Wharton Basketball Whallops Durant, Starts Season 2-0.

After thumping Chamberlain 72-47 on Nov. 29, the Wildcats handily beat Durant 68-51 on Dec. 1. They are 2-0, 1-0 in their new Class 8A District 7.

"This was an ideal start to the season," said head coach Tom Tonelli after the Durant game.

Junior guard Sir Patrick Reynolds hit a three-pointer in the first quarter to make it 10-3 Cats. "He also does a lot of things that don't show in the stats," said Tonelli.

Junior guard CJ McGill made it 14-3 when he burned the Cougar defense on a fast break, for a layup. Tonelli made good use of his bench, rotating fresh players in and out and it was 18-5 at the end of the first quarter.

Sophomore forward Chase Litton nailed a three-pointer in the second quarter to push the lead out to 21-7. Litton is just a sophomore but started every game last year as a freshman. Being 6 feet, 5 inches tall helps.

McGill hit junior guard Troy Holston for a layup to make it 25-7, then 27-7. Finally, junior guard Kyle White of Durant hit a few three-pointers and the Cougars slowed the Wildcats down offensively. The halftime score was 36-14 Cats.

Durant bounced back early in the second half. They scored six unanswered points and cut the lead to 36-20 but Reynolds hit a three-pointer to extinguish the embers. And Holston scored the Wildcats' last ten points of the third quarter to make it 55-27.

Junior guard Trenton Robertson of Durant turned up the heat towad the end of the game. He accounted for 18 of Durant's 23 points in the fourth quarter. Yet the effort was in vain for Durant, who in the end fell to Wharton 68-51.