewis, Crist 3, Foster); WW: 5 ((Wolfe 4, Peck).
