COULEE CITY – A fast start surged the Warriors in their 68-41 win over Wellpinit on Thursday night, holding a double-digit lead in the first quarter before winning the game by nearly 30 points. 

Wellpinit was the only team that defeated the 18-1 Warriors this season, winning 79-69 at home Dec. 14. 

“We’ve been anxious and chomping at the bit to play this game,” ACH head coach Graham Grindy said. “I think (we felt) confident, and we’ve been working for a long time on a lot of things since we played them first. It’s just another chance to put everything together. We’re not done yet.” 

ACH scored the first nine points of the game, taking a 9-0 lead before stretching that lead to 14-1 on a three-pointer by sophomore Max Grindy, his second of the opening quarter. The Warriors took away opportunities in the paint for the Redskins, and Wellpinit shots from beyond the arc weren’t falling with Warrior defenders getting in their face. 

“Being patient offensively,” Graham said of the start to the game. “Working the ball side to side. Early on, you’ve got to take what the defense gives you. They’re going to come out with their best right way, so that was a good thing. Coupled good defense with good offensive execution.” 

Wellpinit cut the lead to 17-10 early in the second quarter, but it didn’t slow down ACH for long; junior Caden Correia connected on a three-pointer to push the lead to 22-10, and the Warriors quickly extended the lead to 29-14. By the end of the second quarter, ACH was up 36-17. 

“It’s just guys making plays,” Graham said. “Guys were either making plays driving to the basket, and our offensive rebounding – Tucker Bayless was a force offensive rebounding. All of our guys committed to that. It’s that second effort that was getting us a lot of those answer points.” 

Bayless finished the game with 13 points and 11 rebounds coming off the bench for the Warriors on Friday night. 

“He is a tough, tough kid, and he’s only a sophomore,” Graham said. “He’s got so much potential ... the rebounding, that’s Tucker Bayless’ game, and once I saw that he had that fire in his eyes, I thought, ‘I can’t take him off the court.’” 

Junior Josh Booker was a strong presence in the paint, scoring 11 of his 13 points in the first half. 

“My teammates were getting me open, and they were finding me,” Booker said. “It was a great team effort.” 

Senior Carter Pitts drained a three-pointer on ACH’s first possession of the second half, as ACH maintained a consistent 20-point lead in the third quarter. By the final buzzer, the Warriors had extended their lead to 68-41. 

“We knew we could do it,” eighth grader Nolan Grindy said. “We had a less-than-perfect game last game, but we were well-prepared for it this time.” 

Wellpinit’s 41 points were the fewest in a game for the Redskins this season. 

“It was really a defensive focus coming into this game,” Booker said. “We knew we couldn’t let them run and hit threes, and we just locked them down one-on-one. Played great team help (defense).” 

Max led the Warriors with 19 points, followed by Nolan’s 15 points and Booker and Bayless’ 13 points. 

“The team really helped me get those points, they spaced out well,” Nolan said.  

Since losing to Wellpinit in December, ACH had won 14 consecutive games going into Thursday night’s matchup.  

“We didn’t bring our best defensive effort – I'll cut my guys a little slack, they were just coming off football, but we worked a lot on defense,” Graham said of the loss to Wellpinit in December. “That was the one thing that we really needed to improve on, how we defended them ... to see what we did, and how we played, was great.” 

The Warriors (18-1) will host Selkirk on Tuesday in the second round of the Northeast 1B league tournament. The top six teams from the league tournament advance to districts, where they will play teams from the Southeast 1B league. 

“It’s just kind of refocus and go one game at a time,” Graham said. “We host here Tuesday, and you obviously want to win that game and get off to a good start.” 

Box score 

WEL: 6-11-16-18 41 

ACH: 17-19-17-15 68 

    Almira/Coulee-Hartline junior Josh Booker (13) jumps to lay the ball up for a basket in the first half. Booker scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half.
  

    Almira/Coulee-Hartline sophomore Tucker Bayless, in white, finished the game with a double-double, scoring 13 points and collecting 11 rebounds.
  

    Almira/Coulee-Hartline sophomore Max Grindy led the Warriors with 19 points Thursday against Wellpinit.