Whitko Falls To No. 4 Columbia City
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SOUTH WHITLEY -ÊPlaying against the 4A No. 4 Columbia City Eagles Wednesday, the Whitko Wildcats knew they would face a stiff challenge.
But the Wildcats did not let the prospect of a challenge deter their effort on the court.
Columbia City picked up a 50-36 win over Whitko Wednesday, but coach Don Zawlocki saw positives in the first game of the season.
"These guys played hard," said Zawlocki, "and they never quit. This team is going to do some things. I am very proud of the effort the guys put into this game."
Derrick Day hit a three-pointer at the 7:05 mark to open the first-quarter scoring and put the Wildcats up 3-0.
The Whitko squad held the lead until the 5:11 mark when Ryan Briggs hit a basket to put the Eagles up 4-3. From that point, Columbia City never lost the advantage.
The Wildcats scored just once more in the first frame when Jeremy Coble netted a basket at the 1:40 mark. By the end of the quarter, Columbia City held a 14-5 lead.
"We got off to a horrible start in the first quarter," said Zawlocki. "These kids could have just packed their bags and lost by 30, but they never quit."
The Wildcats fought back in the second frame, outscoring the Eagles 11-10. Wildcat junior Dan Rupley and senior Day opened the quarter with back-to-back baskets, cutting Columbia City's lead to five, 14-9.
At the half, Columbia City held a 24-16 advantage, but the Eagles added to that lead in the third stanza. The Eagles held Whitko to just four points in the third quarter to take a 35-20 lead in to the final quarter of play.
Whitko kept up with the experienced Eagle squad in the fourth frame, and the Wildcats outscored Columbia City 16-15 in the last quarter of the game.
After Columbia City senior Marcus Moore hit two free throws early in the fourth frame, Whitko's Noah Shepherd answered with a basket of his own.
The Eagles answered with a 6-0 run before Day nailed a three to make the score 43-25 with 5:20 left in regulation.
Shepherd followed Day's trey with two free throws for the Wildcats, and in the final 4:49 of the game, Whitko outscored Columbia City 9-7.
"This is a good group of kids," said Zawlocki. "I really love this team. They play hard, and they never gave up."
Day led the Wildcats in scoring with 15 points, while Coble chipped in nine. Shepherd pulled down 12 rebounds and added eight points for Whitko.
"Noah Shepherd had 12 defensive boards," said Zawlocki. "That is quite an accomplishment, and quite a credit to the whole team."
Columbia City's Doug Sheckler led all sccorers with 17 points, while Moore added 13.
Columbia City puts its 1-0 record on the line Saturday when the Eagles host Warsaw. The Wildcats look to put a mark in the win column when they face off against Homestead Saturday in Fort Wayne.
COLUMBIA CITY 50, WHITKO 36
Columbia City 14 10 11 15 - 50
Whitko 5 11 4 16 - 36
Col. City FG FT R S Pts.
Howard 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Briggs 1-2 0-0 4 1 2
Sheckler 7-12 2-4 3 1 17
S. Moore 3-8 1-2 2 4 7
M. Moore 2-7 9-13 4 2 13
Shively 1-2 0-0 0 1 3
Kauffman 0-2 0-0 1 0 0
Rucks 3-3 2-2 1 0 8
Schmidt 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Coverstone 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 17-37 14-20 15 9 50
Whitko FG FT R S Pts.
Coble 3-11 2-2 2 0 9
Stoffel 0-2 0-0 1 0 0
Rupley 1-2 0-0 0 1 2
Shepherd 3-3 2-2 12 0 8
Day 4-13 5-5 6 1 15
Alspaugh 0-0 0-0 2 0 0
Smith 1-2 0-0 1 0 2
Totals 12-32 9-9 24 2 36
Three-point goals -ÊColumbia City 2-5 (Sheckler 1-1, M. Moore 0-1, Shively 1-2, Kauffman 0-1), Whitko 3-14 (Coble 1-6, Stoffel 0-1, Day 2-6, Smith 0-1). Fouls -ÊColumbia City 12. Whitko 17. Fouled out -Ênone.
JV -ÊColumbia City 49, Whitko 24 [[In-content Ad]]
SOUTH WHITLEY -ÊPlaying against the 4A No. 4 Columbia City Eagles Wednesday, the Whitko Wildcats knew they would face a stiff challenge.
But the Wildcats did not let the prospect of a challenge deter their effort on the court.
Columbia City picked up a 50-36 win over Whitko Wednesday, but coach Don Zawlocki saw positives in the first game of the season.
"These guys played hard," said Zawlocki, "and they never quit. This team is going to do some things. I am very proud of the effort the guys put into this game."
Derrick Day hit a three-pointer at the 7:05 mark to open the first-quarter scoring and put the Wildcats up 3-0.
The Whitko squad held the lead until the 5:11 mark when Ryan Briggs hit a basket to put the Eagles up 4-3. From that point, Columbia City never lost the advantage.
The Wildcats scored just once more in the first frame when Jeremy Coble netted a basket at the 1:40 mark. By the end of the quarter, Columbia City held a 14-5 lead.
"We got off to a horrible start in the first quarter," said Zawlocki. "These kids could have just packed their bags and lost by 30, but they never quit."
The Wildcats fought back in the second frame, outscoring the Eagles 11-10. Wildcat junior Dan Rupley and senior Day opened the quarter with back-to-back baskets, cutting Columbia City's lead to five, 14-9.
At the half, Columbia City held a 24-16 advantage, but the Eagles added to that lead in the third stanza. The Eagles held Whitko to just four points in the third quarter to take a 35-20 lead in to the final quarter of play.
Whitko kept up with the experienced Eagle squad in the fourth frame, and the Wildcats outscored Columbia City 16-15 in the last quarter of the game.
After Columbia City senior Marcus Moore hit two free throws early in the fourth frame, Whitko's Noah Shepherd answered with a basket of his own.
The Eagles answered with a 6-0 run before Day nailed a three to make the score 43-25 with 5:20 left in regulation.
Shepherd followed Day's trey with two free throws for the Wildcats, and in the final 4:49 of the game, Whitko outscored Columbia City 9-7.
"This is a good group of kids," said Zawlocki. "I really love this team. They play hard, and they never gave up."
Day led the Wildcats in scoring with 15 points, while Coble chipped in nine. Shepherd pulled down 12 rebounds and added eight points for Whitko.
"Noah Shepherd had 12 defensive boards," said Zawlocki. "That is quite an accomplishment, and quite a credit to the whole team."
Columbia City's Doug Sheckler led all sccorers with 17 points, while Moore added 13.
Columbia City puts its 1-0 record on the line Saturday when the Eagles host Warsaw. The Wildcats look to put a mark in the win column when they face off against Homestead Saturday in Fort Wayne.
COLUMBIA CITY 50, WHITKO 36
Columbia City 14 10 11 15 - 50
Whitko 5 11 4 16 - 36
Col. City FG FT R S Pts.
Howard 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Briggs 1-2 0-0 4 1 2
Sheckler 7-12 2-4 3 1 17
S. Moore 3-8 1-2 2 4 7
M. Moore 2-7 9-13 4 2 13
Shively 1-2 0-0 0 1 3
Kauffman 0-2 0-0 1 0 0
Rucks 3-3 2-2 1 0 8
Schmidt 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Coverstone 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 17-37 14-20 15 9 50
Whitko FG FT R S Pts.
Coble 3-11 2-2 2 0 9
Stoffel 0-2 0-0 1 0 0
Rupley 1-2 0-0 0 1 2
Shepherd 3-3 2-2 12 0 8
Day 4-13 5-5 6 1 15
Alspaugh 0-0 0-0 2 0 0
Smith 1-2 0-0 1 0 2
Totals 12-32 9-9 24 2 36
Three-point goals -ÊColumbia City 2-5 (Sheckler 1-1, M. Moore 0-1, Shively 1-2, Kauffman 0-1), Whitko 3-14 (Coble 1-6, Stoffel 0-1, Day 2-6, Smith 0-1). Fouls -ÊColumbia City 12. Whitko 17. Fouled out -Ênone.
JV -ÊColumbia City 49, Whitko 24 [[In-content Ad]]