Whiteland escapes Seymour in 2nd half

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WHITELAND

The Seymour boys basketball team was able to tie its game at Whiteland at 23 before halftime but ultimately fell 62-52 on Saturday.

In the first quarter, the Owls distributed the ball efficiently, as four different players scored.

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With three ticks on the clock, Ty Christensen stole a Warriors inbounds pass and buried a 3-pointer over a defender to give the Owls a 13-9 boost after eight minutes of play.

The Warriors started the second quarter on a 14-0 run.

Owls junior Toriek Miller snapped the scoring streak with a layup to trim the margin 23-15 with 1:40 remaining in the first half.

The Owls then went on a 10-0 run, including a 3-pointer and two made free throws by Anthony Rork.

A block by Owls senior Ryan Wieneke held the score at 23 at halftime.

The Warriors found their offense in the third quarter, as they netted a combined 17 points from six different players.

Up 40-34 after 24 minutes on the floor, started the fourth quarter on a 12-7 scoring streak to increase their lead to 10 points.

The Owls put a full court press on the Warriors, and Rork hit a 3-pointer at the 3:11 mark to narrow the deficit to 45-52.

Despite their best efforts, the Owls couldn’t muster enough points in the waning minutes, and the Warriors hit a handful of free throws to seal the win.

The Owls cut down their turnovers from the loss against Jeffersonville on Friday night. They had nine Saturday and

16 the night before.

“(Whiteland) didn’t present the same type of defense that Jeffersonville does,” Clough said. “I thought we were a little more poised. We just had a few things get away from us. When you’re forced to play from behind eight or nine points it’s tough to get yourself back if you’re not making shots.”

The Warriors won the battle of the boards, outrebounding the Owls 21-18 on the night.

“I thought that they had some second chance points that hurt us,” Clough said. “Defensively, I thought we played really well for a long portion of the game. Tom Purdie, their best player, had been averaging over 23 points per game, and Zach Schlatterer and Ryan Wieneke did a great job on him only giving up two points. We didn’t’ clean up the glass like we needed to, and I think maybe fatigue played a little bit of a part

in that.”

Miller led the Owls with

17 points and five rebounds.

“Our guys play extremely hard, and now we’re starting to play a little smarter,” Clough said. “We are starting to find the right pass and play, and if we do that a little more we will continue to get better offensively. We’ve held teams down in the 50- and 60-point range. The Brownstown game we got down a little, but our defense has been pretty solid. Our offense just needs to catch up a little bit.”

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