Whitko Boys Beat Wawasee Warriors
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Cliff Tanner-
Freshman Logan Irwin scored 24 points and sophomore Zac VanDeWater added 18 points as the Wildcats continually broke through the full-court press and held the Warriors under their season average by beating them 95-82.[[In-content Ad]]"They are a good team and they played us tough," said Wawasee assistant coach Geoff Walmer. "They are going to be a team to contend with come sectional time. They will just keep improving."
Whitko pounded the boards and outrebounded Wawasee 42-16.
"We outrebounded them by a large amount tonight," said Whitko coach Rob Irwin, whose team improved to 3-2, while Wawasee had its two-game win streak snapped and fell to 2-3. "It gave us some second chances and we kept them from getting very many. I believe it helped us win the ball game."
VanDeWater led Whitko with a game-high 13 rebounds.
Wawasee led most of the first quarter, but a VanDeWater basket gave the Wildcats their first lead at 16-14.
Whitko senior Kaden Krull put in a rebound basket as time expired in the first quarter to give Whitko a 18-14 lead.
Krull finished with eight points and went down late in the third quarter with a knee injury.
He walked off the court under his own power.
"We finally started getting the ball down inside to Kaden tonight and then he went down with the injury," said Irwin. "We will probably be missing him for three to four weeks. We are used to playing with injuries."
Travis Lepper of Whitko caught fire in the second quarter, hitting 5 of 6 shots, including a 3-of-3 performance from three-point range. Lepper finished the game with 17 points on 7-of-9.
Wawasee's Ross Sticther hit a three-pointer midway through the second quarter to tie the game at 31-31. Stichter finished the game with 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, including five three pointers. He also added three steals.
"Ross will be Ross," said Walmer. "He hit some good baskets for us tonight and he never gave up."
After Irwin hit one of two free throws to give Whitko the lead at 32-31, Wes Kaiser hit a three point basket to give Wawasee its last lead of the night at 34-32. Kaiser finished with 18 points on the night and had two steals.
The Wildcats went on a 6-0 run and later a 12-1 run in the third to give them a 69-59 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
"We played really well tonight," said Irwin. "I love to run up and down the court. I don't have the depth that Coach Mishler has. Most teams don't play that way."
Grant Ruch hit five three-pointers on the night for Wawasee and finished the game with 17 points.
"Grant decided to take some high-percentage shots tonight," said Walmer. "He hit some key baskets to keep the game close early. It takes more than one player scoring points. It has to be a team effort."
Max Elder came off the bench and scored 16 points for Whitko, including eight in the fourth quarter.
Ryan Bumbaugh, Todd Reed and Nick Metzger each contributed four points to the Whitko cause. Bumbaugh and Metzger pulled down seven rebounds each, while Reed added four boards.
"We had some players that contributed tonight and stepped up," said Irwin. "Elder came off the bench and gave us some quality minutes. We just played a solid game and kept down on the turnovers."
Trevor McKibben scored 11 points for Wawasee, Riley Stichter added 10. Stichter also led the Warriors with six rebounds.
"Riley has been improving on the inside for us," said Walmer. "He is 6-1, but he plays like he is much bigger sometimes. He gave us some good rebounds tonight."
Wawasee hosts Warsaw Friday, while Whitko is at Tippecanoe Valley Friday.
WHITKO 95, WAWASEE 82
Whi 18 27 24 26 - 95
Waw 14 29 16 23 - 82
Whitko - Irwin 8 7-9 24, VanDeWater 7 4-4 18, Reed 2 0-0 4, Metzger 2 0-0 4, Lepper 7 0-0 17, Bumbaugh 2 0-0 4, Elder 7 2-2 16, Krull 4 0-0 8. Totals 39 12-15 95.
Wawasee - Ro. Sticther 6 4-4 21, Kaiser 7 2-7 18, Beer 1 0-0 3, Blunk 0 0-0 0, McKibben 1 9-12 11, Ruch 6 0-0 17, Ri. Stichter 4 2-2 10, Hatfield 0 0-0 0, Ringler 1 0-0 2, Totals 26 17-25 82.
Three point goals - Whitko 4 (Lepper 3, Irwin 1), Wawasee 12 (Ro. Stichter 5, Ruch 5, Kaiser, Beer). Turnovers - Whitko 14, Wawasee 10. Total Fouls - Whitko 23, Wawasee 19, Fouled out - Whitko (Reed), Wawasee (Ri. Stichter).
JV - Whitko 50, Wawasee 41
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Freshman Logan Irwin scored 24 points and sophomore Zac VanDeWater added 18 points as the Wildcats continually broke through the full-court press and held the Warriors under their season average by beating them 95-82.[[In-content Ad]]"They are a good team and they played us tough," said Wawasee assistant coach Geoff Walmer. "They are going to be a team to contend with come sectional time. They will just keep improving."
Whitko pounded the boards and outrebounded Wawasee 42-16.
"We outrebounded them by a large amount tonight," said Whitko coach Rob Irwin, whose team improved to 3-2, while Wawasee had its two-game win streak snapped and fell to 2-3. "It gave us some second chances and we kept them from getting very many. I believe it helped us win the ball game."
VanDeWater led Whitko with a game-high 13 rebounds.
Wawasee led most of the first quarter, but a VanDeWater basket gave the Wildcats their first lead at 16-14.
Whitko senior Kaden Krull put in a rebound basket as time expired in the first quarter to give Whitko a 18-14 lead.
Krull finished with eight points and went down late in the third quarter with a knee injury.
He walked off the court under his own power.
"We finally started getting the ball down inside to Kaden tonight and then he went down with the injury," said Irwin. "We will probably be missing him for three to four weeks. We are used to playing with injuries."
Travis Lepper of Whitko caught fire in the second quarter, hitting 5 of 6 shots, including a 3-of-3 performance from three-point range. Lepper finished the game with 17 points on 7-of-9.
Wawasee's Ross Sticther hit a three-pointer midway through the second quarter to tie the game at 31-31. Stichter finished the game with 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, including five three pointers. He also added three steals.
"Ross will be Ross," said Walmer. "He hit some good baskets for us tonight and he never gave up."
After Irwin hit one of two free throws to give Whitko the lead at 32-31, Wes Kaiser hit a three point basket to give Wawasee its last lead of the night at 34-32. Kaiser finished with 18 points on the night and had two steals.
The Wildcats went on a 6-0 run and later a 12-1 run in the third to give them a 69-59 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
"We played really well tonight," said Irwin. "I love to run up and down the court. I don't have the depth that Coach Mishler has. Most teams don't play that way."
Grant Ruch hit five three-pointers on the night for Wawasee and finished the game with 17 points.
"Grant decided to take some high-percentage shots tonight," said Walmer. "He hit some key baskets to keep the game close early. It takes more than one player scoring points. It has to be a team effort."
Max Elder came off the bench and scored 16 points for Whitko, including eight in the fourth quarter.
Ryan Bumbaugh, Todd Reed and Nick Metzger each contributed four points to the Whitko cause. Bumbaugh and Metzger pulled down seven rebounds each, while Reed added four boards.
"We had some players that contributed tonight and stepped up," said Irwin. "Elder came off the bench and gave us some quality minutes. We just played a solid game and kept down on the turnovers."
Trevor McKibben scored 11 points for Wawasee, Riley Stichter added 10. Stichter also led the Warriors with six rebounds.
"Riley has been improving on the inside for us," said Walmer. "He is 6-1, but he plays like he is much bigger sometimes. He gave us some good rebounds tonight."
Wawasee hosts Warsaw Friday, while Whitko is at Tippecanoe Valley Friday.
WHITKO 95, WAWASEE 82
Whi 18 27 24 26 - 95
Waw 14 29 16 23 - 82
Whitko - Irwin 8 7-9 24, VanDeWater 7 4-4 18, Reed 2 0-0 4, Metzger 2 0-0 4, Lepper 7 0-0 17, Bumbaugh 2 0-0 4, Elder 7 2-2 16, Krull 4 0-0 8. Totals 39 12-15 95.
Wawasee - Ro. Sticther 6 4-4 21, Kaiser 7 2-7 18, Beer 1 0-0 3, Blunk 0 0-0 0, McKibben 1 9-12 11, Ruch 6 0-0 17, Ri. Stichter 4 2-2 10, Hatfield 0 0-0 0, Ringler 1 0-0 2, Totals 26 17-25 82.
Three point goals - Whitko 4 (Lepper 3, Irwin 1), Wawasee 12 (Ro. Stichter 5, Ruch 5, Kaiser, Beer). Turnovers - Whitko 14, Wawasee 10. Total Fouls - Whitko 23, Wawasee 19, Fouled out - Whitko (Reed), Wawasee (Ri. Stichter).
JV - Whitko 50, Wawasee 41
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