Wawasee Boys Beat Whitko
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Cliff Tanner-
In the end, however, Wawasee held off Whitko to escape with a 67-56 win.[[In-content Ad]]"You have to give credit to Whitko, they came right at us. They are a heck of a team. They played basketball the way it should be played," Wawasee coach Phil Mishler said.
Wawasee jumped out to a commanding 19-6 lead after the first quarter. The Warriors used two 9-0 runs to give Whitko a mountain to climb.
Nick Meztger got the Wildcat offense going in the second quarter, hitting 5 of 6 baskets from three point range. He finished the game with 17 points, all in the second quarter.
"We played the best game tonight that we have all year. Our defense was great, as we overcame a 16-point deficit to take the lead at halftime," Whitko coach Rob Irwin said.
Whitko outscored Wawasee 29-15 in the second to go into the locker room with a 35-34 lead.
Wawasee's Grant Ruch hit a long jumper just inside the three-point line at the buzzer to close to within one. Ruch finished with 17 points and three rebounds.
"We need to beat these kind of teams when we are at home. We had a couple of problems tonight. We had one guy with the flu and sprained back. The second is we had Rowland with four fouls and had to limit his play. We just need to overcome and win these ball games," Irwin said.
Cory Snep came out in the second half and hit two straight baskets to give Whitko a 6-0 run and a 41-34 lead early in the third. Snep finished with 19 points to lead Whitko.
Brandon Geiger starting getting the ball inside and helped the Warriors come back to cut the lead to 47-45 after three quarters. Geiger led all scorers with 24 points, including a 10-of-15 effort from the free throw line. He also pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds.
"We started to get the ball down to the post and it got us back in the game. We have versatile post men and they help us from anywhere. The guys really helped us get this win," Mishler said.
Trent Rowland picked up his fourth foul late in the third. This allowed Wawasee to get into its game. Rowland finished with eight points along with four steals and six rebounds.
Geiger scored eight points and Ruch added seven in the fourth to secure the win for Wawasee. The Warriors used a 9-0 run to start the fourth to take control of the game.
Chas Amadeo scored 10 points and contributed nine rebounds to the Warrior cause. Ross Stichter added eight points.
"The guys did a good job overcoming Whitko's tenacity. They stepped up and pulled together to climb back into the game and find a way to win," Mishler said.
Whitko finished the fourth quarter 3 of 13 from the field. The Wildcats shot 3 of 3 from the free throw line in the quarter.
"We just came up short tonight. Hopefully we will see them again in the sectionals. The kids did a good job and we just have to win these types of games," Irwin said.
In the end, however, Wawasee held off Whitko to escape with a 67-56 win.[[In-content Ad]]"You have to give credit to Whitko, they came right at us. They are a heck of a team. They played basketball the way it should be played," Wawasee coach Phil Mishler said.
Wawasee jumped out to a commanding 19-6 lead after the first quarter. The Warriors used two 9-0 runs to give Whitko a mountain to climb.
Nick Meztger got the Wildcat offense going in the second quarter, hitting 5 of 6 baskets from three point range. He finished the game with 17 points, all in the second quarter.
"We played the best game tonight that we have all year. Our defense was great, as we overcame a 16-point deficit to take the lead at halftime," Whitko coach Rob Irwin said.
Whitko outscored Wawasee 29-15 in the second to go into the locker room with a 35-34 lead.
Wawasee's Grant Ruch hit a long jumper just inside the three-point line at the buzzer to close to within one. Ruch finished with 17 points and three rebounds.
"We need to beat these kind of teams when we are at home. We had a couple of problems tonight. We had one guy with the flu and sprained back. The second is we had Rowland with four fouls and had to limit his play. We just need to overcome and win these ball games," Irwin said.
Cory Snep came out in the second half and hit two straight baskets to give Whitko a 6-0 run and a 41-34 lead early in the third. Snep finished with 19 points to lead Whitko.
Brandon Geiger starting getting the ball inside and helped the Warriors come back to cut the lead to 47-45 after three quarters. Geiger led all scorers with 24 points, including a 10-of-15 effort from the free throw line. He also pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds.
"We started to get the ball down to the post and it got us back in the game. We have versatile post men and they help us from anywhere. The guys really helped us get this win," Mishler said.
Trent Rowland picked up his fourth foul late in the third. This allowed Wawasee to get into its game. Rowland finished with eight points along with four steals and six rebounds.
Geiger scored eight points and Ruch added seven in the fourth to secure the win for Wawasee. The Warriors used a 9-0 run to start the fourth to take control of the game.
Chas Amadeo scored 10 points and contributed nine rebounds to the Warrior cause. Ross Stichter added eight points.
"The guys did a good job overcoming Whitko's tenacity. They stepped up and pulled together to climb back into the game and find a way to win," Mishler said.
Whitko finished the fourth quarter 3 of 13 from the field. The Wildcats shot 3 of 3 from the free throw line in the quarter.
"We just came up short tonight. Hopefully we will see them again in the sectionals. The kids did a good job and we just have to win these types of games," Irwin said.
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