CLASSIC DAY 1: Good start good enough as Patriots best Knights
Dec. 27—Terre Haute North played like a Class 4A top-10 high school basketball team for the first quarter of the First Financial Wabash Valley Classic on Monday at Terre Haute South, and that was just about enough.
After racing to leads of 13-2 and 19-4, the Patriots went on to a 50-39 victory over Northview to send the unbeaten Patriots to the winners' bracket and making the Knights the early favorite to capture the consolation championship.
"We got off to a good start," coach Todd Woelfle of North agreed after the game. "The kids were definitely ready to play."
"We find matchup and see what works," said senior post player Colin Frank, who had five first-quarter buckets on his way to a game-high 17 points. "We utilized [post play] as well as we could and got some easy baskets."
The score was 19-6 after a quarter and 25-12 after a tough second quarter for both offenses. But that was a sign that the Knights had upped their own defensive play, and by the end of the third quarter Northview had gotten within 30-24.
"We weren't as efficient the rest of the game," Woelfle said. "[The Knights] were physical with us, and we didn't handle that as well as we'd like."
"They started getting us sped up, and we didn't handle their physicality well," Frank agreed.
"I think [the first-quarter problems] were our attitude and mind-set," coach Michael Byrum of the Knights said after the game. "We were very timid. You've got to control your luck, and we were very standoffish at the beginning of the game."
It was still a 39-33 game in North's favor with a little more than two minutes to play, but the Patriots were 7 for 7 from the foul line down the stretch and didn't miss a field goal attempt in the last eight minutes.
"We made enough plays and free throws to hold on for the win," Woelfle said.
Frank added eight rebounds to his point total, matching teammate Mark Hankins in that category. Hankins scored nine points and was part of the clutch free throw shooting at the end along with Damon Sturm and Chris Owens, who combined for 15 points.
"Colin Frank was excellent, really all game but especially in the first half," Woelfle said.
Braden Allen was Northview's only double-figure scorer with 11 points, all of them coming after he missed a dunk attempt midway through the third quarter.
"We need him to play kind of reckless," Byrum said of Allen. "He gives us energy."
As a team, however, the Knights shot just 32% from the field and were 2 for 16 from 3-point range.
"We were really focused on [Northview's] shooters," Woelfle said. "I'd like to think that had something to do with our defensive effort."
"No question we struggled on the offensive end," Byrum said. "Coach Woelfle does a great job. And when it's all said and done, this helps us down the road."
