SYRACUSE - To use an old cliché, Wednesday's sectional game between the Whitko Wildcats and Lakeland Lakers was a tale of two halves.
After holding a 22-21 lead at the half, the Wildcats were outscored 43-23 in the final 16 minutes, leading to a 64-45 first-round loss in Class 3A Sectional 21 boys basketball action at Wawasee High School."I don't think we played very fluid in the first half," Lakeland coach Tim Sirk said from his wheelchair due to two broken ankles via a fall from his roof. "Honestly, we were missing shots we normally hit, and that can kind of lay on your mind a little bit. But I loved the mental toughness of our kids, the mental toughness they had in the second half."
After shooting just 1 of 9 from three-point land in the first half as a team, Lakeland junior Tanner King netted four treys in the second half, helping him match Whitko junior Cory Snep for a game-high 15 points.
"They can shoot the ball well, and they did it at the right time," Whitko coach Rob Irwin said of the Lakers, who hit seven second-half three-pointers.
The reason for Lakeland's better shooting in the second half was the dribble penetration of senior Kyle Witham. Routinely, Witham was able to get deep into the lane, and once the Whitko defense collapsed on him, he'd simply kick the ball out to a shooter.
"That's really what we like to do, it's what we are supposed to do and what we can do," Sirk said of the offensive game plan.
"Once they spread us out, they got their dribble penetration, which allowed them to pitch out and they can shoot," Irwin said. "We knew that."
Along with dishing out four assists, Witham also netted 14 points, the same as teammate Doug Bontrager. The Lakers also got nine points out of Marcus James and Skyler King.
For Wildcats, 9-of-16 shooting, 3-of-4 on three-pointers, in the first half helped keep the lead in their favor. Midway through the third quarter, that shooting helped the team on a six-game losing streak lead the 14-win Lakers 31-27 following back-to-back three-pointers from Snep and senior Brenden Hart, along with a free-throw from freshman Zac VanDeWater with 4:58 remaining. But just when things were going so well, Lakeland found its three-point shooting touch, hitting two in a row, kick-starting an 8-0 run.
"We got up by four, then things kind of fell apart from there," Irwin said. "It's the way it's been all year. We didn't play bad."
After losing the lead, Whitko had a couple mini-runs to stay close, but gradually turnovers led to more Lakeland three-pointers, which blew the lead wide open.
"We can shoot well, we're a team that can shoot well," Sirk said.
"A lot of that was because of our defense," he added, noting the 20 turnovers his team forced. "I thought we got stops, then felt better about ourselves."
That defense stymied the Whitko offense, even with Snep going for 15 on 5-of-6 shooting.
"Cory played pretty well tonight," Irwin said. "We needed to get him more touches.
"Tonight was the first time in a long time that Cory wanted the ball and wanted to go out and score," the Whitko coach added.
The loss ends a disappointing season for the Wildcats, but with just two seniors on the team (Hart and Trent Rowland), brighter days may still be ahead.
"The nice thing is we get everyone back," Irwin said. "Trent and Brenden are nice kids and been great for our program, but we have our juniors, we have a freshman that's gonna be tough and another sophomore who's played a lot for us this year."
And against a tough Lakeland squad, a Whitko team that's been plagued by injuries all year just didn't have the chemistry to keep its season going.
"It's not like Whitko didn't play well,' Sirk said. "Whitko shot the ball really well. It just worked out our way."
With things working out their way, the Lakers will now face Columbia City, a 56-37 winner of West Noble, in the second game of the Friday semifinals at Wawasee, slated to begin after the 6 p.m. Tippecanoe Valley/NorthWood game.
LAKELAND 64, WHITKO 45
L 15 6 20 23 - 64
W 13 9 15 8 - 45
Lakeland - James 3-4 3-4 9, T. King 5-10 1-2 15, S. King 2-11 4-5 9, Bontrager 6-9 2-4 14, Witham 2-6 9-10 14, Bowen 0-0 0-0 0, Sirk 0-0 0-0 0, Avery 1-2 0-0 3, Heller 0-0 0-0 0, Pechin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-42 19-25 64.
