Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
WAWASEE AT MANCHESTER
Tip-off: 6:15 p.m. Saturday in North Manchester
Coaches: Phil Mishler (Wawasee), Gary Goshert (Manchester)
Records: Wawasee 3-6, Manchester 5-4
Last game: NorthWood 69, Wawasee 63; Manchester 68, North Miami 60 OT
Last year: Wawasee 46, Manchester 44
Matchup: When these two teams hook up Saturday night in North Manchester, they both will be coming off important games in their respective conferences the night before - Manchester hosts Three Rivers Conference opponent Oak Hill, while Wawasee will have played Elkhart Memorial at North Side Gym in Northern Lakes Conference action. Coaches who have taken their teams to play at Manchester call it one of the toughest gyms in the area to play in. In the five years since Gary Goshert left Wawasee to coach Manchester, he owns a 2-3 record against the Warriors - those wins coming in the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons. Wawasee coach Phil Mishler, who worked under Goshert when he coached at Wawasee, said he expects Manchester to play a perimeter game. Squires Anthony Sorg and Klay Bechtold both shoot near 40 percent from the three-point line. Bechtold and senior classmate Anthony Frieden lead Manchester in scoring at 11.6 and 11.4 points per game, respectively. Post players Nate Kerr and Klint Rupley lead Manchester in rebounds with 5.9 and 5.1 boards per game, respectively. The Warriors, who are currently on a four-game skid, are led in the scoring column by senior frontliner Andrew Packer's 12.0 points per game. He also leads the team in rebounds with 8.8 per contest. Brian Adkins adds 8.8 ppg for Wawasee, while Travis Klenke chips in with seven.
Mishler: "We're worried about their perimeter game and shutting it down. We know that's their strength, but we're perimeter oriented on defense. We hope to take care of the ball ourselves and be patient. We need to work on our patience, especially playing down there. It's a hostile environment, it seems like they're right on top of you. The fans will definitely be involved. The kids just have to get used to and get acclimated to that as quick as possible. Any place you play on the road, somebody is going to have the home-court advantage, the kids just have to disregard that."
Goshert: "[Wawasee] may have lost a couple of basketball games, but I don't think that's because they're not playing good basketball. They played Warsaw tough in the conference tournament, and then they played well against NorthWood. Those are two quality teams they played well against. Wawasee has a very efficient post player (Packer) who does a good job and helps make their perimeter players more effective. Another thing that has impressed me about Wawasee is the way they play on the defensive end of the floor. They are very aggressive and have good quickness and really get after you in their man-to-man defense."
