City's High Screens Lower Boom On Whitko
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
COLUMBIA CITY - The basketball game ended, and as the fans walked toward the exits, they repeated the same question over and over.
The only difference was the wording and the tone.
"When is the last time we beat Whitko?" you heard an overjoyed Eagles fan ask.
"When is the last time we lost to Columbia City?" you overheard a disgusted Whitko fan grumble.
That was 1990, but it happened again in 1996, the day before Thanksgiving. Columbia City 66, Whitko 57 the scoreboard showed.
Whitko had one lead: 2-0. The Eagles (1-0) led the Wildcats (0-1) the rest of the way. And one thing is certain: the new coaching staff of Chris Benedict, Chad Christman and John Snyder have breathed life into a Columbia City program that had been mired in mediocrity.
Benedict probably could have been elected mayor in Columbia City on this night. As he did his postgame radio interview, a lady stood nearby the whole time. When he took the headset off, she rushed up to him, said "Congratulations," and rushed away.
His Eagles beat the cross-county rivals. Benedict did not downplay the significance of this win.
"Their time," Benedict said of his team after the game, "has come. They've made the turn here. It's one game, but it's an important step in the direction our program wants to go."
On paper, this looked like a rebuilding season for the Eagles. They have only one returning starter, but they played like they were in midseason form. They started three juniors and a sophomore, but they had only 12 turnovers.
For four quarters, Columbia City high-screened Whitko to death. The guards dumped the ball down to the low-post players, who hit lay-up after lay-up. That was the game plan, and somehow, it worked from start to finish.
Guard Matt Moore had nine assists for the Eagles, and guard Chad Graves added eight. Jason Elkins, Columbia City's 6-foot-4, 235-pound sophomore who starts at center, scored 16 under the basket on 6-of-9 shooting. Backup center Chris Joy, a 6-4 senior, scored 12 on 4-of-5 shooting.
"We want to work inside-out," Benedict said. "I thought our quickness would spread them out a little bit and get us some easy looks in the paint. We were just going to pound it inside to Joy and Elkins until they stopped us. The team that gets the ball in the paint the most is the team that's going to be successful."
The Eagles finished with 36 points in the paint. Add to that 21 points from the free throw line. That's 57 of the 66 points. They hit 22 of 36 field goals (61 percent) and 21 of 27 free throws (77 percent).
Their points came way too easy," Whitko coach Dave Henson said.
"Our inside defense was bad," Coach Henson said. "Their big people killed us inside, Elkins and Joy. There's no two ways about it. They killed us. Hey, just every phase of the game was bad.
"They executed their offense. Our defense back down under was terrible. I mean, our guys kept getting picked off. There was no communication. It resulted in easy shots."
Whitko didn't have height as an excuse. Four Whitko starters were 6-3 or taller, but the Wildcats never adjusted to the high screens the Eagles set.
The one question everybody has about the Whitko offense was only partially answered this game: Who, outside of Zach Henson, can score on this team? Henson did his thing, scoring 19 on 7-of-19 shooting from the floor. Just like he did in last year's sectional here, he hit a launched a three-pointer from more than 30 feet out as time ran off the clock in the first half, pulling Whitko within 30-25.
Bo Mullins added 17 on 8-of-13 shooting. Many were offensive rebounds he tipped back in.
After that, no other Wildcat scored more than six points.
A Jeremiah Laws bucket pulled Whitko within, 39-37, in the third quarter. That was as close as the Wildcats would get, as the Eagles scored the next four points the same way they had been scoring the others: a field goal under the basket, followed by two free throws. Columbia City led 43-37.
"We countered every time they made a run," Benedict said. The Eagle lead was 8 to 12 points the whole fourth quarter.
"Columbia City played well," Coach Henson said. "They outhustled us, outdid us in everything. They deserved to win, and we didn't.
"I thought their coach outcoached me. We didn't do anything quite right. Dribbled too much. Didn't hit the basket. Didn't hit our free throws (5 of 12). They were diving after loose balls. We stood around and watched them."
Whitko, 0-1, tries to get on track Saturday at home against Homestead.
Girls: Columbia City 69,
Whitko 32
There was no boys' junior varsity game played as the varsity girls met in the opener.
Whitko did the last thing head coach Ray Davis probably wanted to see: fall behind early.
Columbia City's full-court defense confused and confounded a young Whitko team early, causing numerous turnovers that the Eagles turned into layups.
The Eagles led 14-2 with three minutes left in the first quarter. They extended that to 23-7 by the end of the first quarter. They owned a commanding 38-14 lead at halftime.
Erica Schory scored 20 to lead Columbia City. Stephanie Warner's 12 led Whitko.
Whitko, 2-2, hosts a 6:30 p.m. game with Northfield on Tuesday. [[In-content Ad]]
COLUMBIA CITY - The basketball game ended, and as the fans walked toward the exits, they repeated the same question over and over.
The only difference was the wording and the tone.
"When is the last time we beat Whitko?" you heard an overjoyed Eagles fan ask.
"When is the last time we lost to Columbia City?" you overheard a disgusted Whitko fan grumble.
That was 1990, but it happened again in 1996, the day before Thanksgiving. Columbia City 66, Whitko 57 the scoreboard showed.
Whitko had one lead: 2-0. The Eagles (1-0) led the Wildcats (0-1) the rest of the way. And one thing is certain: the new coaching staff of Chris Benedict, Chad Christman and John Snyder have breathed life into a Columbia City program that had been mired in mediocrity.
Benedict probably could have been elected mayor in Columbia City on this night. As he did his postgame radio interview, a lady stood nearby the whole time. When he took the headset off, she rushed up to him, said "Congratulations," and rushed away.
His Eagles beat the cross-county rivals. Benedict did not downplay the significance of this win.
"Their time," Benedict said of his team after the game, "has come. They've made the turn here. It's one game, but it's an important step in the direction our program wants to go."
On paper, this looked like a rebuilding season for the Eagles. They have only one returning starter, but they played like they were in midseason form. They started three juniors and a sophomore, but they had only 12 turnovers.
For four quarters, Columbia City high-screened Whitko to death. The guards dumped the ball down to the low-post players, who hit lay-up after lay-up. That was the game plan, and somehow, it worked from start to finish.
Guard Matt Moore had nine assists for the Eagles, and guard Chad Graves added eight. Jason Elkins, Columbia City's 6-foot-4, 235-pound sophomore who starts at center, scored 16 under the basket on 6-of-9 shooting. Backup center Chris Joy, a 6-4 senior, scored 12 on 4-of-5 shooting.
"We want to work inside-out," Benedict said. "I thought our quickness would spread them out a little bit and get us some easy looks in the paint. We were just going to pound it inside to Joy and Elkins until they stopped us. The team that gets the ball in the paint the most is the team that's going to be successful."
The Eagles finished with 36 points in the paint. Add to that 21 points from the free throw line. That's 57 of the 66 points. They hit 22 of 36 field goals (61 percent) and 21 of 27 free throws (77 percent).
Their points came way too easy," Whitko coach Dave Henson said.
"Our inside defense was bad," Coach Henson said. "Their big people killed us inside, Elkins and Joy. There's no two ways about it. They killed us. Hey, just every phase of the game was bad.
"They executed their offense. Our defense back down under was terrible. I mean, our guys kept getting picked off. There was no communication. It resulted in easy shots."
Whitko didn't have height as an excuse. Four Whitko starters were 6-3 or taller, but the Wildcats never adjusted to the high screens the Eagles set.
The one question everybody has about the Whitko offense was only partially answered this game: Who, outside of Zach Henson, can score on this team? Henson did his thing, scoring 19 on 7-of-19 shooting from the floor. Just like he did in last year's sectional here, he hit a launched a three-pointer from more than 30 feet out as time ran off the clock in the first half, pulling Whitko within 30-25.
Bo Mullins added 17 on 8-of-13 shooting. Many were offensive rebounds he tipped back in.
After that, no other Wildcat scored more than six points.
A Jeremiah Laws bucket pulled Whitko within, 39-37, in the third quarter. That was as close as the Wildcats would get, as the Eagles scored the next four points the same way they had been scoring the others: a field goal under the basket, followed by two free throws. Columbia City led 43-37.
"We countered every time they made a run," Benedict said. The Eagle lead was 8 to 12 points the whole fourth quarter.
"Columbia City played well," Coach Henson said. "They outhustled us, outdid us in everything. They deserved to win, and we didn't.
"I thought their coach outcoached me. We didn't do anything quite right. Dribbled too much. Didn't hit the basket. Didn't hit our free throws (5 of 12). They were diving after loose balls. We stood around and watched them."
Whitko, 0-1, tries to get on track Saturday at home against Homestead.
Girls: Columbia City 69,
Whitko 32
There was no boys' junior varsity game played as the varsity girls met in the opener.
Whitko did the last thing head coach Ray Davis probably wanted to see: fall behind early.
Columbia City's full-court defense confused and confounded a young Whitko team early, causing numerous turnovers that the Eagles turned into layups.
The Eagles led 14-2 with three minutes left in the first quarter. They extended that to 23-7 by the end of the first quarter. They owned a commanding 38-14 lead at halftime.
Erica Schory scored 20 to lead Columbia City. Stephanie Warner's 12 led Whitko.
Whitko, 2-2, hosts a 6:30 p.m. game with Northfield on Tuesday. [[In-content Ad]]