WILSON CREEK — The Wilson Creek Devils (6-3) found success in a close home game against Waterville-Mansfield, where they earned a 33-30 victory. This marks the Devils' fifth straight win as they head into the second half of the season. 

“It felt pretty good,” said Devils junior Landon McMillan. “We came out with a defensive plan, executed that perfectly. Offense could have went better, but we just tried hard and came out with the win.” 

While Waterville-Mansfield was the first on the board with a three-pointer, the Devils were the ones to take an early lead over their opponent, responding with two threes from Trevor Sackmann and one from McMillan. The second quarter went similarly, with Wilson Creek leading on offense while the defense held the opposition to go into halftime 21-13. 

Waterville-Mansfield began to come back in the third quarter as they crept up with seven points and held the Devils to three points. Wilson Creek got back into the groove for the fourth quarter as they scored nine points to remain ahead of Waterville-Mansfield by the end of regulation. 

Landon said the focus of the game for the Devils was to earn a victory against their longtime rival, whom they hadn’t beaten at home in a long time. The desire for that victory fueled their efforts in Tuesday’s matchup, which ultimately led to their victory. 

“We try not to focus on anything else,” he said. “Sometimes we get talking to the stands but just focus on the game and you don’t look at the scoreboard much. We just focus on our offense and defense and just grind.” 

This game was a big confidence booster for the Devils, said Landon, as they earned a victory over one of the tougher teams in the Central Washington B league.  

“Kind of just builds our confidence and lets us look at things a little differently and realize that we’re a better team than we think we are and we can go a long ways,” he said. 

Landon said he wanted to give a shoutout to his parents and his girlfriend, Lexie, for supporting him and his team during Tuesday’s game. 

Devils head coach Caleb McMillan said he knew that this game would be a tough and low-scoring battle, so he had the team prepared to play great defense and capitalize on every good shot that came their way. One thing he told the team to keep in mind throughout the game was to keep up the intensity. 

“Keep pushing the ball and wear them down,” he said. 

While there were a few misses on layups that occurred, overall, the coach said Wilson Creek played well. The Devils come into each of their games with high intensity, but against Waterville-Mansfield, they did a great job of keeping their cool and staying focused on the game in front of them. 

The defensive performance from the Devils was something he said was a great highlight from the team, as Devils sophomore Kaegen Clinton held Waterville-Mansfield's best player to only four points total in the entire game. 

“A big lesson is that it is a long, slow game playing these guys,” said McMillan. “It’s not a high-scoring game, pace is a little different, and usually we don’t handle that very well, and we handled it great tonight.” 

As the Devils head forward in the season, the coach said they will be putting a focus on getting the players into the offensive groove, which they have struggled to find so far this season. Tuesday’s matchup against Waterville-Mansfield was a good way to show Wilson Creek exactly what they need to work on. 

“This is one of the better teams in our league, so to get the victory over them, it’s a good feeling,” said McMillan. “Prepares us for the next guys that come.” 

The Devils’ next game will be on the road Tuesday to face Garden City Academy at 7 p.m. 

BOX SCORE:  

WCRK: 12-9-3-9: 33
WVMN: 7-6-7-10: 30 

    Wilson Creek junior Trevor Sackmann shoots for three in the first quarter during Tuesday’s victory.
  

    Aiden Galindo, a senior for the Devils defends against Mac Finkbeiner from Waterville-Mansfield. The Devils had a strong defensive showing during Tuesday’s game holding their opponent to 13 points in the first half.
  

    Wilson Creek’s Aiden Valline makes a free throw during the second half in the victory over Waterville-Mansfield.
  

    Reece Kane, a senior from Wilson Creek, pushes through the defending Lukas Fletcher from Waterville-Mansfield.