Whitefield Academy understands there are few things a team can control on the basketball court. Effort and playing hard are two one can achieve.

The Wolfpack rebounded in bunches and created multiple scoring second chance opportunities beating 71-63 St. Francis Tuesday night.

“At this point of the season we can’t control how tall we are or our talent level,” Whitefield coach Tyrone Johnson said. “We can control how hard we work. It’s all about representing and demonstrating what we do in practice.”

What Whitefield (13-5, 7-1) did was show that they are a team that is not going to back down from any challenge. Johnson challenged his team at halftime, despite them having a lead, to attack the glass and tighten up defensively. The players responded.

For every shot it took on the offensive end, the Wolfpack had at least three opportunities to get on the board. On the defensive end, Whitefield minimized the St. Francis’ second chances. Whenever the Knights, ranked No. 12 in the Hoopseen.com Power Poll, did get another scoring opportunity the shot selection played into the Wolfpack’s hands. Whitefield finished the evening with 39 rebounds.

“We just had some crucial non-rebound, turnover and shot selection in critical situations,” Knights coach Cabral Huff said. “We have to get those 50/50 balls whether it is after a rebound or a tough shot.”

Whitefield, not known for its perimeter shooting, received plenty of it against St. Francis (12-6, 5-2) knocking down eight 3-pointers. Most of those came from point guard Humberto Dryden. The unsigned senior came off the bench and was relentless on both ends of the floor.

Dryden was inserted into the first quarter and nailed a three for his first shot. He made minimal mistakes. In the second half, when St. Francis was looking to make a run in the third quarter, Dryden nailed back-to-back three-pointers to help the Wolfpack maintain it’s 54-42 lead at the end of the period.

His biggest contribution came in the fourth. Dryden was on the floor late knocking down eight consecutive free throws to help ice the game. He finished with a team-high 18 points.

“Berto was willing to step up at the end of the game and say, ‘I’m that guy,’” Johnson said. “He kept us in the game (throughout) when we were struggling a little bit.”

Part of the Whitefield’s struggle was St. Francis’ refusal to back down. The Knights were knocked back onto their heels early in the first quarter when the Pack took a 9-0 lead. St. Francis bowed up after a timeout but finished the quarter trailing 17-11.

The Knights’ duo of Kobi Simmons Malik Beasley was not about to let Whitefield get away to far. Simmons showed off an array of moves and athleticism, despite the physical play. Beasley did not back down either blocking a dunk attempt by George Mason signee Eric Lockett at the rim. Simmons finished with a game-high 24 points and seven assists. Beasley had 11 points, six assists and six rebounds.

In the second half, Kaiser Gates provided his own production. The 6-foot-7 junior knocked down some shots during the Knights second half run. He poured in 18 points and nine rebounds. However, it was not enough to take over the lead and tone Whitefield established early in the ball game.

“It was a physical game,” Huff said. “We have to get those 50/50 balls. They were outworking us. We have to get tougher if we are going to beat them.”

Johnson was just fine on how the game was played.

“I loved the we did it,” he said. “That what we are about. It’s our calling card.”

Lockett finished with 15 points and eight rebounds for Whitefield. Brandon Myles had 15 points as well. Norman Harris scored 10 points.