York – The No. 2 ranked 3A Sumter County Wildcats took advantage of the No. 1 ranked 2A R C Hatch Bobcats on a night that the Bobcats left their shooting touch in Uniontown and claimed a 58 – 46 win.

The Bobcats couldn’t seem to overcome a 16-point half time deficit and suffer their third loss of the season “What can I say, we just didn’t play well”, boasted Bobcats coach Eugene Mason.

The Wildcats raced to an early 12 – 4 lead in the first quarter using their quickness, while the Bobcats, although getting good looks, missed shots. The quarter ended 14 – 9 with Chris Law scoring 8 points for the Wildcats.

In the second quarter the Wildcats began adding to their lead as the Bobcats continued their shooting woes. Marko Mitchell sunk a free throw with two minutes showing on the clock to give the Wildcats a double-digit lead, 26 – 16. The Bobcats would not score again in the quarter and went into the locker room at halftime trailing 32 – 16.

In the first three minutes of the third quarter R C Hatch, who seemed to have found their shooting touch, outscored Sumter County 11 – 6 to attempt a come back. The Wildcats however, held their double-digit lead at 42 – 32 with 2:11 left to go in the quarter.

Bobcats’ Quinton Collins connected on a 3-pointer to cut the lead to seven with the clock reading 1:29. The Wildcats failed to score in the last 2:11 of the quarter while the Bobcats added another basket to end the quarter five points down at 42 – 37.

“We were making mental errors which led to unforced turnovers”, Wildcats coach Johnny Patrick said. “We wanted to keep our defensive pressure up, also.”

The Wildcats were able to hold on to their five-point lead with the help of Temorris Coleman, who scored five straight to put the Wildcats ahead 53 – 43 with 4:44 left in the game. That all but burst the Bobcats bubble, as their shooting woes returned along with some untimely turnovers and as they came down the stretch, the Bobcats could only score two points.

“They (R.C. Hatch) have a good team, but didn’t shoot well tonight”, coach Patrick said. “We can see that they were getting tired in the fourth period, so we begin to shuffle fresh players in and out and that seem to make a big difference in the end.”

Law lead the way for the Wildcats with 14 points, while Coleman collected 8 points and Mitchell chipped in seven. The Wildcats improve their overall record for the season to 18 -1. For the Bobcats, who fall to 12 – 3 on the season it was Fred Lewis who led the way with 15 points with Calvin Pope dropping in 9 points.