Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SOUTH WHITLEY - There is an old saying in basketball that says a team will either live or die by the three-point shot.
Saturday night, the North Miami boys team visited the Whitko Wildcats and lived by the three-point shot.
The Warriors shot a scorching 6 of 7 from three-point land in the first half to lead them to a 75-62 victory over the Wildcats in a Three Rivers Conference battle.
The first quarter started out with back-and-forth baskets giving the Wildcats a 6-4 lead. The Warriors' Shawn Robinson hit a three-pointer to give them a 7-6 lead. Jonathan Keisling later hit a three to give them a 10-7 lead.
With the score at 13-10 with 3:40 left in the quarter, Whitko coach Rob Irwin called a timeout. North Miami went on a 12-5 run after the timeout to go up 25-15.
The Warriors led 25-17 after the first quarter.
"North Miami is one of the top two or three teams in the TRC," said Irwin. "They are stronger, bigger, longer and, unfortunately, still a young team. They just hit their shots tonight. Our guys played their hearts out tonight. We just came up short. I am very proud of the guys."
The Wildcats' Brad Smith started the second quarter scoring with a steal and a lay up to cut the score to 25-19, but North Miami then went on a 6-2 run to push their lead to 10.
North Miami outscored Whitko 17-15 in the second to take a 42-32 halftime lead.
"We came into the game wanting to create turnovers against them," said Irwin. "They play a tough zone defense that forces teams to shoot threes. When we trapped them they would have someone open to score. They are a good shooting ball team. Right now they are just better than us."
To start the third quarter Smith had to defend Robinson and held him to eight points in the second half.
Robinson, who led all scorers with 26 points, scored 18 of his points in the first half. Smith held him to two field goals and four free throws in the second half of play.
Whitko outscored the Warriors 19-17 in the third stanza to close the score to eight at 59-51. Cory Snep and Trent Rowland led the way in the third with five and four points, respectively.
"It seemed as though every time we would get their lead cut down to eight points they would hit a big shot," said Irwin. "Our kids played their cans off tonight. I am so proud of the way they handled themselves tonight. They played good solid basketball but we just came up short. Period."
The Warriors shot 27 of 43 from the field and 7 of 10 from three-point land.
"These kids have come a long way this year," said Irwin. "The improvement in these kids has dramatically changed. They have worked so hard."
Smith and Jeff Coats each scored 14 points to lead the Wildcat scoring. Rowland added 13 points and Camron Walter had 10.
Smith and Coats led the team in rebounds with nine and five, respectively. Walter and Rowland also had two steals apiece.
Along with Robinson's 26 points, North Miami got 20 points from Adam Miller.
"I want the kids to know how proud of them I am," said Irwin. "I just can't say enough about them. I believe that something will fall into place for them if they continue to work their hardest."
N. MIAMI 75, WHITKO 62
NM 25 17 17 16 - 75
W 17 15 19 11 - 62
North Miami -ÊRobinson 8 6-6 26, Miller 8 3-4 20, A. Deardorf 3 0-1 6, Keisling 2 0-1 6, An. Deardorf 2 1-3 5, Musselman 1 4-4 6, Zimmer 3 0-0 6. Totals 27 13-19 75.
Whitko -ÊWalter 4 2-2 10, Swender 0 2-3 2, Smith 6 0-0 14, Bumbaugh 0 1-2 1, Rowland 5 5-7 15, Snep 2 0-0 5, Warner 0 0-1 0, Jeff Coats 5 4-4 14. Totals 22 15-21 62.
Three-point goals -ÊNorth Miami 7 (Robinson 4, Keisling 2, Miller), Whitko 3 (Smith 2, Snep). Team fouls -ÊNorth Miami 18, Whitko 19. Fouled out - Zimmer.
