Defense leading the way for Timberwolf boys

CORNING — The Southwest Valley Timberwolves want defense to feed offense, and it did in a couple of stretches as its boys basketball squad created a little distance late Tuesday to beat Nodaway Valley 52-39 at the Southwest Valley Activity Center.

SWV led 24-20 at halftime after leading 12-9 after the first quarter.

“I don’t know if I ever felt comfortable through the whole game, but we had a couple stretches that helped us,” Timberwolves head coach Kyle Bashor said. “We established our defense and our mentality that we can play with anybody. Our defense kind of leads the way for us. So far this season we’re making strides toward that.”

The Timberwolves had a stretch in the first quarter and another in the fourth quarter that helped them pull away. At the end of the third quarter, they led 36-30, but extended the lead to 44-30 on back-to-back transition buckets from senior Gabe Fuller and junior Sawyer Hensley.

Owen Wilkinson scored 16 for SWV, Hensley scored 11 and Blake Thomas 10. Six-foot-4 senior Joey Oathoudt provides a tall presence for the Timberwolves, however in more of a shooting guard role.

“We want to be as aggressive as possible while still being as stable as possible. We’re always looking for where we can be aggressive but not be overly risky,” Bashor said. “We haven’t gotten a win like this in a few years. I have a ton of respect for Nodaway Valley, but the confidence of getting a win like this is big.”

Southwest Valley’s boys play Martensdale-St. Marys following the girls game between the same schools Saturday night at Wells Fargo Arena.