Piqua 42 Wapakoneta 31

By WILLIAM LANEY
Managing Editor
Wapakoneta Daily News

A Wapakoneta High School graduate received credit for returning to his home court and helping the Piqua Indians leave with their first win of the 2008-09 varsity basketball season.
Piqua varsity coach Mick Leffel credited junior varsity coach and varsity assistant coach Jared Askins, a former Wapakoneta Redskins basketball standout, with helping the Indians settle down and go on a 19-0 run spanning the third and fourth periods en route to a 42-31 win.
"I have to give credit to the staff and Askins and Travis Karn for helping us earn this win," Leffel said after watching his team come from a half-time deficit of 17-13 to take control of the game. "In the second half, we settled down. I told the kids we are only down by 4 points and we are not playing well.
"I also pointed out that they were playing the zone well and slowing the game down," he said. "I told them the first 4 minutes of the second half would dictate the outcome of the game."
Leffel also credited the overall athleticism of his team for picking up their level of play in the second half, which tired out the Redskins defensively and offensively.
Redskin varsity coach Scott Minnig saw a lot of positives in the first half as the Redskins built a 14-8 first period lead and maintained the advantage going into the break.
"I thought we started off very well and we had a good flow, but as we got tired we stopped doing the little things we did early on when we had success," Minnig said. "In the second half, we just needed to find a way to put the ball in the basket."
The Redskins managed one 3-point shot in the third period, a shot from the corner by junior guard Jordan Ruppert at the 6:21 mark. The Indians' Dan Wilson, who led all scorers with 16 points, responded with a long bomb at the 6:08 mark and started the 19-0 run, which lasted until junior post player Mike Bogan hit a pair of free throws with 5:12 left in the game.
Physical fatigue likely played a factor in shots just missing the mark, and mental fatigue after several shots rimmed out as the Redskins tried to stem the tide.
At that point the Redskins trailed 34-22, Wapakoneta and Piqua traded baskets and free throws the rest of the period. Junior post player Justin Steveley hit a basket in the closing minutes for the final score.
The Redskins exhibited even scoring with senior post player Jake Lambert leading the team with 7 points, followed by a trio of players with 6 points including Ruppert, Bogan and junior guard Jackson Hayzlett. Bogan led the team with 8 rebounds, with Lambert collecting 6 caroms.
Hayzlett started the scoring on the night hitting a shot from behind the arc and giving Wapakoneta a quick 3-0 lead, 30 seconds into the game. The Indians' Gomez White, who ended the game with 10 points and 8 rebounds, hit a short-range bucket.
Piqua's Dan Wilson stroked a 3-pointer to give the Indians a short-lived 5-3 lead at the 6:13 mark, when Lambert responded with a 3-pointer. Hayzlett hit his second 3-pointer of the game with 4:26 showing on the clock to give Wapak a 10-6 lead.
Redskin junior post player Jacob Heinl and Ruppert added baskets to give Wapak the 14-8 lead after one stanza.
A bucket by Bogan and free throw by Ruppert provided all the scoring in the second period, while the Indians managed only two buckets the entire second stanza.
For the half, the Indians hit 5-of-27, or 18.5 percent of their shots, while the Redskins hit 6-of-23, or 26 percent, from the field.
The Indians heated up in the second half hitting 12-of-22 for 54 percent, and 17-of-49 for the game. The Redskins hit 5-of-23 in the second half, ending the game hitting 11-of-46.
"I thought our defense wasn't bad, but after a while when you can put the ball in the basket for a long stretch of time or go on a real long drought then it makes it real tough to play inspired defense," Minnig said. "You can keep playing defense and being aggressive, but if you can't put the ball in the basket it gets discouraging."
Despite the 11-point loss, Minnig said the team has some positives it can build on.
"I think if we can hold a team to 42 points then you should be able to put yourself in position to hopefully win a ball game," Minnig said, "but in contrast we have to find a way to put the ball in the basket."


Piqua               8  5 15 14- 42
Wapakoneta 14  3   3 11- 31


Piqua: Cedric Wright 3-2-8, Tavian Williams 2-0-6, Dan Wilson 7-0-16, Tyrell Knox 1-0-2, Gomez White 4-2-10, Devian Oliphant 0-0-0.
Wapakoneta: Jackson Hayzlett 2-0-6, Mike Bogan 2-2-6, Shane Helmstetter 0-2-2, Zane Oen 0-0-0, Corey Lotridge 0-0-0, Kody Kohler 0-0-0, Tommy Georg 0-0-0, Jacob Lambert 3-0-7, Jordan Ruppert 2-1-6, Justin Steveley 1-0-2, Jacob Heinl 1-0-2.