CLASSIC DAY 1: Wolves grind their way past Warriors in defensive master class
Dec. 27—From a basketball appreciation standpoint? One had to applaud the defense played by Parke Heritage and Casey in Monday's second game of the First Financial Wabash Valley Classic.
Both teams played pack-line, man-to-man defense. Both teams did so expertly, taking away both driving lanes and passing opportunities off-the-ball. Three-point opportunities were there, but only for a split second before the suffocating defense made its presence felt.
As a result? The game was a grind for both, but the Class 2A No. 6 Wolves found a way to solve the stopping power of the Warriors to earn a 43-30 victory.
The Wolves advance to play a juicy Classic quarterfinal against Terre Haute North. Parke Heritage got there with their own defensive prowess — Casey only converted 21.4% from the floor — as well as a 36-22 edge on the boards.
"[Casey] coach [Tom] Brannan does such a good job. The more film we watched, we knew they'd be tough to play because they guard so well. The way we play? I have a great appreciation for that. It wasn't going to be pretty. It wasn't going to be high-scoring. It was going to be a little ugly, a little rough around the edges," Parke Heritage coach Rich Schelsky said.
Casey coach Tom Brannan didn't have to dig deep to diagnose the Warriors' primary issue in the contest.
"Sometimes I make it a lot more complicated than it needs to be. It's a pretty simple game: you put the ball in the basket," Brannan said. "You're not going to see too many teams shoot around 20% and win a game."
The defensive die was cast from the start. Neither team made a bucket until Renn Harper broke the duck almost three minutes into the game. Both teams briefly warmed up mid-first quarter before the defensive hammer lock clamped down anew. It was a 9-9 draw after a quarter.
The game was, more or less, determined by a fallow second quarter from the Warriors. Casey was 0-for-10 from the field in the second period, scoring only two points at the free throw line. While Parke Heritage wasn't prolific, any scoring was better than no scoring and an 11-0 run in a game in which both teams combined to score 63 was a huge surge. Nas McNeal scored nine of his team-high 11 points in the first half as the Wolves led 20-11 at the break.
"Our guys really defended their stuff excellently all day," Schelsky said.
Casey's shots continued to miss the mark, but because of their defense, the Warriors were able to hang within range for quite a while. A Jacob Clement bucket late in the third quarter dropped the Warriors' deficit to six. The deficit was seven early in the fourth quarter.
However, with the clock ticking down, Casey had to take more chances to force turnovers and that played into the Wolves' hands. Schelsky had Joel Gooch float on the baseline on the offensive end and his teammates fed him as he scored all 10 of his points in the final period.
Schelsky is looking forward to a matchup of 4A vs. 2A ranked teams in Tuesday's showdown against 4A No. 10 Terre Haute North, which will tipoff at 1 p.m.
"That's why we play in this tournament. We don't want to play cupcakes. We want to play people who want to test us. There probably won't be anybody on our schedule better than them," Schelsky said.
