SOUTH WHITLEY - The Whitko against Huntington North boys basketball game had a bit more drama than most Saturday night. After all, it was Whitko head coach Fred Fields' first battle against the school where he coached girls basketball for 10 years, including two state championships.

However, the drama ended there Saturday as Huntington North jumped out to a 12-2 lead and won easily, 64-39. Josh Gonzalez led Whitko with 14 points on four three-pointers, but the Wildcats shot just 36 percent for the game.

As a team, Huntington North came into the game shooting 52 percent from the field and took 13 more shots than Whitko, 52-39. Although the Vikings were down a bit, shooting just 48 percent on the night, it was plenty enough in the 25-point win. Also, Huntington North had just one turnover for the game at the midway point of the fourth quarter and ended with just three.

Ben Mohr opened the scoring in the game with a jumper that gave the Wildcats a 2-0 advantage, the only lead that Whitko would hold in the game. Huntington North then scored 12 straight points over the next five minutes to take a double-digit lead. Matt Manges scored six points in the run and Rick Hall added four.

The Wildcats fought back a bit to end the quarter with three points to close to 12-5 at the end of one period.

In the second quarter, Huntington North extended the lead to 28-16 as freshman-team leading scorer Sean Kline saw his first action of the game. He had four points in the quarter and a pair of rebounds. Whitko was never closer than the seven points that the Wildcats trailed heading into the period.

In the second half, Whitko showed a few slight signs of life, but not much more. Gonzalez opened the period with a three-pointer to get to within nine points and trailed 30-21 with six minutes to play in the third. But Huntington North scored the next nine points and had a 14-2 streak to end the quarter leading 45-23.

The fourth quarter was nothing more than a chance to let the younger players get a chance to see some varsity time on the floor as the Vikings outscored the Wildcats 19-16 in the final eight minutes for the 64-39 win.

"Physically we were (outmatched)," Fields said. "They've got kids who are playing year-round basketball and this is just the start of year-round basketball for Whitko High School."

Hall played a solid all-around game for Huntington North with 18 points, six rebounds, five steals and four assists. Manges added 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting with five rebounds.

"Another big difference is the weight room," Fields said. "When I came here, we had to draw maps to show the guys how to find the weight room. Manges, for example, is a great example of what the weight room has done for a kid. He can play the game now, whereas before, he was just a participant."

Whitko (1-7) will host Manchester on Jan. 9. [[In-content Ad]]