Warriors Win Another Close Game
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Surviving a long-distance three-point attempt by Columbia City freshman Drew Benedict, the Wawasee Warriors (14-7) beat the host Eagles (13-8) by a 73-70 count, advancing to tonight's 7:30 p.m. championship game against West Noble.[[In-content Ad]]West Noble beat NorthWood 66-53 in Friday's second semifinal game.
"They got a great look, but he was really far out," Wawasee coach Phil Mishler said about the final shot of the game. "We did about as well as we could have on that play."
Wawasee had a three-point cushion at that point thanks to two free throws by senior Keegan Beer with 10.8 seconds to play, helping him tie freshman Jacob Thompson with a team-high 20 points.
"In a sectional game, your seniors have that sense that, 'It's either now or never, and this is my last shot,'" Mishler said of Beer. "He responded."
Coincidentally, in Tuesday's 60-59 first-round win over Whitko, it was Thompson who gave his team the lead with two free throws, his coming with 10.9 seconds left.
"It was almost the exact same situation," Mishler said. "That's a credit to our guys for being able to step up and hit those shots."
Thompson has stepped up the postseason, not only scoring 20 points in the win, but also getting a team-high three steals to go with six rebounds.
"He's playing with a lot of confidence right now," Mishler said of the 6-foot-3 Thompson. "He understands the game extremely well, and he's getting stronger every day, every week. That's really starting to help him. He's now able to withstand some of the bumping and grabbing at the ball. He's always been able to score, he's always been able to pass, it's just now, he's strong with the ball."
And that strength showed Friday night, as Thompson went 2 of 7 from behind the arc, and also drove the lane, hitting 4 of 5 inside the arc.
"He's just a really good player," Columbia City coach Chris Benedict said. "He's difficult to defend because he is so versatile. He can do a lot of different things. He's only going to get stronger."
Benedict had a good one of his own, as senior Brice Lantz closed his prep career with an 8-of-9 shooting night, good for 23 points to go with eight rebounds and three assists.
Lantz's eight boards were a team-high and helped Columbia City tie Wawasee with 27 rebounds, but after nabbing 10 offensive rebounds in the first half, the Eagles got just three in the second.
The biggest reason for that turnaround was Wawasee junior Riley Stichter, whose seven rebounds in the second half gave him 11 for the game, accompanying his 13 points.
"Columbia City has a good inside game," Mishler said. "They have strength inside, they've got good height and they have some real good shooters. I'm not so sure they're not better shooters than we are. That makes it hard to guard someone. So, with that, I thought it would be won in the paint, on the boards. We challenged them in the second half, and Riley stepped up."
That inside game belonged to the Warriors, who hit 78 percent of their two-point field goals, compared to Columbia City's 58 percent.
Wawasee was also the victor in free throw shooting, making 15 of their 24 attempts to Columbia City's 13 of 24, including 1 of 4 in the final quarter.
"They make you play at a different pace than you're used to playing at," Benedict said of Wawasee. "Your legs aren't quite under you at times, but you have to step up and hit free throws."
Tonight's championship game will be Wawasee's first trip to the title match since Wawasee beat NorthWood 66-60 in 2006 at NorthWood.
WAWASEE 73, COLUMBIA CITY 70
C 18 19 13 20 - 70
W 17 18 19 19 - 73
Wawasee - Keegan Beer 6-10 4-4 20, Trevor McKibben 3-4 5-8 11, Jacob Thompson 7-13 4-5 20, Riley Stichter 5-7 2-7 13, Cody McBride 0-0 0-0 0, Cody Blunk 0-0 0-0 0, Jake Clark 0-0 0-0 0, Logan Hatfield 3-6 0-0 9, Zac Patrick 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-40 15-24 73.
CC - Brice Lantz 8-9 5-11 23, Brandon Gay 1-2 0-0 3, Matt Schmidt 4-9 1-2 9, Chris Bachelder 3-9 0-0 6, Tyler Mosher 2-5 0-2 4, Drew Benedict 3-10 5-6 14, Andy Moog 0-0 0-0 0, Derek Hinen 4-7 2-3 11, Cole Smith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-51 13-24 70.
Three-point goals - Wawasee 10-22 (Beer 4, Hatfield 3, Thompson 2, Stichter), CC 7-20 (Benedict 3, Lantz 2, Gay, Hinen); Team Fouls (fouled out) - Wawasee 21, CC 20 (Bachelder); Turnovers - Wawasee 13, CC 11; Rebounds - Wawasee 27 (Stichter 11), CC 27 (Lantz 8); Assists - Wawasee 11 (McKibben 5), CC 6 (Lantz 3); Steals - Wawasee 7 (Thompson 3), CC 6 (Schmidt 3); Blocks - Wawasee 0, CC 1; Records: Wawasee 15-7, Columbia City 13-8
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Surviving a long-distance three-point attempt by Columbia City freshman Drew Benedict, the Wawasee Warriors (14-7) beat the host Eagles (13-8) by a 73-70 count, advancing to tonight's 7:30 p.m. championship game against West Noble.[[In-content Ad]]West Noble beat NorthWood 66-53 in Friday's second semifinal game.
"They got a great look, but he was really far out," Wawasee coach Phil Mishler said about the final shot of the game. "We did about as well as we could have on that play."
Wawasee had a three-point cushion at that point thanks to two free throws by senior Keegan Beer with 10.8 seconds to play, helping him tie freshman Jacob Thompson with a team-high 20 points.
"In a sectional game, your seniors have that sense that, 'It's either now or never, and this is my last shot,'" Mishler said of Beer. "He responded."
Coincidentally, in Tuesday's 60-59 first-round win over Whitko, it was Thompson who gave his team the lead with two free throws, his coming with 10.9 seconds left.
"It was almost the exact same situation," Mishler said. "That's a credit to our guys for being able to step up and hit those shots."
Thompson has stepped up the postseason, not only scoring 20 points in the win, but also getting a team-high three steals to go with six rebounds.
"He's playing with a lot of confidence right now," Mishler said of the 6-foot-3 Thompson. "He understands the game extremely well, and he's getting stronger every day, every week. That's really starting to help him. He's now able to withstand some of the bumping and grabbing at the ball. He's always been able to score, he's always been able to pass, it's just now, he's strong with the ball."
And that strength showed Friday night, as Thompson went 2 of 7 from behind the arc, and also drove the lane, hitting 4 of 5 inside the arc.
"He's just a really good player," Columbia City coach Chris Benedict said. "He's difficult to defend because he is so versatile. He can do a lot of different things. He's only going to get stronger."
Benedict had a good one of his own, as senior Brice Lantz closed his prep career with an 8-of-9 shooting night, good for 23 points to go with eight rebounds and three assists.
Lantz's eight boards were a team-high and helped Columbia City tie Wawasee with 27 rebounds, but after nabbing 10 offensive rebounds in the first half, the Eagles got just three in the second.
The biggest reason for that turnaround was Wawasee junior Riley Stichter, whose seven rebounds in the second half gave him 11 for the game, accompanying his 13 points.
"Columbia City has a good inside game," Mishler said. "They have strength inside, they've got good height and they have some real good shooters. I'm not so sure they're not better shooters than we are. That makes it hard to guard someone. So, with that, I thought it would be won in the paint, on the boards. We challenged them in the second half, and Riley stepped up."
That inside game belonged to the Warriors, who hit 78 percent of their two-point field goals, compared to Columbia City's 58 percent.
Wawasee was also the victor in free throw shooting, making 15 of their 24 attempts to Columbia City's 13 of 24, including 1 of 4 in the final quarter.
"They make you play at a different pace than you're used to playing at," Benedict said of Wawasee. "Your legs aren't quite under you at times, but you have to step up and hit free throws."
Tonight's championship game will be Wawasee's first trip to the title match since Wawasee beat NorthWood 66-60 in 2006 at NorthWood.
WAWASEE 73, COLUMBIA CITY 70
C 18 19 13 20 - 70
W 17 18 19 19 - 73
Wawasee - Keegan Beer 6-10 4-4 20, Trevor McKibben 3-4 5-8 11, Jacob Thompson 7-13 4-5 20, Riley Stichter 5-7 2-7 13, Cody McBride 0-0 0-0 0, Cody Blunk 0-0 0-0 0, Jake Clark 0-0 0-0 0, Logan Hatfield 3-6 0-0 9, Zac Patrick 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-40 15-24 73.
CC - Brice Lantz 8-9 5-11 23, Brandon Gay 1-2 0-0 3, Matt Schmidt 4-9 1-2 9, Chris Bachelder 3-9 0-0 6, Tyler Mosher 2-5 0-2 4, Drew Benedict 3-10 5-6 14, Andy Moog 0-0 0-0 0, Derek Hinen 4-7 2-3 11, Cole Smith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-51 13-24 70.
Three-point goals - Wawasee 10-22 (Beer 4, Hatfield 3, Thompson 2, Stichter), CC 7-20 (Benedict 3, Lantz 2, Gay, Hinen); Team Fouls (fouled out) - Wawasee 21, CC 20 (Bachelder); Turnovers - Wawasee 13, CC 11; Rebounds - Wawasee 27 (Stichter 11), CC 27 (Lantz 8); Assists - Wawasee 11 (McKibben 5), CC 6 (Lantz 3); Steals - Wawasee 7 (Thompson 3), CC 6 (Schmidt 3); Blocks - Wawasee 0, CC 1; Records: Wawasee 15-7, Columbia City 13-8
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