Class 1A No. 4 West Central’s undefeated start to the season came to a halt at the hands of county rival Winamac on Friday night in Francesville.
The Warriors defeated the Trojans 64-61 in overtime to reclaim the Tomahawk.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“It was a big win for us. The place was packed,” Winamac coach Mike Springer said. “I don’t know how many seats they have, 2,500 people or so, and the place was packed. It was hopping and a lot of energy in the gym and it was a really fast start for both teams. In the end we were able to pull it out in overtime. But our kids played together really well. They worked hard on defense in the second half. West Central’s got some really good scorers. They got two kids that split nine 3s amongst them and they were hard to guard.”
Winamac led 22-19 after one. West Central led 36-34 at halftime and 50-48 after three. The game was tied 58-all at the end of regulation.
“We got down seven in the third quarter with some foul trouble and our kids responded really well,” Springer said. “We had good bench play and our starters did a good job.
“Defensively, I really felt like we really slowed them down in the second half, limited only the two 3s. But it was a great atmosphere, a great deal of intensity and a lot of hollering and screaming from the bleachers. And the coaches were really calm.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementEthan Burgess had 19 points, five rebounds and five steals for the Warriors. Justin Potthoff had 19 points and five assists.
Parker Zeider was also in double figures with 10 points. Will Malchow and Jaybin Hines had eight apiece. Hines added five assists.
Burgess scored a career-high 19 points. He was 4 of 5 shooting from 3-point range.
“He’s a passive kid but when he needs to step up, he does,” Springer said. “He’s probably our best all-around shooter in practice drills and he just is really a good shooter. And Malchow got two fouls and Hines got two fouls and it was like he just stepped up and nailed the shots. He’s just a kid that is very reliable and just is solid for us. He probably shut down Bishop in the fourth quarter for us too. And he’s just a heck of a kid. And, he’s the kind of kid that you really want on your team because you know that he’s gonna come to practice every day and work his butt off and do the things in the game that the team needs to win.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBrendan Grindstaff hit six 3-pointers and had 22 points to lead West Central. Brady Bishop hit three 3s and scored 22 as well. Landon Hughes added seven points.
Winamac hosts Rensselaer on Thursday. West Central hosts Frontier on Thursday.
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