Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
WABASH - On the 10th anniversary of Whitko's last boys basketball regional championship, the Wildcats lasted all of 10 minutes against No. 8 Benton Central Wednesday night in an 82-61 loss.
Knotted at 13 after the first eight minutes, Benton Central six-foot-4 junior forward Blake Schoen sparked a 14-4 run with consecutive baskets two minutes into the second stanza as the Bison outscored the Wildcats 23-11 in the frame to blow the game wide open.
Schoen scored 12 in the quarter and finished with a game-high 36 on 12-of-18 shooting from the field and an 11-of-12 performance from the free throw line. He also pulled down four rebounds and made five steals.
Just days after shooting red- hot from the field in the Plymouth Sectional, Whitko's torch was blown out.
The Wildcats shot a dismal 3 of 14 from the field in the second quarter as things got out of hand, finishing the game just 22 of 64.
"I thought we missed a lot of shots, even at the free throw line," second-year Whitko coach Steve Pickett said. "I don't know if that was nerves or Benton Central's defense, but we missed a lot of shots."
The 21-point loss ends Whitko's season at 12-12; Benton Central improves to 20-4 and advances to the semistate for the third time in school history and first since 1983.
"Our shot selection was poor in the second quarter," Pickett said. "We settled for shots on the perimeter instead of going to the paint."
After trailing 36-24 at the half, Whitko sophomore starter Alex Frantz hit 1 of 2 free throws at the 6:46 mark and again with 5:49 remaining in the quarter to cut the Bison lead to 10, 36-26, but Schoen remained hot for Benton Central, scoring 10 in the quarter as his team went to the final frame with a 56-39 advantage.
As far as talented players Pickett has seen this year, he put Schoen in the same category as Carroll frontliner Gabe Miller. Carroll coach Rob Irwin compared him to former Whitko and Michigan State University player Steve Nicodemus.
Senior center Jay Dawson added 13 for the Bison, while senior forward Ryan Sipe and junior guard Trent Wiley added nine each.
Frantz led the Wildcats in the scoring column with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and a 3-of-6 performance from the charity stripe. Senior center Josh Hoffman finished his prep career with 14 points, while classmate Adam Wendel chipped in with nine and sophomores Ben Garber and Brad Walpole six each.
Schoen ignited the crowd with a dunk at the 1:13 mark of the third quarter that gave Benton Central a 14-point lead. During a timeout, he ran his finger along his throat as if to say that was the nail in the coffin.
A pair of Hoffman free throws with 4:05 remaining in regulation cut Benton Central's lead to 13, 62-49, but a 17-of-24 performance at the line in the final frame secured the Bison win.
"Benton Central is very talented and very well coached," Pickett said. "They have played at this level before, and Schoen is absolutely incredible."
Benton Central, which will play 13-10 Columbia City in the semifinal round of the Frankfort Semistate, finished the game 27 of 46 from from the field and 25 of 35 from the charity stripe.
Columbia City advanced by topping host NorthWood 52-47.
NO. 8 BENTON CENTRAL 82 WHITKO 61
Benton Central (20-4) 13 23 20 26 - 82
Whitko (12-12) 13 11 15 22 - 61
Benton Central FG FT R S Pts.
Schoen (F) 12-18 11-12 4 5 36
J. Dawson (C) 5-11 0-0 9 1 13
Wiley (G) 2-6 4-6 2 0 9
Sipe (F) 1-3 7-8 10 0 9
Scherer (G) 1-2 1-2 1 1 3
Grieves 3-3 0-1 4 0 6
Budreau 1-1 0-0 1 0 2
Butler 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Goodman 0-1 0-0 1 1 0
B. Dawson 0-0 0-2 1 0 0
Totals 26-46 25-35 34 9 82
Whitko FG FT R S Pts.
Frantz (F) 6-10 3-6 3 3 15
Hoffman (C) 4-13 6-9 6 0 14
Wendel (G) 3-12 1-2 2 0 9
Walpole (G) 2-7 2-2 1 0 6
Goble (F) 0-3 0-0 4 0 0
Woods 2-3 0-0 1 1 4
Clausen 2-2 0-2 0 1 4
Robbins 1-1 1-2 3 1 3
Spangle 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Lopshire 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Walter 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 22-64 15-26 27 7 61
Three-point goals - Benton Central 5-9 (J. Dawson 3-4, Wiley 1-3, Schoen 1-1, Scherer 0-1), Whitko 2-11 (Wendel 2-7, Walpole 0-2, Lopshire 0-1, Walter 0-1). Turnovers - Benton Central 19, Whitko 13. Fouls - Benton Central 20, Whitko 28. Fouled out - none.
