No Holiday Cheer For Wawasee

July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.

By Ora M. Freeman, Times-Union Sports Correspondent-

GOSHEN -ÊNorthWood coach Dan Gunn received a tie from his daughter as a Christmas present.

The idea was not to make her father look better directing the NorthWood Panthers on the court but to give his team a hand.

The tie has an eye chart on it, and according to coach Gunn, the daughter's plan was to help the Panthers get better calls.

The gift's intent was true to form as NorthWood got to the free-throw line 12 times in the first half in a 73-60 win over Wawasee in Monday's Goshen Holiday Tournament.

Wawasee entered the game looking for its first win of the season but would come up shorthanded. The Warriors were whistled for 17 fouls in the first half which led to 17 points.

The Warriors could muster only eight second-quarter points on a paltry 3-of-12 shooting performance.

NorthWood went to the locker room with a 20-point lead thanks to those first-half free throws, 11 of which came in the second quarter.

The whistles blew less in the second half, but things really wouldn't change for the Warriors as they went scoreless until the 3:36 mark in the third quarter. A run of six turnovers extended NorthWood's lead to 30.

With two starters at four fouls each, Wawasee coach Jerry Davis went with a zone defense and kept those players in the game.

The gamble paid off for Davis, as the zone caused fits for the Panthers and helped Wawasee cut the lead down to 14 early in the fourth. The zone caused six straight NorthWood turnovers that led to 10 Warrior points. The zone defense and good offensive play helped the Warriors for a while, but as time went on, they returned to their old form, turning the ball over on four straight possessions.

The game ended like it began, with screeching referee whistles putting the Panthers on the line.

"For two-and-a-half quarters we played pretty well," Gunn said. "I liked the way we got up and down the floor. I was disappointed with the way we handled their two-three zone."

As happy as Gunn was with his team, Davis was that unhappy with his.

"I thought the first half we played very poorly," the winless coach said. "We got frustrated early and got into foul trouble. The difference primarily for us was to play defense without fouling."

NorthWood (3-2) will play Northridge (4-4) in tonight's championship game, while Wawasee (0-7) will face 1-6 Goshen in the consolation game.

NORTHWOOD 73 WAWASEE 60

NorthWood 17 27 14 15-73

Wawasee 16 8 16 20-60

NorthWood FG FT R Pts

Huber 4-9 12-14 4 22

Nunemaker 5-7 2-2 3 12

Reed 4-10 4-5 4 12

Martin 3-8 4-4 5 10

Roeder 2-4 3-5 1 7

Doty 1-3 4-6 6 6

Hochstetler 1-1 0-0 1 2

Will 1-1 0-0 0 2

Bradley 0-0 0-0 6 0

Totals 21-43 29-36 30 73

Wawasee FG FT R Pts

Warner 5-7 4-6 6 14

Lambert 4-8 2-3 6 11

High 3-7 4-4 4 10

Nethaway 4-7 1-2 4 9

Wilson 2-4 3-4 1 8

Adkins 2-5 0-0 1 5

Gradle 1-2 0-0 0 3

Zolman 0-3 0-0 0 0

Packer 0-1 0-0 1 0

Ploszek 0-1 0-0 0 0

Totals 21-45 14-19 23 60

Three-pointers - NorthWood 2 (Huber 2), Wawasee 4 (Lambert, Wilson, Gradle, Adkins). Turnovers - NorthWood 19, Wawasee 22. Fouls - NorthWood 18, Wawasee 27. Fouled out - Bradley, Nethaway, Wilson.

Referees - Ron Gradeless, Tim Smith

Other first-round game: Northridge 53, Goshen 41 [[In-content Ad]]

GOSHEN -ÊNorthWood coach Dan Gunn received a tie from his daughter as a Christmas present.

The idea was not to make her father look better directing the NorthWood Panthers on the court but to give his team a hand.

The tie has an eye chart on it, and according to coach Gunn, the daughter's plan was to help the Panthers get better calls.

The gift's intent was true to form as NorthWood got to the free-throw line 12 times in the first half in a 73-60 win over Wawasee in Monday's Goshen Holiday Tournament.

Wawasee entered the game looking for its first win of the season but would come up shorthanded. The Warriors were whistled for 17 fouls in the first half which led to 17 points.

The Warriors could muster only eight second-quarter points on a paltry 3-of-12 shooting performance.

NorthWood went to the locker room with a 20-point lead thanks to those first-half free throws, 11 of which came in the second quarter.

The whistles blew less in the second half, but things really wouldn't change for the Warriors as they went scoreless until the 3:36 mark in the third quarter. A run of six turnovers extended NorthWood's lead to 30.

With two starters at four fouls each, Wawasee coach Jerry Davis went with a zone defense and kept those players in the game.

The gamble paid off for Davis, as the zone caused fits for the Panthers and helped Wawasee cut the lead down to 14 early in the fourth. The zone caused six straight NorthWood turnovers that led to 10 Warrior points. The zone defense and good offensive play helped the Warriors for a while, but as time went on, they returned to their old form, turning the ball over on four straight possessions.

The game ended like it began, with screeching referee whistles putting the Panthers on the line.

"For two-and-a-half quarters we played pretty well," Gunn said. "I liked the way we got up and down the floor. I was disappointed with the way we handled their two-three zone."

As happy as Gunn was with his team, Davis was that unhappy with his.

"I thought the first half we played very poorly," the winless coach said. "We got frustrated early and got into foul trouble. The difference primarily for us was to play defense without fouling."

NorthWood (3-2) will play Northridge (4-4) in tonight's championship game, while Wawasee (0-7) will face 1-6 Goshen in the consolation game.

NORTHWOOD 73 WAWASEE 60

NorthWood 17 27 14 15-73

Wawasee 16 8 16 20-60

NorthWood FG FT R Pts

Huber 4-9 12-14 4 22

Nunemaker 5-7 2-2 3 12

Reed 4-10 4-5 4 12

Martin 3-8 4-4 5 10

Roeder 2-4 3-5 1 7

Doty 1-3 4-6 6 6

Hochstetler 1-1 0-0 1 2

Will 1-1 0-0 0 2

Bradley 0-0 0-0 6 0

Totals 21-43 29-36 30 73

Wawasee FG FT R Pts

Warner 5-7 4-6 6 14

Lambert 4-8 2-3 6 11

High 3-7 4-4 4 10

Nethaway 4-7 1-2 4 9

Wilson 2-4 3-4 1 8

Adkins 2-5 0-0 1 5

Gradle 1-2 0-0 0 3

Zolman 0-3 0-0 0 0

Packer 0-1 0-0 1 0

Ploszek 0-1 0-0 0 0

Totals 21-45 14-19 23 60

Three-pointers - NorthWood 2 (Huber 2), Wawasee 4 (Lambert, Wilson, Gradle, Adkins). Turnovers - NorthWood 19, Wawasee 22. Fouls - NorthWood 18, Wawasee 27. Fouled out - Bradley, Nethaway, Wilson.

Referees - Ron Gradeless, Tim Smith

Other first-round game: Northridge 53, Goshen 41 [[In-content Ad]]

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