Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
HUNTINGTON - For two quarters Saturday, Wawasee's varsity boys basketball team did what few teams have been able to do the past four years - hold Plymouth sharpshooter Kyle Benge in check.
Benge, the state's second-leading scorer heading into Saturday's Class 3A Huntington Semistate at 27.5 points per game, was swarmed by Wawasee's high-energy defense. He went to the lockerroom with just three points, all of which came from the free throw line.
Through the first two quarters of Saturday's much-anticipated battle, a rematch of a regular season contest won by Plymouth, 75-74, in triple overtime while the Warriors were without the services of leading scorer Austin Kaiser, Benge was 0 of 9 from the field.
It didn't matter.
Plymouth's defense was just as stingy, causing the Warriors to struggle from the field as well.
And while any coach would be happy to hold Benge scoreless from the field for two quarters, Phil Mishler's Warriors still trailed 26-21 at halftime and lost 62-51, ending their dream of playing for a state championship Saturday at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Wawasee's defense, for the most part, did its job Saturday, holding Benge to 16 points and to a sub-par 5-of-18 performance from the field.
Benge, who had made 80 three-pointers and shot 45 percent from the arc heading into Saturday's semistate battle, finished the game 1 of 9 from three-point range.
Yeah, the Warriors did the job on the defenesive end, holding Benge nearly 12 points under his average. On the offensive end, however, the Warriors couldn't capitalize often enough.
Wawasee, a team that earned its first-ever spot in the semistate by winning the tough NorthWood Sectional before knocking off No. 5 Tippecanoe Valley and No. 2 Bellmont in last week's NorthWood Regional, was just 2 of 22 from three-point range and 15 of 43 (34.9 percent) from the field overall.
"It was hard to get a good look all day, and when we did get a good look, we weren't able to knock it down," said Mishler, whose Warriors set a school record for wins en route to the program's first regional title, finished the season at 20-7. "That's really the difference in the ball game."
The 11-point win improved the seventh-ranked Pilgrims to 22-3 on the season and advanced them to Saturday's Class 3A state title game against 6-foot-11 Notre Dame recruit Luke Zeller and his top-ranked Washington team. Washington (26-2) advanced by beating Indianapolis Roncalli 51-46.
The Warriors and seventh-ranked Pilgrims were tied at 12 after the first quarter of play.
Given the fact that Wawasee's defense held Benge in check in the first half, the Warriors had opportunities to take control of the game but just didn't.
Mishler said his team came out flat, something that wasn't the case as the Warriors looked so strong in winning sectional and regional championships.
"For the most part, I thought we were flat," said Mishler. "It could have been because of the pressure, it could have been because of the situation we were in or it could have been because we were tired. But it was mainly because Plymouth did such a good job."
Wawasee led Plymouth 39-36 when Kaiser aced a pair of free throws with 7:25 remaining in the game, but the Warriors only scored one field goal the rest of the way - a two-pointer by senior Kory Lantz that cut the lead to six, 52-46, with 2:02 remaining.
Plymouth scored eight of its final 10 points at the free throw line, where it finished the day 19 of 24.
The Warriors were 17 of 21 from the charity stripe in the loss.
Benge scored 13 points in the second half for Plymouth and finished the game with 16 points on 5-of-18 shooting. Kyle Plumlee also added 16 points for the Pilgrims, while Geoff Scheetz scored 11.
Kaiser scored 15 points to lead the Warriors, while Lantz and Kauchak scored 12 points each.
Lantz, Kaiser, Kauchak and fellow starter Austin Gerber will all graduate in May. What they've done for the Warrior program may never be fully measurable.
"They have meant so much to this program and to me personally," said Mishler. "I love them for what they have done this year."
PLYMOUTH 62, WAWASEE 51
Wawasee 12 9 14 16 - 51
Plymouth 12 14 10 26 - 62
Wawasee FG FT R S Pts.
* Lantz 4-12 2-4 4 0 12
* Kaiser 5-13 5-5 2 2 15
* Gerber 1-4 0-0 3 1 2
* Conrad 1-3 4-5 6 0 6
* Kauchak 3-4 6-6 6 0 6
Mock 1-5 2-4 1 0 4
Rchrdsn 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Leach 0-1 0-0 3 1 0
Geiger 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Zmmrmn 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Team 0-0 0-0 5 0 0
Totals 15-43 19-24 30 4 51
Plymouth FG FT R S Pts.
* Benge 5-18 5-6 5 0 16
* Scheetz 3-10 2-2 2 0 11
* Plumlee 4-8 7-8 5 3 16
* Houin 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
* Pickell 1-2 0-0 2 0 2
Renz 3-5 0-0 4 0 6
Clinton 2-2 0-1 0 1 4
Ra. Davis 1-1 1-2 3 0 3
Adams 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Ri. Davis 1-3 2-2 2 1 4
Palmer 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Bucher 0-0 0-0 2 0 0
Faulstich 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Team 0-0 0-0 3 0 0
Totals 20-49 17-21 29 5 62
Three-point goals - Wawasee 2-22 (Lantz 2-8, Kaiser 0-6, Mock 0-4, Gerber 0-2, Conrad 0-2), Plymouth 5-22 (Scheetz 3-9, Benge 1-9, Plumlee 1-2, Renz 0-1, Ri. Davis 0-1). Turnovers - Wawasee 15, Plymouth 10. Fouls - Wawasee 21, Plymouth 21. Fouled out - Lantz.
