Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
WHITKO AT FORT WAYNE CANTERBURY
Tip-off: 6 p.m. tonight in Fort Wayne
Coaches: Steve Pickett (Whitko); Bruce Robbins (Canterbury)
Records: Whitko 4-4; Canterbury 2-3
Last Game: Whitko 68, Rochester 54; Canterbury 67, Fort Wayne Christian 26
Last Year: Whitko 61, Canterbury 60
Matchup: In Whitko's 14-point win over Rochester, the Wildcats had four players in double figures: Brad Walpole (10), Alex Frantz (19), Josh Hoffman (18) and Ben Garber (12). Hoffman leads the Wildcats in scoring and rebounding with 14.5 ppg and 7.8 rpg. Frantz leads the squad in steals with 2.0 per game and follows Hoffman closely with 14.1 ppg and 5.5 rpg. Adam Wendel is Whitko's outside threat with 9-of-21 shooting (42.9 percent) behind the three-point arc. Walpole leads the team in assists with an average of 4.3 per contest. Canterbury is coming off a decisive 41-point win over Fort Wayne Christian. The Cavaliers will look to John Caldwell and his 17.6 points per game to lead the offense. Caldwell is Canterbury's biggest three-point threat, shooting 58.3 percent from behind the arc. Lowell Grissom chips in 11.5 points. 2.5 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game for Canterbury, while Zac Pelz adds 6.5 ppg, 1.3 rpg and 0.5 spg. The Cavs have outscored their opponents 56.8-53.4.
Pickett: "Canterbury is very well-coached. In the past they have had an aggressive man-to-man defense. They are fundamentally sound, and they like to push the ball up the court. They like to shoot a lot of lay-ups and free throws. That means we have to be sure to get back on defense and play a good half-court game. After the Rochester game, we are working on free throws. We only hit 20 of 33 against Rochester, so we are concentrating on free throws now. We shoot 100 free throws the morning of a game. We are also working on defense and blocking out."
Robbins: "I know Whitko has improved from last year and that they are apparently a pretty good basketball team. We are working on ourselves right now and not much on them specifically. We have watched some films, and they do a nice job of trying to get the ball inside. We will try to concentrate on keeping then out of the post. The keys for us in this game will be patience on offense, defensive transition and patience on defense."
