SOUTH WHITLEY - If fans of Whitko High School's boys basketball team can celebrate the last game of the season as well as they did the first, some hardware better be going into the trophy case.
In Wednesday's season opener, students rushed the floor following the host Wildcats' 42-40 win over the Columbia City Eagles, marking the first time Whitko had defeated Columbia City since the 1995 season opener."It's been a while," Whitko coach Rob Irwin said of defeating Columbia City. "I mean, I haven't beaten Columbia City in a while, going back to (my coaching days) at Carroll."
The Wildcats earned the win thanks to a staunch defense, which held the Eagles to just two points during a 14:30 span that extended between the first and third quarters.
"I don't know if we just thought we were gonna walk out of here with a win because we're Columbia City and we've beaten them for how many years in a row," Columbia City coach David Parker said. "They're not just gonna roll over and let us come in here and beat them. To their credit, they just outplayed us the last few minutes of the game."
In those last few minutes, Whitko routinely outhustled Columbia City to loose balls, led by sophomore reserve Travis Lepper.
"Travis could not wait to get into the game," Irwin said. "That whole fourth quarter, he was chomping at the bit to get in the game. He's a kid that had moved away in the summer, and we didn't even know he was going to be here. We weren't planning on him, but he's been a pleasant surprise since practice started."
Luckily, Lepper did return to Whitko.
Following a three-pointer by junior Cory Snep, Whitko trailed Columbia City 38-37 with 1:32 remaining. On the in-bounds pass, a Whitko trap helped jar the ball loose, which Lepper and freshman Zac VanDeWater hustled to, drawing a jump ball, which went Whitko's way. On that possession, Snep converted one of two free throws, tying the game at 38-38, setting up a dramatic finish.
"There's a loose ball, and we kind of reach to pick it up and they have a guy diving for it," Parker said. "Then there's a rebound attempt, and we don't get the block out and they're just grabbing it.
"Whitko's pretty good, I'm not taking anything away from them, but I think we are a better team than what we showed."
The rebound Whitko grabbed was once again taken by Lepper with the scored knotted at 38-38. Lepper then converted a layup on the other end, giving his team a 40-38 lead - an advantage the Wildcats wouldn't let go.
"I never dreamed we'd win if (the score) was in the 40s," Irwin said. "I thought we had to get it up higher than that to win. But our kids have worked awfully hard, and we're better. "Offensively, we weren't very good tonight, and we still managed to win. We haven't been able to say that ever, since I've been here at Whitko."
The Wildcats were led in scoring by Snep, who finished with 13 points on 3-of-8 shooting. Junior Nick Metzger was second on the team with 12 points. The only field goals Snep and Metzger made were from three-point range.
While two of Snep's three-pointers were hit in the fourth quarter, Metzger's three first half treys were all vital to Whitko's success. Coming off the bench, Metzger's jump shots were much needed after Columbia City jumped out to a quick 13-3 lead, nine of which were scored by senior Jordan Moss, who finished with a game-high 18.
"Obviously, we got off to a pretty good start," Parker said of the early 10-point lead. "It might have been the worst thing that could have happened to us. We begin to think we're just gonna come out every quarter and beat them by eight and walk out of here and do whatever we're gonna do."
Following that early deficit, Whitko went on to outscore Columbia City 16-5 between the 2:25 mark in the first quarter and the 3:55 mark in the third. By the time Moss hit a free throw at that 3:55 mark, Whitko held a 19-18 lead.
"If we just do the things these guys have done forever - which is play strong, pass the basketball, find the open man and make the easy play - we're in great shape," Parker said.
But Whitko's defense wouldn't allow that. With Irwin implementing a press, Columbia City committed 23 turnovers, an oddity for the team which started five seniors.
I'll let you read my scouting report, and let you know pretty much what they did," Parker said of Whitko. "They're gonna come out and they're gonna play extremely hard. They're gonna get into you and they were gonna make us get out of what we wanted to do, which is relax and make passes - which is exactly what they did. I mean, 23 turnovers, that's unbelievable for this group."
Leading that defensive charge were seniors Brenden Hart and Trent Rowland. Each applied pressure to the Eagles' offense, taking them out of their comfort zone.
"I'm awfully hard on our two seniors, because they've been around for three years," Irwin said. "I don't give Brenden an inch. And I thought Brenden, defensively in the third quarter, was just terrific on Jake Sittler.
"I think Trent really picked it up too," Irwin added. "Those two kids did what they're supposed to do."
