Late Misplays Hurt Warriors In NLC?LossSYRACUSE – In a fast-paced game that remained close until the end, the Wawasee Warriors boys basketball team fell to Elkhart Memorial 59-51 in Northern Lakes Conference action Friday night.
The Warriors got off to a hot start, hitting their first three shots from the field en route to a 6-2 lead. After an Elkhart Memorial flurry from midrange, though, they ended up facing a 16-6 deficit. Wawasee hit the final two baskets of the period, and the score stood at 16-10 heading into the second quarter.
Wawasee sophomore Keaton Dukes was the only Warrior with more than one basket in the period, scoring four points. The Chargers were led by D’Arjon Lewis, who was 3-3 with seven points in the quarter.
Despite their slow offensive start, the Warriors bounced back in a big way in the subsequent period. Led by senior Austin Miller, who scored 11 of his game-high 22 total points on 5-6 shooting in the second, Wawasee cut the deficit to only two by the half, sitting at 26-28.
The third quarter began on a similar note; hot shooting enabled Wawasee to take the lead several times in the quarter. At the onset of the fourth, the score stood at 44-41 in Memorial’s favor.
The final quarter proved to be a high-energy affair. Wawasee’s defense was exceptional, forcing six turnovers, two of which resulted in quick baskets on the other end.
Alas, the Warrior offensive efforts were unable to keep up with Memorial’s scoring. Wawasee shot only 3-of-7 in the period, with turnovers limiting the amount of shots they were able to attempt.
Also detrimental to the Wawasee effort was the impact of Memorial’s tall, athletic forwards. Six-foot-five senior Brandon Brooks and 6-3 freshman Damarion Anderson, both of whom had largely been held in check during the first three quarters, combined for seven points and several crucial offensive rebounds during the fourth.
“Coming into the game, their interior play was our main concern,” said Wawasee head coach Jon Everingham. “We allowed them to shoot more threes than normal so that we could control the paint.
“To their credit, they didn’t bite and stayed true to their game. You can kind of trick a lot a of teams into thinking they can win by shooting more threes, but Memorial only took 12 for the whole game and continued looking to their strengths.”
Everingham felt that his team handled Memorial’s press well.
“We knew they were going to come out with that full-court press and keep it up all game,” he said. “I think it’s a credit to us that we played against it well enough to be in the game up until the end.”
In the end, Everingham felt that the primary factor that lost them the game was bad plays at crucial times, specifically during the fourth quarter. Turnovers plagued the team during the period, resulting in several easy baskets that enabled Memorial to extend their lead whenever Wawasee crept within striking distance.
A bright spot for the Warriors was the play of sophomore Jack Stover. He finished with nine points on the strength of 5-of-5 free throw shooting, repeatedly got to the charity stripe for Wawasee and played tremendous defense against Memorial’s talented forwards.
“Jack and these other young players are learning,” said Everingham. “They’re learning poise; they’re learning to stay calm in high-pressure situations. We’re getting a lot of good performances out of them.”
Next up for Wawasee (7-5, 0-3 NLC) is a road game at Plymouth (6-8, 3-0 NLC).
