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Tuesday, 08 January 2008 |
By JOSHUA KEERAN
Sports Editor
PIQUA — The shooting woes that plagued the Wapakoneta varsity boys basketball team its last time out on the hardwood came back to haunt the Redskins once again on Saturday.
Unable to score in the opening minutes of the game and the closing minutes of the contest, the Redskins fell to the Piqua Indians, 54-47, in non-league action.
“Our guys have not been ready to play, and I’ll take the blame for that,” Wapakoneta varsity basketball coach Scott Minnig said. “We got guys that are coming out with no emotion and no pride right now, which I take blame for.”
The loss puts Wapakoneta (4-5) under the .500 mark for the first time this season.
Trailing 44-42 with 2:40 left in the game, Wapakoneta senior Kyle Maus gave his team the lead with a pull-up 3-pointer from the left wing. The lead, however, was short lived as 20 seconds later, Piqua’s Tyrell Knox put the Indians (6-4) ahead for good, 47-45, via a 3-pointer with just 1:55 left to play.
All Wapakoneta could muster in the final 2 minutes was a Maus layup, while Piqua knocked down seven free throws to ice the game.
“We really focused on two things tonight,” Piqua varsity coach Marcus Bixler said. “Defensively, it was eliminating their 3’s which for stretches we did well, and offensively, it was attacking the rim. We got the ball to the rim in the first half and got ourselves to the free-throw line.”
After shooting just 30 percent in a loss to Ottawa-Glandorf on Friday night, Wapakoneta’s struggles from the field continued in the first period on Saturday as the Redskins managed to make only two shots while falling behind 11-5.
The Redskins finally found the bottom of the net with some consistency in the second period. A 7-2 run to begin the stanza by Wapakoneta cut the deficit to 13-12 with 5:44 left in the half.
Five minutes later, the ’Skins took their first lead of the game on a runner down the lane by Maus that put Wapakoneta ahead 20-19 with 40 seconds left in the half, but a layup by Piqua’s Ryan Musselman with 5 seconds to go gave the home team a 21-20 halftime advantage.
Wapakoneta appeared to have shifted momentum to its side in the third period after a 11-6 run to begin the half left the Redskins with a 31-27 lead halfway through the period.
Piqua, though, outscored Wapakoneta 6-3 in the closing minutes of the third period to cut the deficit to 35-34 heading into the final period.
“We weren’t mentally tough enough to sustain it and get the win,” Minnig said.
Fueling the Indians charge in the third period was big man David Rolf, who scored 7 of his game-high 20 points in the period. He finished the game 9-of-13 from the field.
“He’s a good athlete,” Minnig said. “He plays physical and again we were weak physically and mentally.”
“He was the man,” Bixler said. “We told him tonight, ‘You have to play the way David Rolf plays,’ and the bottom line is he did that tonight.”
For the Redskins, Maus finished with 14 points while Drew Golden chipped in 12.
Also for Wapakoneta, Luke McDevitt and Drew Parker both added 5.
For the Indians, Rolf received help from Wes Reed (11 points) and Justin Hemm (7 points).
In the junior varsity contest, both teams fought to a tie after three periods, but in the end the Redskins were denied their first victory of the season as Piqua walked off the court a winner, 51-38.
Jordan Ruppert led the ’Skins with 14 points. |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 10 January 2008 )
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