Wawasee Gets First NLC Win In Davis Era
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SYRACUSE - Wawasee coach Jerry Davis talked this week about how his team had to do a better job of closing out basketball games in the final three minutes.
Last weekend, his Warriors twice fell in the closing moments. Friday night, however, Wawasee completed the game with a flurry in defeating Concord 62-59 for the first NLC win in Davis' two-year tenure as coach of the Warriors.
"I'm not saying that this is going to get us over the hill, but now we know what we've got to do, and the difference between what we've been doing and what we did tonight," Davis said. "You can practice it all you want, but you've got to carry it over into the game."
Wawasee got help from a number of places up and down the lineup. With Brody Stipp still feeling the effects of a car accident on Sunday, the Warriors were a bit shorthanded inside. Stipp played some, but did not start and did not get as much playing time as usual.
Brad Brown helped out in the first quarter by knocking in a pair of three-pointers to quickly erase an eight-point deficit. Narron Graves did the job in the middle two quarters by making all five of his shots in those 16 minutes, including a pair of three-pointers. And Jared Mahnensmith helped the Warriors seal the deal in the fourth quarter by making 7 of 9 free throws in the final three minutes.
But it wasn't easy for Wawasee to break the four-game losing streak that it rode into the game. With three minutes to play, the Warriors led 50-49. Then it became a matter of making free throws to nail down the game, and Wawasee did that.
The Warriors led 60-52 with 28 seconds to play when it began to fall apart. Concord's Travis Carter made a pair of free throws with 20 seconds to play to make it a six-point game. Mahnensmith made just 1 of 2 free throws, and Brad Brown fouled Ryan St. Germain shooting a three-pointer with 12 seconds left. St. Germain made all three freebies to make the score 61-57. Carter then stole the inbounds pass and scored a layup with seven seconds to play.
After a timeout, Mahnensmith was fouled and went to the line with three seconds left. He missed the first attempt, but made the second to give Wawasee a three-point advantage. Concord's three-point heave at the buzzer bounced off the back of the rim to finally give the Warriors their third win of the season.
"(The last three minutes) weren't perfect, but it's better than it was," Davis said. "We'll get better on it this next week too. I think it's a tribute to our kids that we've been able to play so many games close and we've just got to continue to work on those type of things."
Concord went on a 9-0 run early in the first quarter to take an 11-3 lead with 3:21 to play in the first. But Brown answered with two three-pointers, and Graves hit a leaning jumper at the buzzer to give the Warriors a 15-13 lead after one period. Sophomore Jeremy High, who was playing in just his second varsity game and got his first career start, scored four points in the period. He ended the game with six points and six rebounds.
"(High) came in and played very well," Davis said. "He's got a lot of things to learn, but he played very well for a sophomore and it being his (second) game."
In the second period, Wawasee continued to pour it on as Graves opened with a jumper and a three-pointer to give the Warriors 20-13 advantage. However, Concord came back with seven straight points to tie the game.
From that point, until three minutes to play in the game, Wawasee and Concord went back and forth matching basket for basket. It hardly looked like a game between the two times battling for last place in the NLC. Concord ended up shooting 50 percent from the field while the Warriors made 48 percent.
"When we got opportunities or had our backs against the wall, we were patient enough to get the shot we wanted," Davis said. "It didn't always go down, but it went down a whole lot more tonight than in some other games."
In all, there were five ties and 13 lead changes before Wawasee could finally gain control of the game. The Warriors had four players score in double figures, and Graves led them with 19. Mahnensmith and Stipp each had 11, and Brown scored 10.
Wawasee (3-12, 1-4) will host Manchester tonight. [[In-content Ad]]
SYRACUSE - Wawasee coach Jerry Davis talked this week about how his team had to do a better job of closing out basketball games in the final three minutes.
Last weekend, his Warriors twice fell in the closing moments. Friday night, however, Wawasee completed the game with a flurry in defeating Concord 62-59 for the first NLC win in Davis' two-year tenure as coach of the Warriors.
"I'm not saying that this is going to get us over the hill, but now we know what we've got to do, and the difference between what we've been doing and what we did tonight," Davis said. "You can practice it all you want, but you've got to carry it over into the game."
Wawasee got help from a number of places up and down the lineup. With Brody Stipp still feeling the effects of a car accident on Sunday, the Warriors were a bit shorthanded inside. Stipp played some, but did not start and did not get as much playing time as usual.
Brad Brown helped out in the first quarter by knocking in a pair of three-pointers to quickly erase an eight-point deficit. Narron Graves did the job in the middle two quarters by making all five of his shots in those 16 minutes, including a pair of three-pointers. And Jared Mahnensmith helped the Warriors seal the deal in the fourth quarter by making 7 of 9 free throws in the final three minutes.
But it wasn't easy for Wawasee to break the four-game losing streak that it rode into the game. With three minutes to play, the Warriors led 50-49. Then it became a matter of making free throws to nail down the game, and Wawasee did that.
The Warriors led 60-52 with 28 seconds to play when it began to fall apart. Concord's Travis Carter made a pair of free throws with 20 seconds to play to make it a six-point game. Mahnensmith made just 1 of 2 free throws, and Brad Brown fouled Ryan St. Germain shooting a three-pointer with 12 seconds left. St. Germain made all three freebies to make the score 61-57. Carter then stole the inbounds pass and scored a layup with seven seconds to play.
After a timeout, Mahnensmith was fouled and went to the line with three seconds left. He missed the first attempt, but made the second to give Wawasee a three-point advantage. Concord's three-point heave at the buzzer bounced off the back of the rim to finally give the Warriors their third win of the season.
"(The last three minutes) weren't perfect, but it's better than it was," Davis said. "We'll get better on it this next week too. I think it's a tribute to our kids that we've been able to play so many games close and we've just got to continue to work on those type of things."
Concord went on a 9-0 run early in the first quarter to take an 11-3 lead with 3:21 to play in the first. But Brown answered with two three-pointers, and Graves hit a leaning jumper at the buzzer to give the Warriors a 15-13 lead after one period. Sophomore Jeremy High, who was playing in just his second varsity game and got his first career start, scored four points in the period. He ended the game with six points and six rebounds.
"(High) came in and played very well," Davis said. "He's got a lot of things to learn, but he played very well for a sophomore and it being his (second) game."
In the second period, Wawasee continued to pour it on as Graves opened with a jumper and a three-pointer to give the Warriors 20-13 advantage. However, Concord came back with seven straight points to tie the game.
From that point, until three minutes to play in the game, Wawasee and Concord went back and forth matching basket for basket. It hardly looked like a game between the two times battling for last place in the NLC. Concord ended up shooting 50 percent from the field while the Warriors made 48 percent.
"When we got opportunities or had our backs against the wall, we were patient enough to get the shot we wanted," Davis said. "It didn't always go down, but it went down a whole lot more tonight than in some other games."
In all, there were five ties and 13 lead changes before Wawasee could finally gain control of the game. The Warriors had four players score in double figures, and Graves led them with 19. Mahnensmith and Stipp each had 11, and Brown scored 10.
Wawasee (3-12, 1-4) will host Manchester tonight. [[In-content Ad]]