BOYS BB: Western FTs secure win

By JAY DAVIS
Tribune sportswriter

January 19, 2008 05:03 pm

— RUSSIAVILLE — Western converted eight straight free-throws in the game’s final 2:05 to spoil a late Maconaquah comeback as the Panthers defeated the visiting Braves 53-46 at Richard R. Rea Gymnasium Friday night.
The victory enabled Western to win its first Mid-Indiana Conference game after two losses and the Panthers improved to 6-5 overall. The loss also snapped Maconaquah’s four-game winning streak as the Braves now stand at 4-6 and 2-2.
“When we are able to get big leads late in the game we must learn to put teams away,” said Western coach Andy Weaver. “Tonight we were able to make the plays down the stretch and we had an effective total team effort.”
Western built an advantage slowly through the first three quarters, leading at the first stop 16-13, increasing the lead to 27-21 at the half and then to 37-30 after three quarters. When Matt Reida sank two free throws at the 6:25 mark of the final quarter, the Panthers lead grew to 40-31, but at that point the game began to turn in favor of the Braves.
Employing a one-three-one half-court trapping defense, Maconaquah forced two Western turnovers and over the next two minutes put together a 7-0 run to trim the Western lead to 40-38.
“[Western] had been comfortable on offense the entire night so we decided to try something different with the trap,” said Maconaquah coach Luke Zartman. “It threw them off a little in the fourth quarter and allowed us to get back into the game.”
The Braves’ Nick George would tie the game at 40 on a free-throw line jumper with 2:25 remaining, but Western answered with two free throws by senior center Marc Slick to push the Panthers advantage back to two points. Maconaquah tied the score for a final time at 42 on a rebound basket by senior Austin Pyke with 1:26 showing.
It was then Darian Greene gave Western the lead for good, converting on a back-door pass from Wes White that turned into a three-point play and a 45-42 lead with :55 showing.
Slick would then add four more free throws in as many tries and junior Jake Lazar sank two more charity tosses late to secure the win. The Panthers hit 12 of 13 free throws in the fourth quarter and 14 of 15 for the game.
“[The Braves] went to a defense that worked and we became passive against their trap,” said Weaver. “However, even though they were able to make the game tight, they never got the lead.”
Maconaquah was forced to play the better part of the game without leading scorer and rebounder Jarrid Bradley. The senior center suffered an ankle injury at the 5:05 mark of the first quarter and was forced to the locker room for observation. Bradley returned briefly in the second quarter and again in the final 6:25 of the contest. Visibly slowed by the ankle, Bradley finished with just two points and not a single rebound.
Following the game, Zartman was unsure of Bradley’s status and did not offer any other information about the severity of the injury.
Slick led the Panthers with 19 points, while Greene added 12 and Wes White contributed six points and a team-high nine rebounds.
With Bradley out of the lineup, Nick George and Kodi Deisch stepped up to lead the Braves with 18 and 13 points respectively. Deisch also tied White for game rebounding honors with nine.