The Waverly Wolverines waltzed into their matchup on Friday with three straight wins but they left with four. They rang in the new year with a 67-54 victory over Chenango Forks. Given Waverly's advantage in MaxPreps' New York basketball rankings (they are ranked 117th, while Chenango Forks is ranked 359th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
When it comes to explaining why Chenango Forks lost, one person who can't be blamed is Stephen Samsel. Despite the final result, he dropped a double-double on 20 points and 13 rebounds. Samsel has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last four times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Walker Paske, who scored ten points along with six rebounds.
Waverly pushed their record up to 7-1 with that victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 74.3 points per game. As for Chenango Forks, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 4-4.
Coincidentally, Waverly and Chenango Forks will both be playing Seton Catholic Central the next time they take the court. Chenango Forks will head out to face Seton Catholic Central at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday, while Waverly will head out to face them at 7:15 p.m. on Friday.
