Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SYRACUSE -ÊThe Wawasee Warriors came out of the blocks fast in a 49-24 win over West Noble Saturday night in boys basketball action.
Lance Zimmerman led the way for Wawasee with 18 points and 11 rebounds as he used his 6-foot-4 frame to dominate the interior against the Chargers.
Zimmerman scored eight points as Wawasee jumped out to a 16-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game.
Wawasee used a swarming full-court press to force West Noble into turnovers and easy baskets for the Warriors.
Wawasee finished the game with 17 points off of turnovers to just two for West Noble.
The Warriors led 18-7 after the first quarter.
Drew Preston was the lone Charger to score in the first quarter and West Noble's first points off the game came at the 2:49 mark of the quarter when Preston hit one of two free throws.
The Warriors extended their lead to 30-9 after the first half as West Noble opened the second quarter with a Chris Smith basket but couldn't manage to score the rest of the quarter.
Six different players scored for Wawasee in the second quarter.
As sharp as the Warriors looked in the first half, Wawasee struggled in the second half.
Wawasee managed just four points in the third quarter as the Warriors had trouble connecting from the field.
"For the most part, when you start that strong it's hard to continue at that pace," Wawasee coach Phil Mishler said of his team's quick start and subsequent troubles.
The Warriors struggled from beyond the three-point arc as they hit just 1 of 12 three-pointers.
Senior Tylor Trobaugh, who moved to Wawasee from a prep school in Tennesse before his senior year, connected on the Warriors' lone trifecta.
Trobaugh, who entered the game as Wawasee's leading scorer, finished with nine points and four rebounds.
Fellow senior Andrew Mock also had nine points on the strength of a 5-of-5 performance from the free-throw line. Mock also led Wawasee with three steals and five assists.
Joe Leach had four points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Leach's minutes were reduced due to early foul trouble.
The Warriors were nearly perfect in the first half but racked up several fouls early that forced Mishler to go deep into his bench early.
Wawasee showed some depth as the likes of Brad Granger, Barry Singrey and Ross Stichter provided solid bench minutes for the Warriors.
The Warriors, 3-0 on the season, travel to Manchester (2-1) Tuesday night.
The last time Wawasee traveled to Manchester, in the 2004-2005 season, Manchester upset the Warriors by a count of 54-46. That year Wawasee made it to the semistate.
"Last time we were down there we lost," Mishler said of his team's matchup with Manchester. "It's a tough place to play. We have to shoot the ball better than we did tonight."
WAWASEE 49, WEST NOBLE 24
W. Noble 7 2 6 9 - 24
Wawasee 18 12 4 15 - 49
W. Noble FG FT R S Pts.
*Preston 4-10 3-7 4 2 14
*Smith 1-6 0-0 0 0 2
*C. Wysong 1-9 0-1 1 2 2
*Cripe 0-2 0-1 3 2 0
*J. Wysong 1-4 0-0 5 1 2
Reidenbach 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
Maresh 1-3 0-0 0 1 2
Totals 9-36 3-9 13 8 24
Wawasee FG FT R S Pts.
*Mock 2-9 5-5 0 3 9
*Trobaugh 3-6 2-3 4 1 9
*Leach 2-5 0-1 4 2 4
*Geiger 1-2 1-2 2 1 3
*Zimmerman 8-10 2-2 11 2 18
Granger 1-1 1-2 1 0 3
Amadeo 0-2 0-0 2 0 0
Singrey 0-0 1-2 1 0 1
Stichter 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 18-39 12-17 34 10 49
Three-point goals - West Noble 3-16 (Preston 3-7, Smith 0-4, 0-2, Maresh 0-1, C. Wysong 0-1, J. Wysong 0-1), Wawasee 1-12 (Trobaugh 1-4, Mock 0-5, Stichter 0-1, Leach 0-1, Geiger 0-1). Turnovers - West Noble 18, Wawasee 17. Fouls - West Noble 15, Wawasee 19. Fouled out - None.
JV -ÊWawasee 34, West Noble 26
Wawasee record: 3-0
