Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SYRACUSE -ÊIt was a battle of the Warriors Thursday night in Syracuse as the boys basketball teams of both the Wawasee Warriors and the Westview Warriors squared off.
The Wawasee Warriors prevailed by a score of 58-38 in what started out as a very deliberate game.
Both teams were coming off games against the Northern Lakes Champion, Goshen. Wawasee lost to Goshen last Thursday night in a game to decide the conference champion, while Westview upset Goshen 39-38 on the Westview court earlier this week.
This game had all the makings of a barn-burner but that never materialized as Wawasee slowly pulled away, ending up with the 20-point win on senior night at the hardwood teepee in what would be the last home appearance for the Wawasee seniors.
"When you work hard, play tough, and respect those around you, good things will happen to you," said Wawasee coach Phil Mishler.
Wawasee will graduate six players off this team, including four starters. Those are Kyle Lantz, Stephen Conrad, Clint Custer and Ben Knisley.
Two other seniors on the team, Eric Gingerich and Ryan Stichter, have both made significant contributions.
"These are just good kids. I feel very fortunate to have gotten to coach them. They have done very well," said Mishler.
The game began with Westview playing very deliberately, making multiple passes with no intention of taking anything but an excellent shot.
Wawasee responded with aggressive defense, not allowing Westview to settle into an offensive flow. Ryan Stichter got a basket and was fouled in the last minute of period one to put the Warriors up 13-7.
Wawasee came out strong in the second quarter to extend that lead to 24-13 by halftime.
The second half opened with Wawasee's Custer getting a three-point play and when Kyle Lantz got a turnover and a breakaway basket the score stood at 31-16 in favor of Wawasee.
A basket at the end of the third quarter brought Westview to within 12, 39-27, but Wawasee maintained control and put the game away in the fourth as Westview was forced to a hurry-up offense that it wasn't comfortable with.
For Wawasee it was another night of balanced scoring as sophomore starter Kory Lantz led his team with 15, while seniors Conrad and Custer had nine each. Custer added eight rebounds to his total.
Ryan Kauchek came off the bench to add 10 points in his best effort of the year.
"This was a good win for us," said Mishler. "We knew Westview would be tough. The Yoder boys do an excellent job."
Mishler was speaking of Westview's Jared and Ryan Yoder who combined for all but six of Westview's 38 points. Jared Yoder led all scorers with 21 points. Only four Westview players found the basket while Wawasee had nine players make the scorebook.
"We knew these last three games would be tough ciming into the tournament," commented Mishler. "I knew Westview would play tough and they had just beaten Goshen,...our next two opponents, Columbia City and Tippy Valley only have one loss each."
Wawasee's record now stands at 14-5 as they will visit potential sectional foe Columbia City on Tuesday in their next to last game.
