WHITELAND

Despite the team’s seventh consecutive loss, Seymour basketball coach Tyler Phillips came away from the road trip feeling better about his team than when he left for Whiteland.

“I saw a lot of good things,” Phillips said after Tuesday night’s game. “I saw a lot of kids buying into the way we have to play. I don’t know if we have a buy-in until now. To come in and compete like we did, I thought the kids played hard. We’re really close to taking that next step.”

The difference was Whiteland outscored Seymour 11-4 in the third quarter en route to a 47-37 victory. Whiteland led 29-19 after three quarters.

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Eric McCoy was high for the Owls (1-7) with 16 points, the only player to reach double figures.

Senior guard Brennan Neal sank 5 of 9 shots, including 2 of 4 from 3-point line, en route to a team-high 15 points for the Warriors (3-3). Neal, who also hit all four free throws, also had a team-high seven rebounds and three assists. Whiteland senior forward Carter Crowe made 5 of 13 shots for 12 points.The Warriors Luke Helton finished with seven points, two assists and three steals.

Trailing 4-3, the Warriors went on a 12-0 run to take a 15-4 lead late in first quarter.

After the first quarter ended with Whiteland leading 15-6, the Owls closed the halftime deficit to 18-15 by outscoring the Warriors 9-3 in the second quarter.

“In the first quarter, we didn’t come out and execute,” Phillips said. “We talked about shot selection and just being patient offensively. We didn’t do that. We weren’t locked in defensively. The second quarter, we were engaged and kind of frustrated them with our patience. That was the style we have to play. We have to be able to play that way for four quarters.”

The Warriors had a 21-15 edge on the boards. The Warriors made 16 of 36 for 44 percent from the field.

“It wasn’t a pretty win, but we won,” Whiteland coach Matt Wadsworth said. “When you play 4A basketball, every night, you have to go out and earn your victory. I was really pleased with our start in the first quarter. We were able to get some easy baskets with our defense. I was disappointed as the second quarter played out that we missed the outside shot and we didn’t attack the basket and go inside to the post. We talked about going inside more at halftime, and we did in the second half.”

The Owls host Switzerland County on Dec. 27.