SYRACUSE – Neither team left the Hardwood Teepee satisfied with its shooting effort. Columbia City was just a smidge better, enough so to take a 46-38 non-conference boys basketball win at Wawasee Tuesday night.
The Eagles made 38 percent of their shots to the Warriors’ 34 percent. Wawasee was able to use its now-trademark long-possession offense and move the ball around the perimeter, but struggled to get the ball inside.
“I thought we moved the ball better. We tried to circulate the ball through the paint. Columbia City did a nice job of taking away our post feeds,” Wawasee coach Jon Everingham said. “We moved the ball well from side-to-side, but sometimes you look a lot better when you can knock down some shots.”
Each team made five three-pointers, but Wawasee needed 26 attempts to the Eagles’ 14 shots from long distance.
“We got a lot of open looks, and we probably took more threes than we wanted to, but we just didn’t knock down shots in the right positions in the game,” Everingham said.
The difference-maker in the game was the Eagles’ Mitchell Wilson. He scored 11 of Columbia City’s 15 first-quarter points, hitting a trio of three-pointers. He then capped his 21-point night with a trey and by hitting 5-of-6 free throws in the fourth quarter to put Wawasee away.
“We lost Wilson at least three times, and he made us pay every time,”Everingham said. “Whenever he got an open shot, he made it. So we went box-and-one on him and we did a pretty good job, but as soon as we went zone he made us pay.
“So their guys made plays and we need to do a better job of putting our guys in a better position to make plays. Our defense, again tonight, held us in the game and gave us a chance to be there at the end.”
Trevon Coleman had 12 points for the Warriors, and Bennett Hoffert hit three treys on his way to an 11-point game.
The Warrior junior varsity won a thriller 41-38 over the Eagles. Evan Eshbach, Jaydon Boyer, Blake Albright and Ethan Hardy had eight points each for Wawasee.
Wawasee won’t play again until it hosts a tournament Dec. 29. The Warriors open against Knox in a 10 a.m. semifinal. Northridge and South Bend St. Joseph square off in the other semifinal at 11:30. With a win, Wawasee will play in the title game at 7:30. The third-place game tips off at 6 p.m.
COLUMBIA CITY 46, WAWASEE 38
CC 15 9 5 17 – 46
W 10 11 4 13 – 38
Columbia City – Garrett Roehling 2-5 0-0 4, Ethan Christen 1-7 3-4 6, Cameron Scott 1-4 0-0 2, Michael Sievers 3-6 0-0 6, Mitchell Wilson 6-12 5-6 21, Max Bedwell 2-4 0-0 4, Trent Simmons 1-4 1-2 3. Totals 16-42 9-12 46.
Three-pointers – Columbia City 5 (Wilson 4, Christen), Wawasee 5 (Hoffert 3, Boyer, Evans); Rebounds – Columbia City 26 (Sievers 7), Wawasee 28 (Boyer 7); Turnovers – Columbia City 4, Wawasee 11; Fouls – Columbia City 13, Wawasee 13; Fouled out – none; Records: Columbia City 3-4, Wawasee 2-4.
JV – Wawasee 41, Columbia City 38
Wawasee – Evan Eshbach 8, Jaydon Boyer 8, Blake Albright 8, Ethan Hardy 8, Chris Stromback 5, Marshal Miller 4.
