Wawasee Wins A Wild One In Triple OT
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SYRACUSE - Wow.
That's what almost every person was saying as they left the triple-overtime thriller between the Whitko and Wawasee boys basketball teams in Syracuse Thursday evening.
The Warriors came out on top of the classic Indiana Hoosier Hysteria barn-burner, outlasting the Wildcats 87-83.
However, it did not always look like the Warriors were going to leave the game with a win.
"I was disappointed with the way we came out," said Wawasee coach Phil Mishler. "I don't think we were ready to play. We learned a very important lesson tonight."
Whitko jumped out to an early lead as John Woods, Jeremy Coble and Alex Frantz led the Wildcats to an early 6-2 lead and never looked back.
In the first four quarters, Wawasee held the lead only once. That lead came at the 29.8 mark in the first frame when Kyle Lantz grabbed a steal and netted a basket to put the Warriors up 9-8.
It was all Whitko from there. The Wildcats took a 12-9 lead into the second quarter and Brad Walpole and Derrick Day added to the lead early. The two combined to outscore 6-2 in the first 6:20 to build an 18-11 Wawasee advantage.
By the end of the first half, Whitko had built a 30-22 lead.
"I thought we played very good defense, especially in the first half," said Whitko coach Don Zawlocki. "We did not block out very well, but other than that, our defense was very good."
Walpole hit the first basket of the second half, putting the Wildcats up by 10, 32-22.
The Warriors kicked into gear in the third frame. At the 6:10 mark, Kyle Lantz hit a three-pointer that started a 9-2 Wawasee run. Ryan Stichter, Ben Knisely and Clint Custer all scored to cut Whitko's lead to three, 36-33, and put the Warriors back in the swing of things.
At the end of the third, Whitko was up 38-34, but Wawasee was not about to give in.
The Warriors outscored the Wildcats 17-13 in the final quarter of play. Kory Lantz hit a basket with 1.7 seconds left to tie the game at 51-all. Whitko got the ball out of bounds under the Warrior basket, but Knisely stole the ball as time ran out to send the game into overtime.
In the first overtime period, Wawasee struck first as Stichter hit a basket to make the score 53-51 in favor of the Warriors.
Most of the first overtime period was spent at the charity stripe. In all, 23 free throws were taken as Whitko hit 11 of 12, while Wawasee hit 11 of 11.
Wawasee held a 66-63 lead with 9.7 seconds left, but Walpole was fouled while taking a three-point shot and stepped to the line with 4.4 seconds left in the first overtime period.
Walpole, a senior, was cool as a cucumber at the stripe, hitting all three free throws to tie the game yet again.
Kory Lantz tossed up a three-pointer at the buzzer, but the ball banked off the backboard to send the game into a second overtime.
Kory Lantz hit the first basket of the second overtime period, and the race was on. The teams traded baskets through the four-minute period and with just 42.0 ticks left on the clock, Kory Lantz hit a basket and the ensuing free throw to put the Warriors up 73-72.
But the Warriors gave Whitko a chance with 27.4 seconds left. Derrick Day was fouled behind the three-point line with a chance to give Whitko the lead. However, Day only hit one of the three free throws to send the game into a third overtime.
Stephen Conrad hit a three-pointer to open the third overtime period, then Knisely hit a basket and Kory Lantz hit a free throw to put Wawasee up 79-73.
But Walpole kept the Wildcats in the thick of things by nailing a three-pointer wih 2:23 left to mak the score 79-76 Wawasee.
The Warriors held an 84-80 lead with 41 seconds left on the clock, but Walpole stepped up again.
Walpole tossed up a trey from near the half-court line to make the score 84-83 with only 31.5 seconds left in the game.
Kory Lantz hit three of his last four free throws secure the 87-83 Wawasee win.
"My hat's off to Whitko," said Mishler. "They played hard. The game could have gone either way. They missed some opportunities, and we missed some opportunities earlier in the game that could have changed the outcome."
"Of course I'm disappointed, I don't like to lose," said Zawlocki. "I am pleased with our team. They battled to the end. We had our chance to win the game. We battled back several times in overtime."
Kory Lantz led all scorers with 30 points, while Walpole added 28 points.
"Brad has played much better the last couple games," said Zawlocki. "He wasn't feeling well before the game. If that's the way he's going to play, he can be sick more often."
In all, seven players finished the night in double figures. For Whitko, Alex Frantz netted 23, and Day added 11. Ben Knisely (16 points), Clint Custer (12 points), and Kyle Lantz (12 points) chipped in double-figure scoring for the Warriors.
In a game that saw 56 totals fouls, seven players (Woods, Frantz, Coble, Marc Walter, Aaron Wendel, Custer, and Kyle Lantz) fouled out during the course of the contest.
The win moves Wawasee's record to 8-2 overall, while Whitko falls to 5-4 on the season. That 5-4 record is a bit deceiving, however, as the Wildcats have lost to teams that are a combined 33-3 overall (10-0 Tippecanoe Valley, 7-0 Bluffton, 8-1 Columbia City and 8-2 Wawasee).
Both teams hit the court against Saturday evening as the Warriors travel to NorthWood and the Wildcats host Rochester.
WAWASEE 87, WHITKO 83, 3 OT
Whitko 12 18 8 13 15 7 10 - 83
Wawasee 9 13 12 17 15 7 14 - 87
Whitko FG FT R S Pts.
Jo. Woods 2-7 3-4 7 0 7
Frantz 8-15 7-8 7 1 23
Walpole 7-11 12-12 3 1 28
Coble 4-6 0-0 3 0 8
Walter 0-0 2-2 1 0 2
Day 4-9 3-6 3 0 11
Ja. Woods 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Shepherd 2-2 0-0 1 0 4
Wendel 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Spangle 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 27-50 27-32 25 2 83
Wawasee FG FT R S Pts.
Knisely 5-8 6-7 10 2 16
Stichter 2-3 5-7 1 0 9
Custer 3-6 6-7 11 2 12
Conrad 2-11 3-4 1 2 8
Ko. Lantz 7-14 15-17 0 0 30
Kauchak 0-2 0-2 2 0 0
Ky. Lantz 4-8 3-6 1 2 12
Gingerich 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Gerber 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 23-52 38-50 27 8 87
Three-point goals - Whitko 2-8 (Walpole 2-3, Coble 0-2, Day 0-3), Wawasee 3-15 (Knisely 0-1, Conrad 1-8, Ko. Lantz 1-3, Ky. Lantz 1-3). Fouls - Whitko 33, Wawasee 23. Fouled out - Jo. Woods, Frantz, Coble, Walter, Wendel, Custer, Ky. Lantz.
JV -ÊWawasee 47, Whitko 36 [[In-content Ad]]
SYRACUSE - Wow.
That's what almost every person was saying as they left the triple-overtime thriller between the Whitko and Wawasee boys basketball teams in Syracuse Thursday evening.
The Warriors came out on top of the classic Indiana Hoosier Hysteria barn-burner, outlasting the Wildcats 87-83.
However, it did not always look like the Warriors were going to leave the game with a win.
"I was disappointed with the way we came out," said Wawasee coach Phil Mishler. "I don't think we were ready to play. We learned a very important lesson tonight."
Whitko jumped out to an early lead as John Woods, Jeremy Coble and Alex Frantz led the Wildcats to an early 6-2 lead and never looked back.
In the first four quarters, Wawasee held the lead only once. That lead came at the 29.8 mark in the first frame when Kyle Lantz grabbed a steal and netted a basket to put the Warriors up 9-8.
It was all Whitko from there. The Wildcats took a 12-9 lead into the second quarter and Brad Walpole and Derrick Day added to the lead early. The two combined to outscore 6-2 in the first 6:20 to build an 18-11 Wawasee advantage.
By the end of the first half, Whitko had built a 30-22 lead.
"I thought we played very good defense, especially in the first half," said Whitko coach Don Zawlocki. "We did not block out very well, but other than that, our defense was very good."
Walpole hit the first basket of the second half, putting the Wildcats up by 10, 32-22.
The Warriors kicked into gear in the third frame. At the 6:10 mark, Kyle Lantz hit a three-pointer that started a 9-2 Wawasee run. Ryan Stichter, Ben Knisely and Clint Custer all scored to cut Whitko's lead to three, 36-33, and put the Warriors back in the swing of things.
At the end of the third, Whitko was up 38-34, but Wawasee was not about to give in.
The Warriors outscored the Wildcats 17-13 in the final quarter of play. Kory Lantz hit a basket with 1.7 seconds left to tie the game at 51-all. Whitko got the ball out of bounds under the Warrior basket, but Knisely stole the ball as time ran out to send the game into overtime.
In the first overtime period, Wawasee struck first as Stichter hit a basket to make the score 53-51 in favor of the Warriors.
Most of the first overtime period was spent at the charity stripe. In all, 23 free throws were taken as Whitko hit 11 of 12, while Wawasee hit 11 of 11.
Wawasee held a 66-63 lead with 9.7 seconds left, but Walpole was fouled while taking a three-point shot and stepped to the line with 4.4 seconds left in the first overtime period.
Walpole, a senior, was cool as a cucumber at the stripe, hitting all three free throws to tie the game yet again.
Kory Lantz tossed up a three-pointer at the buzzer, but the ball banked off the backboard to send the game into a second overtime.
Kory Lantz hit the first basket of the second overtime period, and the race was on. The teams traded baskets through the four-minute period and with just 42.0 ticks left on the clock, Kory Lantz hit a basket and the ensuing free throw to put the Warriors up 73-72.
But the Warriors gave Whitko a chance with 27.4 seconds left. Derrick Day was fouled behind the three-point line with a chance to give Whitko the lead. However, Day only hit one of the three free throws to send the game into a third overtime.
Stephen Conrad hit a three-pointer to open the third overtime period, then Knisely hit a basket and Kory Lantz hit a free throw to put Wawasee up 79-73.
But Walpole kept the Wildcats in the thick of things by nailing a three-pointer wih 2:23 left to mak the score 79-76 Wawasee.
The Warriors held an 84-80 lead with 41 seconds left on the clock, but Walpole stepped up again.
Walpole tossed up a trey from near the half-court line to make the score 84-83 with only 31.5 seconds left in the game.
Kory Lantz hit three of his last four free throws secure the 87-83 Wawasee win.
"My hat's off to Whitko," said Mishler. "They played hard. The game could have gone either way. They missed some opportunities, and we missed some opportunities earlier in the game that could have changed the outcome."
"Of course I'm disappointed, I don't like to lose," said Zawlocki. "I am pleased with our team. They battled to the end. We had our chance to win the game. We battled back several times in overtime."
Kory Lantz led all scorers with 30 points, while Walpole added 28 points.
"Brad has played much better the last couple games," said Zawlocki. "He wasn't feeling well before the game. If that's the way he's going to play, he can be sick more often."
In all, seven players finished the night in double figures. For Whitko, Alex Frantz netted 23, and Day added 11. Ben Knisely (16 points), Clint Custer (12 points), and Kyle Lantz (12 points) chipped in double-figure scoring for the Warriors.
In a game that saw 56 totals fouls, seven players (Woods, Frantz, Coble, Marc Walter, Aaron Wendel, Custer, and Kyle Lantz) fouled out during the course of the contest.
The win moves Wawasee's record to 8-2 overall, while Whitko falls to 5-4 on the season. That 5-4 record is a bit deceiving, however, as the Wildcats have lost to teams that are a combined 33-3 overall (10-0 Tippecanoe Valley, 7-0 Bluffton, 8-1 Columbia City and 8-2 Wawasee).
Both teams hit the court against Saturday evening as the Warriors travel to NorthWood and the Wildcats host Rochester.
WAWASEE 87, WHITKO 83, 3 OT
Whitko 12 18 8 13 15 7 10 - 83
Wawasee 9 13 12 17 15 7 14 - 87
Whitko FG FT R S Pts.
Jo. Woods 2-7 3-4 7 0 7
Frantz 8-15 7-8 7 1 23
Walpole 7-11 12-12 3 1 28
Coble 4-6 0-0 3 0 8
Walter 0-0 2-2 1 0 2
Day 4-9 3-6 3 0 11
Ja. Woods 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Shepherd 2-2 0-0 1 0 4
Wendel 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Spangle 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 27-50 27-32 25 2 83
Wawasee FG FT R S Pts.
Knisely 5-8 6-7 10 2 16
Stichter 2-3 5-7 1 0 9
Custer 3-6 6-7 11 2 12
Conrad 2-11 3-4 1 2 8
Ko. Lantz 7-14 15-17 0 0 30
Kauchak 0-2 0-2 2 0 0
Ky. Lantz 4-8 3-6 1 2 12
Gingerich 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Gerber 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 23-52 38-50 27 8 87
Three-point goals - Whitko 2-8 (Walpole 2-3, Coble 0-2, Day 0-3), Wawasee 3-15 (Knisely 0-1, Conrad 1-8, Ko. Lantz 1-3, Ky. Lantz 1-3). Fouls - Whitko 33, Wawasee 23. Fouled out - Jo. Woods, Frantz, Coble, Walter, Wendel, Custer, Ky. Lantz.
JV -ÊWawasee 47, Whitko 36 [[In-content Ad]]