Dorian Waller is a Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Chandler High School for AZPreps365.com.

CHANDLER – The Chandler Wolves had four starters score in double figures on Wednesday night in their 78-67 win against the Verrado Vipers. Senior guard Charles Cobbs led Chandler with 25 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the field and 4-for-7 shooting from three.

Junior forward Brandon Stapleton filled the stat sheet, tallying 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a block. Sophomore center Reid Hamati scored 13 points and pulled down five rebounds. Senior forward Xavier Villa-Antone added 10 points.

Verrado was led by senior guard Christopher Pilato, who scored 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting. The Vipers also received contributions from senior guard Giovanni Guardado, who tallied 15 points, four rebounds and four assists. 

Chandler jumped out to an early 12-2 lead. Cobb's hot start sparked the run for the Wolves, as he scored five early points. The Wolves applied full-court pressure the entire half, forcing several Verrado errors. The Vipers struggled to take care of the ball early on, committing 13 turnovers in the first half.

At halftime, Chandler led 43-27. Cobbs scored 17 of his 25 points in the first half, including all four of his three-point shots. The Vipers were able to keep the game respectable thanks to their shot-making ability from three-point territory.

Vipers senior forward Amari Fletcher drilled four three-pointers, including two in the first half. Pilato connected on six three-pointers, including three shots from well beyond the arc. The Vipers finished the game with 12-for-30 shooting from three.

After going down by as much as 21 in the second half, the Vipers attempted to make a run at the end of the game, cutting the lead to just eight points late in the fourth quarter.

The Vipers' late-game comeback was met with timely buckets by Wolves sophomore guard JT Mercado, who helped make Chandler’s lead insurmountable. 

After the game, Verrado coach Andra Rogers spoke about the Vipers’ turnovers and personnel issues.

“We just watch film and we learn from the experience,” Rogers said. “We were missing one of our guys, so we’re a little thin on our roster tonight. So we just battle, watch film and learn from our mistakes.”

The Wolves pressed the Vipers for most of the game, forcing 22 turnovers. 

“Presses are easy to beat if you know what you're doing, but they're impossible to beat if you've got high energy,” Wolves coach Jonathan Rother said. “And we came out of that game to start with just a massive amount of energy. It almost felt like it was pent up.”

Cobbs, who Rother called one of his better defensive players, echoed his coach’s defensive sentiments.

“We're a big threat and we're very difficult (to beat) because once we feed off of the turnovers, we smell fear in them, then we’re just full throttle,” Cobbs said.

Cobbs was blistering from three-point territory in Wednesday’s win, leading the Wolves in three-point makes. 

“It's a big confidence boost,” Cobbs said. “Once you make those first one or two, you can pull from anywhere.”

Rother called Cobb's hot shooting night one of the deciding factors and the cherry on top in Wednesday’s win.

“When Charles is shooting like that, it's like icing on the cake,” Rother said. “He's our hustle guy. He's one of our better defenders. So when he's hitting shots like that, it's just a big-time bonus for us.”

In addition to their hot shooting, the Wolves tallied 16 assists. Mercado finished the game with a team-high six assists. Rother credited the win to his team’s constant movement and emphasis on team basketball rather than isolation basketball.

“It's usually with the way that we move the ball. It's not really isolation basketball, it's team basketball,” Rother said. “When the ball is popping and moving and we're setting good screens and we're cutting, the assists come easy.”

Cobbs, who is a co-captain for his squad, believes his team is at their best when they’re playing as a unit.

“I trust my teammates. I can hit one of my teammates and I won't even look at the rim because I know it's going in,” Cobbs said. “Just the amount of repetition we have in practice, I can trust them in the game.”

Chandler (5-1) will travel to Mountain View (1-1) on Thursday at 7 p.m. Verrado (1-3) will host Youngker (3-2) on Thursday at 7 p.m.