The West Central Valley Wildcats boys basketball team had a rough go of it in 2020, finishing the year with a 3-19 record.

But, anyone in attendance January 28 wouldn’t have known it. The Wildcats were coming off a home victory over Saydel and playing a Southeast Warren squad that finished the year 3-17. West Central Valley took off to a 13-11 lead after the first quarter before both teams exploded for 20+ points in the second frame.

Southeast Warren sophomore Jack Williams made his mark in the third quarter, scoring 12 points in the frame to put the Warhawks ahead 55-47. The 6-foot-7 center was just a nightmare to defend and already had 20 points through three and wasn’t slowing down.

Head coach Dave Brumley, seeing the game slipping away due to that size advantage, sent in 6-foot-6 sophomore Mason Clauson. From that point on, Williams scored four points and ended up fouling out of the contest. Brumley details what prompted the decision.

“I said Mason, I’m gonna put you in there. Front him. Front him. Front him. They cannot lob that ball over you; you’re longer than him. Even though you’re only 6-foot-6 and he’s 6-foot-8, you’re longer than him. His wingspan’s longer. They’re not gonna be able to lob it over you. Even when they don’t have the ball on your side, three-quarter him. He just did it perfectly. He’s the reason that kid fouled out. Mason doesn’t get a whole lot of minutes. He’s not exactly polished yet, but he’s a big kid. We had no choice. We had to get somebody in there with some size, and he’s the biggest kid on my team at 6-foot-6.”

Clauson neutralized Williams and his teammates capitalized for 17 points in the fourth quarter to force overtime. The two teams went even for the first extra frame, and Hunter Keller banked in a deep three for the dagger, giving the Wildcats their second double overtime victory of the season 76-75.