By RYAN WALKER
WOODBURN — Southern Wells was eliminated in the semifinal round of the Allen County Athletic Conference Tournament Friday night with a 67-25 loss to Wells County’s boogeyman — the Woodlan Warriors.
Woodlan (13-2), who took care of Bluffton to knock the Tigers out of the tournament, continued its hot shooting streak against the Raiders and now advances to the championship game to face Adams Central on Saturday. The game will be played at Bluffton High School. The Warriors were 53 percent from the floor against the Tigers and 52 percent against the Raiders (3-6).
Head coach Joel Roush said that Woodlan has a talented group, but their team runs much deeper than just that on its own.
“I don’t think it’s just that they’re talented — they’re good, and they play hard,” Roush said after the game. “They’re organized defensively. They’re really good. They’re just a very difficult bunch to deal with. Their side is prohibitive for us a little bit. It’s just a tough bill for us.”
In the first quarter, Roush’s team was on the bad end of a 13-2 run in the last three minutes, which separated the two teams by a score of 25-7. Trey Yoder, a six-foot-six-inch sophomore, was a perfect 5-5 from the floor and created a tall task for the Raiders to handle.
Yoder had a game-high 17 points and eight rebounds, spreading the floor with a pair of triples but also dominated down in the paint.
“The thing is, he’s on the wing and on the perimeter,” praised Roush. “Really, it’s not just his height. It’s his skill, it’s his length, it’s his willingness to share the ball with his teammates. I think he really makes them go.”
Southern Wells had trouble getting the ball in the net just as much as trying to keep it out defensively, shooting 21 percent in the first half and for the game. The length and size of Yoder and a few more players over six-foot-three-inches was a clear mismatch.
Roush said that because of Woodlan’s well-coached, lengthy defense, it forced his team to take bad shots at times.
“I think one is indicative of the other,” he said. “When you have to work that hard to get shots, sometimes you settle. I don’t think we did that a lot, but we did some. I think that’s human nature. You can only fight so hard for so long.”
Junior Chandler Oswalt had eight of the team’s 12 by halftime.
The second half flew by as the running clock sped up the rest of the game, holding both schools to single digits in each quarter.
Oswalt finished with a team-high 12 points, and Evan Pennington had nine for the Raiders.
Southern Wells will travel to Daleville next at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18.
sports@news-banner.com
WOODLAN 67,
SOUTHERN WELLS 25
At Woodlan High School
SOUTHERN WELLS (3-6): Chandler Oswalt 4-16 2-3 12, Evan Pennington 3-8 3-6 9, Quinton Mullins 1-5 1-1 3, Kedrik Sonnigsen 0-2 0-0 0, Jenson Nusbaumer 0-5 0-2 0, Gage Roberts 0-0 0-0 0, Andrew Aker 0-1 0-0 0, Perrin Gates 0-0 0-0 0, Nick Lozoya 0-0 0-0 0, CJ Reber 0-0 0-0 0, Bryar Gearheart 0-0 0-0 0, Tucker Worster 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 8-37 5-11 25
WOODLAN (13-2): Trey Yoder 7-9 1-1 17, Alex Miller 3-10 0-0 7, Dejay Gerig 3-3 0-1 6, Brendan Smith 3-6 1-1 8, Drew Fleek 3-5 1-1 8, Ethan Klepper 2-4 0-0 4, Luke Meyer 2-4 1-1 5, Dawson Lichty 2-4 0-0 4, Lincoln Sparks 1-3 1-2 3, Zachary Scheiderer 0-1 0-0 0, Mason Moore 0-0 2-2 2.TOTALS: 26-50 5-7 67
So. Wells 7 5 8 5 –– 25
Woodlan 25 26 7 9 –– 67
Three-point FG: Southern Wells 2-8 (Oswalt 2-5, Nusbaumer 0-3), Woodlan 5-14 (Yoder 2-3, Fleek 1-2, Smith 1-3, Miller 1-4, Lichty 0-1, Klepper 0-1). Rebounds: Southern Wells 13 (Oswalt 6, Sonnigsen 3, Aker 2, Pennington 1, Roberts 1), Woodlan 30 (Yoder 8, Meyer 7, Gerig 6, Miller 4, Fleek 2, Sparks 2, Smith 1). Turnovers: Southern Wells 14, Woodlan 8. Fouls: Southern Wells 10, Woodlan 16. Fouled Out: None. Technicals: None.
