Andy Amey
The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE —
It might not have been the best time for Shakamak to play Terre Haute North in boys high school basketball.
A day after their chances for a Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic threepeat were dashed in an emotional loss to Robinson, the Patriots came out with a vengeance Saturday evening, scoring the first 17 points of the game and downing the Lakers 68-40.
“I was very pleased with the way we responded to a disappointing loss yesterday,” coach Todd Woelfle of the Patriots said after Saturday’s game. “We got off to a good start and we got some steals with our defense that created some offense for us.”
North missed some shots early against Shakamak’s active zone defense, but Woelfle had a defensive strategy of his own that ignited his team.
Using a 1-3-1, three-quarter-court trap, the Patriots harassed the Lakers into some first-quarter turnovers that blossomed into easy baskets. Add to that a hot hand from the corner by Steven Davis in the opening portion of each half and North was never threatened.
“We felt Shakamak would try to dictate the tempo, and with the 1-3-1 we could create more possessions, which would work in our favor,” Woelfle said.
Davis had seven points, a steal and a block in the first quarter. Even with a 9-0 lead near the midpoint of the period, Woelfle called a timeout to make a point — and some lineup changes — and reserve Chris Schenck had a basket and two steals to keep the pressure on.
Shakamak finally scored with 1:18 left in the first quarter and found a few things that would work offensively, pulling within 19-9 in the second quarter. North’s Calvin Blank had four baskets that period to keep his team in command, however, and Davis — who finished with a game-high 22 points — hit his first five shots of the third period, three of them beyond the arc, to remove any possible doubt about the outcome.
“Steven shot it well,” Woelfle said, “and I was really pleased with our guys recognizing he was shooting well and delivering the ball to him.”
Blank added 12 points for North, while Brodie Crowe led Shakamak with 17 points and Patrick Green and Brandon Morin added nine each. Green also had five rebounds and four assists, and Crowe actually led all rebounders with six.
“We handled that the best we could ... we’re not as physical or as strong as we need to be,” coach Steve Brett of the Lakers said afterward.
“North’s got some really good players,” Brett continued. “When you play good teams like that, it shows the things you need to work on.
“Our kids gave a good effort ... we competed OK, but the score doesn’t indicate that.”
SHAKAMAK (40) — Crowe 5-10 4-4 17, Green 3-10 3-3 9, Bessling 0-0 0-0 0, Schubla 0-0 0-1 0, Collins 0-1 0-0 0, Morin 3-6 3-4 9, West 0-2 2-2 2, Burris 0-0 0-0 0, Cox 0-1 0-0 0, Walters 1-1 1-1 3, Messmer 0-1 0-0 0, McDonald 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-32 FG, 13-15 FT, 40 TP.
TERRE HAUTE NORTH (68) — Lewis 2-4 0-2 4, Hart 1-3 3-3 5, Blank 6-9 0-0 12, Davis 8-11 2-4 22, Jahn 0-1 2-2 2, Grady 2-3 0-1 4, Vickers 3-8 0-0 6, Schenck 1-2 0-0 2, Dillahunt 1-2 0-0 2, Low 0-2 0-0 0, Sandifer 2-3 0-0 4, Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Dennany 1-1 0-0 2, Barrett 0-1 0-0 0, Aimone 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 28-52 FG, 7-12 FT, 68 TP.
Shakamak 2 10 14 14 — 40
Terre Haute North 17 10 24 17 — 68
3-point shooting — Shakamak 3-10 (Crowe 3-7, Messmer 0-1, Green 0-2), THN 5-16 (Davis 4-6, Aimone 1-1, Jahn 0-1, Schenck 0-1, Low 0-1, Barrett 0-1, Blank 0-2, Vickers 0-3). Total fouls — Shakamak 9, THN 16. Fouled out — none. Turnovers — Shakamak 18, THN 9. Rebounds — Shakamak 20 (Crowe 6, Green 5, Morin 4), THN 31 (Hart 4, Blank 4, Lewis 3, Dillahunt 3). Assists — Shakamak 8 (Green 4), THN 19 (Lewis 5, Vickers 4, Jahn 3). Steals — Shakamak 5 (Crowe 3), THN 16 (Lewis 3, Davis 2, Jahn 2, Vickers 2, Schenck 2). Blocks — Shakamak 0, THN 2 (Blank, Davis).
Next — Terre Haute North (6-4) plays the fifth-place game at 3:30 p.m. Monday. Shakamak (3-5) meets North Central on Wednesday in the second game of the Greene County Invitational.
