Boys basketball: Vermilion energy, rotation too much for Wellington

WELLINGTON — Vermilion may be in the midst of a eureka moment. The Sailors went 13-deep against Wellington with all but three players scoring as they rode their depth to a 60-38 non-conference win Thursday night. "We came out with energy," said junior forward Brock Meyers, who led Vermilion with 17 points. "We're on a two-game win streak now and trying to make it three (today). We've been talking about it all week in practice, trying to find this ah-ha moment where we finally click and everything starts coming together. We just have to keep this going and we'll be good." Meyers was the only starter in double figures as Vermilion (6-11) got 38 points from its bench, including 16 from sophomore Mason Cooper, who also led the team with 10 rebounds and four steals. Wellington (3-14) scored the first four points, but Vermilion answered with 16 straight, including back-to-back threes from junior Jeremiah Lopez, whose only field goals of the game came on his first two possessions, checking in with less than four minutes left in the first quarter. He promptly gave the Sailors a lead they didn't relinquish. The first five players off Vermilion's bench scored at least four points, and two of the three who came in during the final minutes managed to get on the board. "We made a decision 10 to 14 days ago that we were going to start playing 10 and run people in and out," Vermilion coach Kurt Habermehl said. "We really don't necessarily think that we have guys who are that much better than anyone else (on our team). So we feel like we can use that to our advantage a little bit and wear other teams out." Cooper had 10 points by halftime and his defense helped set up his teammates with fastbreak opportunities. After Vermilion pushed its lead to 21-8, Wellington made a 9-3 run with Johnnie Kinter scoring seven points during that stretch. The Sailors closed the half on a 7-0 run with Meyers scoring five straight. "We just found a way to break their press," Cooper said. "We knew coming into this game they like to trap right away. We had to be patient, get through the press and find easy layups down the court." Kinter, who led the Dukes with a game-high 18 points, played with three fouls for the final 3:18 of the first half and picked up his fourth foul with 3:12 left in the third. However, he avoided fouling out. Bryce Lehmkuhl and Landon Whitehouse both picked up their fourth fouls in the fourth quarter with Whitehouse fouling out with 4:56 left in the game. "We've just got to give consistent effort every game, every practice and just keep pushing forward," Wellington coach Anthony Schmook said. "We're not a big rotation so we're always going to be in some trouble if we get some fouls. But other guys have to step up. It's next man up always." Contact Chris Sweeney at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X. Vermilion 60, Wellington 38 VERMILION (60): Dom DiFucci 1-0-3, Brock Meyers 7-2-17, Caleb German 1-0-2, Terrence Anders 0-0-0, Drake Hooks 0-0-0, Mason Cooper 6-3-16, Nate Pinkerton 2-0-4, Jeremiah Lopez 2-0-6, Collin Angney 2-0-4, Adam Gerber 2-0-6, Noah Penton 0-0-0, Luke Habermehl 0-1-1, Terrance Ngure 0-1-1. Totals 23-7-60. WELLINGTON (38): Landon Wright 1-0-2, Johnnie Kinter 8-2-18, Conner Kinser 3-2-8, Alex Frenk 2-0-5, Landon Whitehouse 2-1-5, Bryce Lehmkuhl 0-0-0, Tomas Lisa 0-0-0, James Wacker 0-0-0, Landon Beall 0-0-0, David Roldan 0-0-0. Totals 16-5-38. Vermilion 18 14 16 12 — 60 Wellington 6 12 13 7 — 38 Three-point goals: Vermilion 7-18 (Gerber 2, Lopez 2, Cooper, DiFucci, Meyers), Wellington 1-17 (Frenk). Field goals: Vermilion 23-51 (45 percent), Wellington 16-45 (36 percent). Free throws: Vermilion 7-21 (34 percent), Wellington 5-17 (29 percent). Rebounds: Vermilion 40 (Cooper 10, Meyers 8), Wellington 20 (Frenk 6). Total fouls: Vermilion 17, Wellington 18. Fouled out: Whitehouse. Turnovers: Vermilion 18, Wellington 14.