Whitko Boys Win TRC Championship
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Class 3A No. 3 Whitko (14-2) wrapped up TRC play with a 7-0 mark Saturday at home, defeating the Manchester Squires (3-13, 1-6 TRC) by a 61-34 count.[[In-content Ad]]On top of claiming the TRC crown, Whitko also celebrated senior night and honored coach Rob Irwin, who is recovering from chemotherapy treatments to fight leukemia.
"It was a good day for Coach Irwin," Whitko's interim coach Mike Kline said.
The game was the second one Irwin has missed, but he is planning to return in time for the sectional.
And while he may not have been at the game, he was there in spirit as the student section began chanting 'This is Rob's house' in the final minute of the contest.
In fact, Rob was actually in the comfort of his own home, but that doesn't mean he had to wait long to get the results.
"I would say, either (his son) Logan (Irwin) has called him or his dad has called," Kline said. "He's made a point that he doesn't want any updates during the game. He's going to get the game tape in about an hour."
Once Rob got the tape, he could see that Logan led the way with 26 points, but the younger Irwin wasn't overly impressed with his point total, which gave him 1,392 career points, just 56 points behind the school's all-time leading scorer Steve Nicodemus.
"It was senior night, so I felt they stole the show," Logan, who also had five steals, four rebounds and an assist, said. "I don't think I played very well, but some other seniors stepped up and got it done. That's what we need."
Senior Zac VanDeWater did fill out the stat sheet, scoring 11 points, grabbing eight rebounds, posting six steals, dishing out three assists and blocking a shot.
In all, nine of the 13 Wildcats that saw time on the court scored at least one point.
"We are at our best when we can get Max (Elder), Derek (Snep, Mitch (Yeager) and the other guys involved and getting easy baskets," Kline said. "We definitely need Zac and Logan to do their thing, but it sure makes us go when those other guys get involved."
Facing the three-win Squires, it would have seemed the Wildcats could have coasted through the game, but through the first two-plus quarters, that wasn't the case.
"I think the kids were probably a little wound up to get started," Kline said. "Boy, that basket was awful small in the first half. Fortunately, the kids got after it in the second half. They picked up the defense and got some easy ones."
Following a bucket by Manchester junior Derek Self, the Squires trailed just 30-23 with 5:57 remaining in the third quarter. However, Whitko then went on a 15-0 run over the next four minutes, putting the Squires in a hole they couldn't overcome.
"They hit a couple shots and our guys put their heads down," Manchester coach Aaron Cripe said. "They forget they can keep playing. The game isn't over when they make two three-point plays in a row. We didn't get some calls and our guys got frustrated. Whitko's a very physical team and they keep coming at you no matter what."
Over the course of the year, Cripe has seen glimpses of good play from his guys, but once something goes wrong, it snowballs.
"I wish our guys would stop looking at the scoreboard or worrying about what the referees are calling," he said. "Just keep playing basketball."
Manchester was led by senior Austin Flack's 12 points, while senior Scott Baker netted 10 points, six rebounds and seven blocked shots in limited minutes after picking up his third foul a minute-and-a-half into the second quarter.
"He makes us a better defensive team, but he also makes us better on the offense," Cripe said about Baker.
Offensive sets were actually tough for Manchester to get into against the Wildcats' pressure defense.
"We had 30 turnovers today, and if I'm not mistaken, that's the most we've had all year," Cripe said. "That's just a problem. We're in the game midway through the third quarter with 30 turnovers. It makes you wonder how good we could be."
As Cripe wonders how good his team can be, the Wildcats know how good they are, reflected by the TRC championship and No. 3 ranking in Class 3A.
Things don't get much easier for Manchester, which hosts Class 3A No. 8 Peru Tuesday, while Whitko travels to Fort Wayne Wayne Friday.
WHITKO 61, MANCHESTER 34
M 7 12 6 9 - 34
W 15 13 17 16 - 61
Whitko - Mitch Yeager 2-7 0-0 5, Zac VanDeWater 4-10 3-3 11, Scott Skiles 0-2 2-2 2, Kory Wood 0-2 1-2 1, Travis Weigold 1-6 0-0 2, Logan Irwin 9-23 8-8 26, Colin Nicodemus 0-0 0-0 0, Alex Stoddard 2-8 0-3 4, Max Elder 1-1 0-0 2, Derek Snep 4-7 0-0 8, Tyler Wine 0-1 0-0 0, Jordan Sims 0-0 0-0 0, Trey Weber 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-67 14-18 61.
Manchester - Derek Self 1-6 0-0 2, Caleb Thomas 0-4 0-2 0, Logan Brunn 2-6 0-0 5, Austin Flack 4-9 2-4 12, Scott Baker 3-8 4-6 10, Trae Bruce 0-1 0-0 0, Neil Underwood 0-0 0-0 0, Jim Sainsbury 0-0 0-0 0, Joey Spann 0-3 0-0 0, Aric Howard 2-7 1-3 5, Grant Schuler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-44 7-15 34.
Three-point goals - Whitko 1-22 (Yeager), Manchester 3-12 (Flack 2, Brunn); Team Fouls - Whitko 19, Manchester 16; Turnovers - Whitko 13, Manchester 30; Rebounds - Whitko 36 (VanDeWater 8), Manchester 27 (Howard 7); Assists - Whitko 9 (Irwin 4), Manchester 1; Steals - Whitko 18 (VanDeWater 6), Manchester 9 (Self 3); Blocks - Whitko 4, Manchester 9 (Baker 7); Records: Whitko 14-2 (7-0 TRC), Manchester 3-13 (1-6 TRC).
Class 3A No. 3 Whitko (14-2) wrapped up TRC play with a 7-0 mark Saturday at home, defeating the Manchester Squires (3-13, 1-6 TRC) by a 61-34 count.[[In-content Ad]]On top of claiming the TRC crown, Whitko also celebrated senior night and honored coach Rob Irwin, who is recovering from chemotherapy treatments to fight leukemia.
"It was a good day for Coach Irwin," Whitko's interim coach Mike Kline said.
The game was the second one Irwin has missed, but he is planning to return in time for the sectional.
And while he may not have been at the game, he was there in spirit as the student section began chanting 'This is Rob's house' in the final minute of the contest.
In fact, Rob was actually in the comfort of his own home, but that doesn't mean he had to wait long to get the results.
"I would say, either (his son) Logan (Irwin) has called him or his dad has called," Kline said. "He's made a point that he doesn't want any updates during the game. He's going to get the game tape in about an hour."
Once Rob got the tape, he could see that Logan led the way with 26 points, but the younger Irwin wasn't overly impressed with his point total, which gave him 1,392 career points, just 56 points behind the school's all-time leading scorer Steve Nicodemus.
"It was senior night, so I felt they stole the show," Logan, who also had five steals, four rebounds and an assist, said. "I don't think I played very well, but some other seniors stepped up and got it done. That's what we need."
Senior Zac VanDeWater did fill out the stat sheet, scoring 11 points, grabbing eight rebounds, posting six steals, dishing out three assists and blocking a shot.
In all, nine of the 13 Wildcats that saw time on the court scored at least one point.
"We are at our best when we can get Max (Elder), Derek (Snep, Mitch (Yeager) and the other guys involved and getting easy baskets," Kline said. "We definitely need Zac and Logan to do their thing, but it sure makes us go when those other guys get involved."
Facing the three-win Squires, it would have seemed the Wildcats could have coasted through the game, but through the first two-plus quarters, that wasn't the case.
"I think the kids were probably a little wound up to get started," Kline said. "Boy, that basket was awful small in the first half. Fortunately, the kids got after it in the second half. They picked up the defense and got some easy ones."
Following a bucket by Manchester junior Derek Self, the Squires trailed just 30-23 with 5:57 remaining in the third quarter. However, Whitko then went on a 15-0 run over the next four minutes, putting the Squires in a hole they couldn't overcome.
"They hit a couple shots and our guys put their heads down," Manchester coach Aaron Cripe said. "They forget they can keep playing. The game isn't over when they make two three-point plays in a row. We didn't get some calls and our guys got frustrated. Whitko's a very physical team and they keep coming at you no matter what."
Over the course of the year, Cripe has seen glimpses of good play from his guys, but once something goes wrong, it snowballs.
"I wish our guys would stop looking at the scoreboard or worrying about what the referees are calling," he said. "Just keep playing basketball."
Manchester was led by senior Austin Flack's 12 points, while senior Scott Baker netted 10 points, six rebounds and seven blocked shots in limited minutes after picking up his third foul a minute-and-a-half into the second quarter.
"He makes us a better defensive team, but he also makes us better on the offense," Cripe said about Baker.
Offensive sets were actually tough for Manchester to get into against the Wildcats' pressure defense.
"We had 30 turnovers today, and if I'm not mistaken, that's the most we've had all year," Cripe said. "That's just a problem. We're in the game midway through the third quarter with 30 turnovers. It makes you wonder how good we could be."
As Cripe wonders how good his team can be, the Wildcats know how good they are, reflected by the TRC championship and No. 3 ranking in Class 3A.
Things don't get much easier for Manchester, which hosts Class 3A No. 8 Peru Tuesday, while Whitko travels to Fort Wayne Wayne Friday.
WHITKO 61, MANCHESTER 34
M 7 12 6 9 - 34
W 15 13 17 16 - 61
Whitko - Mitch Yeager 2-7 0-0 5, Zac VanDeWater 4-10 3-3 11, Scott Skiles 0-2 2-2 2, Kory Wood 0-2 1-2 1, Travis Weigold 1-6 0-0 2, Logan Irwin 9-23 8-8 26, Colin Nicodemus 0-0 0-0 0, Alex Stoddard 2-8 0-3 4, Max Elder 1-1 0-0 2, Derek Snep 4-7 0-0 8, Tyler Wine 0-1 0-0 0, Jordan Sims 0-0 0-0 0, Trey Weber 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-67 14-18 61.
Manchester - Derek Self 1-6 0-0 2, Caleb Thomas 0-4 0-2 0, Logan Brunn 2-6 0-0 5, Austin Flack 4-9 2-4 12, Scott Baker 3-8 4-6 10, Trae Bruce 0-1 0-0 0, Neil Underwood 0-0 0-0 0, Jim Sainsbury 0-0 0-0 0, Joey Spann 0-3 0-0 0, Aric Howard 2-7 1-3 5, Grant Schuler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-44 7-15 34.
Three-point goals - Whitko 1-22 (Yeager), Manchester 3-12 (Flack 2, Brunn); Team Fouls - Whitko 19, Manchester 16; Turnovers - Whitko 13, Manchester 30; Rebounds - Whitko 36 (VanDeWater 8), Manchester 27 (Howard 7); Assists - Whitko 9 (Irwin 4), Manchester 1; Steals - Whitko 18 (VanDeWater 6), Manchester 9 (Self 3); Blocks - Whitko 4, Manchester 9 (Baker 7); Records: Whitko 14-2 (7-0 TRC), Manchester 3-13 (1-6 TRC).
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092