Better late than never.
Chaparral’s season finally began Friday night at George Washington after a scheduling snafu kept the sixth-ranked Wolverines off the Class 5A hardwood an extra week.
“We were just itching,” senior guard Nate Rohnert said. “We were sick of practicing. We wanted to get out there and play, and you could tell we were a little rusty to start off.”
The Wolverines shook off the rust, got out of sync in the third quarter but poured it on in the fourth to take the nonleague tilt 65-56.
Chaparral got the most of its size and experience by attacking the basket and knocking down 26-of-31 free throws.
“That’s one of our strengths, going inside,” Rohnert said. “We can hit 3s, but that’s not our bread and butter.”
Rohnert picked up 11 of his game-high 27 points at the free-throw line as the Wolverines shot 46 percent from the field in the first, second and fourth quarters.
Erich Bracht scored 10 of his 15 points in the first quarter, and guard Blake Schraufnagel scored nine of his 11 points in the second to help the Wolverines to a 33-25 halftime lead.
The Patriots (2-1) rallied in the third quarter behind 12 points from junior guard Jerrome Millard and went up 41-40 with 1:17 left in the frame.
The Patriots forced the tempo and held the Wolverines to 18 percent shooting.
“Third quarter, we were coming in with one pass, a couple dribbles and jump shot,” Chaparral coach Jason Jacob said. “We weren’t really attacking the basket very well.”
Chaparral led 43-41 entering the fourth quarter and needed less than three minutes to increase its lead to 55-44. Rohnert picked up 11 points in the quarter to steady the Wolverines.
Millard shook off an 0-for-6 shooting effort in the first half and ended up leading the Patriots with 16 points.
“Shooters will miss. But they got to keep shooting,” Patriots coach Tom Bancroft said. “He’s never been in that role and I thought he grew up a little.”
Chaparral 16 17 10 22 – 65
George Washington 12 13 16 15 – 56
Chaparral – Gann 2 4-4 8, Smith 0 0-0 0, Schraufnagel 2 6-6 11, McKnight 0 0-0 0, Rohnert 8 11-15 27, Madsen 1 2-2 4, Kraus 0 0-0 0, Bratcher 0 0-0 0, Bracht 6 3-4 15. Totals 19 26-31 65.
George Washington – Johnson 2 1-2 5, Carter 2 1-2 5, Pierce 0 0-0 0, White 1 0-0 3, Brown 1 0-0 2, Davis 0 0-0 0, Millard 4 4-6 16, Drumgo 2 0-1 4, Stokes 6 0-0 12, Jones 2 0-0 4, Teague 2 1-3 5. Totals 22 7-14 56.
3-pt. goals – Schraufnagel; Millard 4, White. Total fouls – Chaparral 21, George Washington 23. Fouled out – Jones, Drumgo. Technicals – None.
