SYRACUSE – While it was the first game of the season for the Angola Hornets, it was Wawasee that had the jitters early in its home opener. The visitors got off to a quick 12-3 lead and pulled away from the Warriors, taking a 56-30 decision Saturday night at the Hardwood Tepee. Wawasee struggled mightily from the field, hitting just 3 of 17 shots in a 10-point first half while committing nine turnovers. Meanwhile, Angola turned the ball over just twice in the first two quarters and hit 9 of 20 shots, including a pair of three-pointers from sophomore Braxton Meek to take a 26-10 lead at halftime. “I thought we came out tight tonight, we came out more nervous tonight than we did at Fairfield (a 61-48 loss Nov. 24),” Wawasee head coach Steve Wiktorowski said. “I thought we were a little bit hesitant, and I thought their experience showed early. “I thought we battled hard defensively. we made them take a lot of jump shots in the first half, which we thought was a key; we didn’t think they were a great jump shooting team. “Right now we’re struggling offensively. I think the seniors are putting a lot of pressure on themselves to lead, and I think they need to relax. I think Jayce (Boatwright) played a little better in the second half, but he was in foul trouble. I think Parker (Hatfield), Stephon (Miller) and Chase (Rookstool) have some scoring ability in them, but they’re playing a little tight. “Then we have some young guys who are going through these experiences. It was their first home varsity game, and I think they were nervous about playing in front of their friends and in some cases even more family in town for Thanksgiving.” Wiktorowski said he feels like his squad is going to shake off its early season offensive woes, settle down and become more competitive as the season goes on. “I told the kids ‘we shot terribly. If we could just get on a little run we’d be right back in this thing.’ But the shots didn’t go down here tonight, and when you’re starting to press you have things like loose balls that end up in their hands right underneath their basket,” he said. “There’s not many young teams that don’t go through this. We’re not only young, but our older kids are inexperienced. I knew there were going to be nights like tonight, to me it’s part of the growing pains and what’s important is we keep fighting and getting better, and keeping this effort up. Offensively it’s just going to take some work to make it a more consistent output.” Junior guard Tyler Smith hit two threes and finished with a team-high 12 points for Wawasee. He also pulled down seven rebounds. Cayden Wegener had eight points, and Boatwright added five for the Warriors. Angola junior Jake Horner had 16 points to lead all scorers, with Meek and Hunter Kohart scoring 10 each for the Hornets. The Warriors (0-2) will host Manchester at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
