Warriors Outlast Trojans In Pulaski County Bout!
It was a classic matchup between the two Pulaski County rivals on Friday night, as Winamac played host to West Central in boys basketball. Had their record not been known prior to the game, nobody in the gym would have guessed they were still looking for their first win of the season.
Throughout the first quarter, it would be a seesaw event, with each team countering the other’s spurts of solid play. West Central’s Blayden Huber and Garrett Leman would be consistent threats early in the ballgame, as the two upperclassmen were on the attack at the offensive end of the floor. Winamac would apply a full court trapping defense that would help force the Trojans into twelve first half turnovers. In the first quarter, however, West Central would be able to handle the pressure, only committing three turnovers, as they were able to take a narrow two-point lead at thirteen to eleven.
Things would begin to change in the second quarter, as the Warriors defensive intensity would skyrocket with each passing minute. Ryan Gregor and Beau Brandt would give the Warriors a major spark on the offensive end of the floor, accounting for twelve of the team’s twenty-two first half points, scoring six apiece. Neither team would be backing down from the other throughout the second quarter, but the turnovers would begin to become an issue for the Trojans. After only committing three first quarter turnovers, West Central would commit nine in the second, allowing Winamac to take the lead, twenty-two to eighteen, when the horn sounded to end the first half. From a statistical standpoint, the game was every bit as close as the four point difference would indicate. Winamac held a slight lead in rebounding (fourteen to eleven), steals (five to four), and free throws, while West Central held the edge in made three pointers, knocking down four to Winamac’s two.
The second half would see the Warriors kick things into high gear, as a new energy appeared to emerge from the home locker room. From a scoring standpoint, the half would belong to Winamac 6’3 Senior forward Matt Swartzell. After being held relatively quiet in the first half, Swartzell would explode on the offensive end of the floor, scoring fifteen of his game-high nineteen points in the final sixteen minutes. The Warriors smothering defense would, once again, be a major force in the second half as Winamac was able to log seven more team steals while forcing West Central into fourteen turnovers, ten of which came in the third quarter. When the horn sounded at the end of the third quarter, Winamac was able to slightly stretch the lead, outscoring the Trojans ten to eight, to take a thirty-two to twenty-six lead into the third quarter.
On the offensive end of the floor, the two teams would go in completely different directions in the final eight minutes. Winamac would constantly be on the attack, scoring in every way possible, while continuing to play stout defense. With Swartzell consistently finding the basket, while four other teammates were able to chip in points hear and there, the Warriors were able to outscore the Trojans seventeen to four in the final quarter to win the battle of Pulaski County, forty-nine to thirty!
“It was not a pretty game” Winamac Head Coach Alan Huggler said following the win. “I give West Central credit, I think they outplayed us for a large portion of the game. Second half we got some transition buckets off of turnovers” he continued. “We had to buckle down on defense and really try to get in the gaps to control the drive. We did a great job of that late in the game”.
“I thought Matt Swartzell had a really good game” Huggler continued. “He put up a lot of points and is getting better and better on the defensive end. Ryan Gregor came in off the bench, hit some free throws, and he hit a quick shot when he got in there to spark us. Carson Bennett didn’t get as many minutes tonight, but he attacked the basket a couple of times, and that’s what we’re looking to do, to get the ball inside to create some other scoring opportunities, and that’s what we’re looking to do”.
The Starke County Co-Op Play of the Game on WKVI came in the first quarter with 2:23 remaining. Winamac Junior Beau Brandt came flying down on defense, when it appeared West Central would have an easy layup, blocked the attempt, which ended up turning into points at the other end of the floor for Winamac.
The Ashley Derrickson/Five Star Play of the Game on WKVI went to Winamac Senior Matt Swartzell. The 6’3 forward led all scorers with nineteen points, fifteen of which came in the second half, hitting six of seven at the free-throw line, knocked down a three-pointer, had seven rebounds and a steal in the winning effort.
The Warriors improve to 5-8 overall, and will be back in action Saturday when they take on Tippecanoe Valley, while the Trojans are still looking for their first win of the season, and will be back to work on February 1st, when they host the South Central Satellites.
Game Statistics
Scoring
Winamac(49): Ryan Gregor-9, Trent Fox-4, Carson Bennett-4, Russell Compton-7, Matt Swartzell-19, Beau Brandt-6
West Central(30): Blayden Huber-8, Carter Hudson-3, Garrett Leman-8, Carter Lewark-11
Free-Throw Shooting
Winamac: 13-18 72%
West Central: 3-6 50%
Made 3-Point Shots
West Central(5): Blayden Huber-2, Carter Hudson-1, Garrett Leman-2
Winamac(4): Ryan Gregor-1, Russell Compton-1, Matt Swartzell-1, Beau Brandt-1
Rebounding
Winamac(23): Ryan Gregor-1, Jaden Terry-3, Trent Fox-2, Carson Bennett-2, Russell Compton-3, Matt Swartzell-7, Alex Stark-1, Beau Brandt-4
West Central(20): Blayden Huber-5, Carter Hudson-3, Connor Marlatt-1, Garrett Leman-6, Carter Lewark-5
Steals
Winamac(12): Ryan Gregor-3, Jaden Terry-1, Trent Fox-3, Carson Bennett-1, Russell Compton-1, Matt Swartzell-1, Beau Brandt-2
West Central(8): Ayden White-1, Blayden Huber-1, Carter Hudson-3, Carter Lewark-3
*Statistical Information In This Article Provided By Kankakee Valley Broadcasting Staff. These Are Not Official Game Statistics*