NAPPANEE - A 57-40 defeat at NorthWood (11-9) may not have been the biggest loss of the night for the Whitko Wildcats (15-5) Friday.
With 57 seconds remaining in the third quarter, star freshman point guard Logan Irwin caught an elbow from NorthWood junior John Sittler. After lying on the court for a period of time, Irwin left the floor and did not return."Right now, we're just hoping Logan can play on Tuesday (in the opening round of Sectional 21 against Columbia City)," Whitko coach Rob Irwin said. "He has a concussion, so it's something that may keep him from playing."
But even before Logan Irwin's departure, NorthWood had the game in hand thanks to a 13-point third quarter from NorthWood Panthers senior Skyler Titus, turning a 28-17 halftime lead into a 49-24 advantage going into the fourth.
"Skyler is a difference maker for our team," NorthWood coach Aaron Wolfe said. "For him to come out on Senior Night, and perform extremely well, I could not be happier for him."
Ditching his traditional No. 13 jersey, Titus wore injured teammate Derek Loucks' No. 12 on Senior Night, but the stats were the same, as Titus finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds.
Outside of Titus' production, Wolfe's squad also got 15 points out of sophomore Michael Paul, who went 3 for 3 from three-point land in the opening quarter, giving NorthWood a 22-10 cushion at the end of one.
"I was happy with how they started the game," Wolfe said of his guys. "Our start to the game was probably the difference."
On the flip side, Rob Irwin wasn't at all pleased with how his guys began the game.
"This is the first time all year the kids came into the game like they deserved to win, and didn't have to work hard," he said. "(They acted like, because) NorthWood was 10-9, they were going to lie down for us."
Lying down wasn't what NorthWood had in mind at all against its fellow Sectional 21 opponent.
Hitting 8 of 15 shots in the opening quarter, including 4 of 6 three-pointers, NorthWood took advantage of Whitko's 1-for-10 shooting in the first eight minutes.
Whitko's defense stepped up in the second quarter, holding the Panthers to just six points, but with the offense only generating seven points, the Wildcats were in a 28-17 halftime hole.
"Hopefully, this aggravates them a little bit," Rob Irwin said about his team. "Maybe we needed this. We may have been getting cocky, thinking we were awfully good. Maybe this is a good wake-up call."
Following the injury to Logan Irwin, Whitko outscored NorthWood 16-8 in the fourth quarter, but by that time, the game was decided.
"You saw our level of intensity go up a boatload when that happened with Logan," Rob Irwin said. "That aggressiveness is how we won 15 games. We're not good enough to play without that intensity."
Playing with intensity, Whitko senior Todd Reed scored seven of his 11 points in the final quarter, providing a bright spot for the Wildcats.
"He really started battling," Rob Irwin said of Reed. "They all started battling."
Whitko was led by Logan Irwin's 13 points, while sophomore Zac VanDeWater had nine points and six boards.
Senior Kaden Krull led the Wildcats with seven rebounds and two blocked shots.
Whitko now sets its sights on sectional play, which will be played at NorthWood High School. The Wildcats take on 7-13 Columbia City at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
