Hosting the annual Warrior tournament on Friday, the Wawasee boys basketball team once again found itself in the championship game after a win earlier in the day. Facing off against a solid Norwell team, the Warriors hung around for a large chunk of the game. In the end, the host school had to settle for second place for the second year in a row, falling 52-36.
A made three pointer by each team started things off in the opening two minutes of the contest. Most of the shots in the early going came from behind the arc, but none were able to fall besides the initial pair for the first few minutes. Norwell would eventually get into a rhythm though, hitting two in a row near the midway point of the first to open up a six-point lead.
That little burst was enough to wake up both teams, as the scoring picked up immensely for the remainder of the quarter. Weston Hoffert had the hot hand early for the Warriors, hitting a couple of shots to bring his team back to within three with a minute to go in the first. With about 50 seconds remaining in the opening eight minutes, the senior hit his third three of the night to tie things up. Things were knotted up for a short time, as the Knights responded with a triple of their own on the other end.
A pair of free throws by Brayden Miller with seven seconds to go were the final points scored in the period, making it a one-point game with Norwell up 14-13 heading into the second.
The Knights were able to expand on their lead with six quick points to begin the following
quarter. Not having scored three minutes into the period, the host team took a timeout to try and get back on track. Not long afterwards, a pair of free throws by Hoffert put an end to the drought.
On the other end, Wawasee continued to struggle coming up with stops, which allowed the visitors to continue growing their lead. With four minutes left in the half, it had grown to seven, and the Warriors had gone quite some time without a field goal. With a minute to go in the quarter, another pair of shots of the charity stripe was the only offense the team had added.
Finally, Miller ended the eight minute drought without a make from the field with about 40 seconds left until halftime. Those would be the final points scored in the first half, as Norwell headed to the locker room with a 24-19 edge.
Early in the third, the Knights were briefly able to extend the lead to eight before a big three by Kane Dukes tightened things up once more. After a Norwell make from deep, Dukes would hit another one to stay hot and keep his team within striking distance. A possession later, he’d hit his third shot in a row from the top of the key to make it a two-point game.
The visitors were able to come up with a big answer though, hitting a pair of shots to go back up by seven with just over two minutes to go in the period. With a minute to go in the third, they had extended their advantage to nine, the largest of the game thus far. A big make by Hoffert from deep stopped the bleeding, but Wawasee still had a tough task ahead of them trailing by six with eight minutes left in the game.
The challenge only got tougher as Norwell added on to its lead early in the fourth. The Warrior shooting, which had been incredibly inconsistent to this point, needed to step it up fast. With the Knights taking their time on each offensive possession, Wawasee was running out of chances to make one final push.
With five minutes to go, Mason Worrell hit the big shot the hosts were looking for, making it a five-point game with plenty of time left. Unfortunately for the home side, the visitors came right back with two straight layups on the other end to right back up by nine with less than four minutes to go.
That seemed to mark the beginning of the end, as not long afterwards, the Knights had gone up by double digits. The lead continued to grow even larger in the final minutes, as Norwell was now up by 14 with 90 seconds to go. With not enough time to mount the comeback, the final seconds ticked away as the Knights put the finishing touches on a tournament victory.
The Warriors picked up a 64-47 win over South Central Friday morning to advance to the championship game.
Wawasee (3-7) is at NorthWood next Friday for a Northern Lakes Conference showdown.