SYRACUSE – In a game featuring a dozen ties and 10 lead changes, the Columbia City boys basketball team came up with a 15-4 run over the final 3:05, allowing the Eagles to earn a 73-64 win over the Wawasee Warriors in Syracuse Tuesday. Eagles (5-1) junior guard Drew Benedict hit a pair of deep three-point shots and came up with a key assist off a long missed shot, finding classmate Daniel Woll wide open for a layup with 1:54 left to extend the Columbia City lead to three over Wawasee (5-2). After junior Austin Paul banked in a shot from the left side of the lane, the Eagles sealed the win with a pair of free throws by Benedict and four more from senior Brandon Gay. Wawasee junior Jacob Thompson did his best to keep his team in the game, hitting five shots from beyond the three-point arc en route to a 30-point night. As a team, the Warriors couldn't gain more than a three-point advantage against what head coach Phil Mishler called "one of the better teams in the state, as far as I'm concerned." "They've got all departments," he said. "They're big and athletic inside, and have shooters that can shoot from the outside. When you play the way we do (up-tempo) you can't cover all of it, and they hit some key shots." The Eagles countered the Warriors' fast-paced attack with patience on the offensive end, taking 20 seconds or more and several passes to get a shot off on many possessions. Columbia City had the same number of shots as Wawasee, but made six more and wound up hitting 56 percent from the floor for the night. Wawasee's defense normally forces opponents into a high number of turnovers, but the Eagles only gave up the ball on nine possessions. "I thought our guys bounced back from the Warsaw game (a 72-52 loss Friday night)," Mishler said. "I thought we were playing a little bit on our heels and not necessarily ready for (Warsaw's) solid, fundamental basketball. I thought our guys bounced back from that, but we still need to be dictating the pace, and I think that was the difference in the game." Thompson got help from senior senior Trent Koble, who also finished in double digits with 10 points. Freshman Alex Clark chipped in seven, senior Justin Fick and senior Zac Patrick had five points each. Senior Bauer Schmeltz and junior four and Ryndan Aaron rounded out the Wawasee scoring with four and three each, respectively. Benedict was one of four Eagles in double figures. Hitting six three-pointers, Benedict finished with 24 points for Columbia City, including 16 after halftime and 10 in the fourth quarter. Woll dropped in 13 points, and Derek Hinen matching Paul with 12 points each. The teams could face off again next week in the Carroll Shootout. Wawasee, now 5-2 on the season, opens the four game, two-day tournament at Donald S. Weeks Gymnasium in Columbia City. The Warriors open play at 2 p.m. Dec. 29 against Fort Wayne Blackhawk, followed by a 6 p.m. game with Carroll. If there were to be a rematch with the Eagles, it would be on Dec. 30 at Carroll High School, with game time dependent on the results of the first day's action.
COLUMBIA CITY 73, WAWASEE 64 C 15 18 16 24 – 73 W 9 21 17 17 – 64 Columbia City – Drew Benedict 8-16 2-2 24, Derek Hinen 5-9 2-2 12, Drew Burnsworth 1-3 0-0 3, Daniel Woll 4-6 4-4 13, Austin Paul 6-8 0-0 12, Brandon Gay 0-1 4-4 4, Matt Rethlake 2-3 0-0 5, Jared Murphy 0-0 0-1 0. Totals 26-46 12-13 73. Wawasee – Trent Koble 2-5 6-6 10, Jacob Thompson 11-23 3-5 30, Ryndan Aaron 1-4 0-0 3, Zac Patrick 1-2 2-3 5, Justin Fick 2-5 1-3 5, Bauer Schmeltz 2-3 0-0 4, Alex Clark 1-4 4-4 7, Garrett Balser 0-0 0-0 0, Austin Lutz 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-46 16-21 64. Three-point goals – Columbia City 9 (Benedict 6, Burnsworth, Rethlake, Woll), Wawasee 8 (Thompson 5, Aaron, Clark, Patrick); Rebounds – Columbia City 24 (Woll 6), Wawasee 26 (Fick 6); Turnovers – Columbia City 9, Wawasee 12; Records: Columbia City 5-1, Wawasee 5-2. JV - Columbia City 23, Wawasee 22
