advertisement:
By RICK SPRUNGER
The name of the game is still putting the ball in the basket.
Southern Wells exploded out of the gate against Wabash Tuesday night, hitting their first six shots from the field. The Raiders fired at a whopping 70 percent clip (14-for-20) while building a 14-point halftime lead and methodically put away the visiting Apaches by a 62-51 score.
Southern Wells improved to 4-12 with the win. Wabash fell to 4-14 with the loss.
Right in the middle of Southern Wells’ game-deciding first half was Jake Ripperger.
The 5-10 junior scored 15 of his game-high 16 points in the first two quarters, connecting on six of eight shots, including three three-pointers. He also picked up five rebounds, three assists, and two steals while blocking two shots.
“Jake is a great shooter when he’s on,” said a pleased Southern Wells coach Adam Bontreger. “He came out on fire and carried us in the first half.”
Ripperger scored eight points in an 11-0 first quarter run that put Southern Wells in control at 15-4, added a buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of the period to stop an eight-point Wabash run and give the Raiders an 18-12 edge, and then added four more points in an 8-0 Raider spurt that put his team up, 32-18, at the intermission.
Fueling the Southern Wells fire was Lucas Hamilton.
The diminutive point guard only scored seven points. But he hit five of six second-half free throws and dished out 12 assists.
“He’s exactly the kind of point guard and leader that we need,” said Bontreger later. “Any time you get 12 assists you’re doing something right.”
Southern Wells also owned the glass by a commanding 28-16 margin, paced by the eight rebounds of Chase Harris.
“Chase handled the pressure in the post very well and rebounded the basketball,” praised his coach after watching Harris outduel 6’6” Wabash pivot Greg Henderson.
Harris and Alex Fiock, who scored 10 points and grabbed five boards himself, held Henderson to just two points and five rebounds.
With a big halftime lead, Southern Wells altered its game plan in the final two periods.
“We talked [at halftime] about grinding out possessions and being patient,” said Bontreger. “We did a great job of settling ourselves down when they went on runs, and we didn’t panic.”
And they went to the free throw line.
After not shooting a single free throw in the first 16 minutes, they paraded to the foul stripe 19 times in the second half, canning 13.
The second half started the way the first half ended, with Southern Wells on a run.
The Raiders hit their Central Indiana Conference opponents with a 9-2 spurt to open the third quarter.
Coupled with the 8-0 run to end the first half, it meant that Southern Wells outscored the Apaches, 17-2, during a six-minute stretch and kicked a 24-18 lead out to 41-20.
It was still 56-36 midway through the fourth quarter before a game-ending flurry by Wabash made the final score appear closer than the game really was.
Southern Wells also won the reserve game, defeating their Wabash counterparts, 44-34.
Trevor Bower paced Southern Wells with 15 points, while Drew Penrod added nine. Jordan Caldwell scored six points, Clayton Sessions five, Zach Thompson four, Luke Roush three, and Tyler Roush two.
sports@news-banner.com