Warriors Earn First Win Of The Season!

On a cold evening in Culver Indiana, local basketball fans would find plenty of heat inside of John R. Nelson Gymnasium at Culver Community High School, as the Cavaliers played host to Hoosier North Athletic Conference opponent, Winamac. Coming into the game the Warriors would be looking for their first win of the season, as they had begun the 2019-20 year 0-5, having played the likes of Twin Lakes, Rochester, Plymouth, and LaVille to start off the season.

The Warriors would get help from multiple players throughout the ballgame, but perhaps the most surprising help came from 6’1 Senior, Shayden May. Built like an offensive tackle on the football team, May was able to use a combination of physical power and finesse, on his way to a near double-double. May would end the game leading all scorers with twenty-one points. He was also the game’s leading rebounder as he pulled down nine rebounds in the winning effort. Perhaps the most surprising statistic of May’s would be in the steals category, as he had a game-high five steals in the game as well! The scoring of May would not be bunched up into one explosive burst at a single point in the game, rather, it would be a balanced scoring effort that saw the Senior but up ten in the first half and eleven in the second.

As is usually the case with our area teams, the win was not reliant on a single individual. Senior guard Will Larkin would put up thirteen points in the win, with eleven of his points coming in the second half, while Junior Carson Bennett would also reach double-digits, putting up ten of his own.

The Cavaliers had a balanced attack throughout the game. While they did not have anyone reach double figures, there would be seven individuals who would score between two and seven points, led by Seniors Owen Valiquet, Donavan Ziaja, and Sophomore Jalen King, who would all put up seven points apiece in the effort. Ziaja would also lead the Cavs in rebounding with seven, while also going a perfect 4-4 at the free throw line.

Free throw shooting was an impressive sight throughout the evening as the two teams would combine to go 21-27 at the line for 77%. Both the Warriors as well as the Cavaliers will have a little bit of time off to prepare for their next game as Winamac will be off until December 20th, when they play host to Triton, while Culver will be back at home on December 21st, as they will host Morgan Township.

Scoring Statistics

Winamac (57): Shayden May-21, Will Larkin-13, Carson Bennett-10, Trent Fox-8, Daniel Kasten-3, Russell Compton-2

Culver (34): Jalen King-7, Owen Valiquet-7, Donavan Ziaja-7, Hunter Manns-5, Owen Clingler-3, Braxton Conley-3, Auston Zehner-2