SYRACUSE – After winning just four games all of last season, Wawasee’s varsity boys basketball team used the experience and grit it gained to earn its fourth win in five tries this season, a 52-45 victory over John Glenn Tuesday night. The visiting Falcons led by as many as eight points late in the second quarter, and by five at halftime. Alex Clark hit a three-pointer to open the second half for the Warriors, and Aaron Voirol tied it the next trip up the court with a driving layup down the right side of the lane. “I thought one of the keys was we came out to start the third quarter with determination, then hit a couple of shots that got us right back into it after halftime. I felt like they had some momentum going into the half, but then we came out in the second half, got off to a good start, changed our defense up a little bit, and I thought that gave them some trouble,” said Wawasee head coach Steve Wiktorowski. The lead teetered back and forth, with each team taking its time working against the opposing team’s zone defense, until the mid-point of the fourth quarter. With 5:54 left, Clark missed a three-pointer, got his own rebound and drove the lane for a layup to give Wawasee a 42-41 lead. After a Glenn free throw tied the game, Clark and Gage Reinhard hit mid-range jumpers to stake the Warriors to a four point lead. Glenn’s Alex Runyan hit a free-throw line jump shot to close the gap at the 4:16 mark, but it would be the last Falcon field goal of the night. Clark would hit a running layup to make the score 48-44, and Runyan hit the second of two free throws to make it a one-possession game. After the teams exchanged turnovers, with Glenn’s coming after running nearly 50 seconds off the clock, Wawasee was in position to ice the game with free throws. For the Falcons, the trouble with the plan was they had committed only two team fouls to that point, and Wawasee managed to run the clock down to 39 seconds, while Glenn committed the five fouls needed to send the Warriors to the line. When he finally got there, Reinhard, who finished with 15 points, missed the front end of the one-and-one. Glenn burned more than 15 seconds before Drew McDonald missed an awkward three-pointer, with Wawasee’s Stori Bright collecting the rebound and getting fouled. Bright hit both his free throws with 23 seconds left, and after Falcon Calvin Kretchmer missed a long trey, Sam Clark gathered the loose ball, was fouled, and hit a pair of free throws to clinch the win. Clark finished with a game-high 16 points, and Aaron Voirol tallied a dozen for Wawasee. Now 4-1, the Warriors will host Whitko at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
