3 takeaways from Whitehaven’s win over Overton

<p><span style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Overton High School’s gym isn’t very big, but people made sure to find a seat Thursday night to watch the Wolverines play the undefeated Whitehaven Tigers.</span></p> <p>First-year head coach Shelvie Rose had the support inside the gym, but in the end, Whitehaven, a team with plenty of experience, proved to be too much for Overton. Behind strong offensive performances from senior guards Kavion McClain and Alvin Miles, the Tigers defeated the Wolverines 98-63 to improve to 13-0 on the season.</p> <p>Whitehaven was without senior <b>Devine</b> <b>Owens</b>, who’s currently dealing with an ankle injury. </p> <p>There’s so much to digest, so let’s get to it.</p> <p><strong>Whitehaven’s pressure</strong></p> <p>The Tigers played with a sense of urgency for the entire game. Anytime a loose ball was for the taking, one of Whitehaven’s players jumped on it. Anytime one of Overton’s forwards - whether it was <strong>Anterrio</strong> <strong>Jeffries</strong> or <strong>Kam’ron Cr</strong><strong>ump - </strong>grabbed the rebound, one of the Tigers’ guards was right there to slap it away. Anytime Whitehaven pressed, the Wolverines’ guards went into shock mode. Overton’s best ball handler, <strong>Jason</strong> <strong>Coleman</strong>, turned the ball too many times, which shocked Coach Rose, who didn’t see that coming. Freshman guard <b>Jordan</b> <b>Frison</b> led the Wolverines with 20 points. <b>Marquon</b> <b>Dean</b> and <b>Jakel</b> <b>Williams</b> each had 11 points.</p> <p>But, it wasn’t enough to beat the Tigers, who simply wanted to win in dominating fashion.</p> <p><strong>Raining 3s</strong></p> <p>Whitehaven made 12 3s in its big road win. The Tigers got a lot of those 3s in transition after they kept forcing the Wolverines into turnovers. Whitehaven was able to frustrate this new and improved Overton team and the Wolverines couldn’t counter the Tigers’ toughness and effort.</p> <p><strong>The Miles and McClain show</strong></p> <p><strong>Alvin</strong> <strong>Miles</strong> and <strong>Kavion</strong> <strong>McClain</strong> were having fun against Overton (10-6). They were able to get any shot they wanted. Both guards like to shoot 3s, and they were given those opportunities. McClain finished with a game-high 29 points, while Miles added 27. Both simply carried the offense for 32 minutes. McClain and Miles played well off of one another.</p> <p>McClain and Miles had help from their teammates. <b>Antwan</b> <b>Smith</b> had 11 points. <b>Jesse</b> <b>Payne</b> and <b>Kristian</b> <b>Spencer</b> each scored 10 points. </p>