Taking control of the rebounding and mixing up their defenses in the second half were the keys in a come-from-behind win by the Concord Minutemen.
Concord trailed the Wawasee Warriors 51-34 at halftime before winning 81-71 in a Northern Lakes Conference high school boys basketball game Friday night in Syracuse.
The Minutemen outscored the Warriors 47-20 over the final two quarters.
“Unbelievable,” Concord coach Steve Austin said. “This is probably the greatest comeback win I’ve had in my coaching career.
“All we told the kids at halftime was to go up strong with the ball and slow down. We wanted them to still play fast, but slower in their minds.
“We missed an awful lot of layups in the first half.”
Wawasee coach Phil Mishler said, “Concord took control on the boards in the second half. They limited us to one shot while they got rebounds and had point-blank putbacks. That is the only was a 17-point lead disappears.
“Concord switched defenses on us, but so did Elkhart Memorial. We got good looks at the basket in the second half, they just wouldn’t go in.”
Five-ten Larone Smith played a huge role for the Minutemen in the second half, scoring 22 of his game-high 27 points.
Smith’s layup at 1:00 of the third period gave the Minutemen their first lead since a 5-0 advantage in the first quarter.
“Larone played a super game,” Austin said. “He was confident and when he penetrated he hit every shot.”
Mishler said, “Smith did a great job of getting some outlet passes and scoring easy baskets.”
Six-eight sophomore Jason Spriggs added 12 points, 6-5 freshman Franko House 11 6-3 senior Doug Acker and 6-0 junior Anthony Yoder eight apiece.
Spriggs grabbed 13 rebounds as Concord outrebounded Wawasee 24-9 in the second half.
The Warriors started missing form the outside in the second half. Wawasee was 8-of-17 from 3-point in the opening half before finishing 11-of-41.
Six-four junior Riley Stichter and 6-3 freshman Jacob Thompson scored 17 points apiece to lead the Warriors. Five-ten senior Keegan Beer chipped in with 11.
Concord (11-3, 2-3 NLC) hosts NorthWood Saturday, Feb. 6 and Wawasee (6-6, 2-3) entertains Lakeland tonight.
Sports
Super rally by Concord
- Sports
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COLLEGE CONNECTIONS: Ex-Raider Troyer excels for Wesleyan
Senior Derrick Troyer (Northridge) poured in 21 points for the NAIA D-II No. 14 ranked Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats in a 94-87 Mid-Central Conference win over the Bethel Pilots.
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FROM THE SIDELINES: EN trip triggers hoop memories
Visiting the “Big Blue Pit” in Kendallville on Saturday for the Goshen-East Noble boys basketball game stirred up a multitude of memories.
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OUTDOOR COLUMN: Replacing the new with the old
If the statement came from any other angler, I would have instantly dismissed it. But Russell Chatham is no ordinary fisherman. He knows whereof he speaks.
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Gridiron Knight
One of the most disruptive parts of Concord’s “Strike Force” defense over the past two high school football seasons — Jarrett Settles — has decided to take his football talents to Marian University in Indianapolis.
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GIRLS BASKETBALL: Panthers roll
Using some of the best parts of their arsenal — superior size, quickness and speed — the NorthWood “Black Swish” jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in winning the program’s 22nd high school girls basketball sectional championship Saturday night in the Class 3A final at Wawasee.
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GIRLS BASKETBALL: Heartbreak for Raiders
Oh, so close.
The Northridge girls basketball team was within sight of a Class 4 sectional championship Saturday night at Goshen High School. -
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Leafs drop a heartbreaker
Last time the Goshen College men’s basketball team faced MCC foe Spring Arbor University, the Maple Leafs had their worst offensive output of the 2011-12 season in a 60-48 loss on the road.
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GIRLS BASKETBALL: On to the finals
Northridge’s very young girls basketball team — a squad without a single senior — has the Raiders within one victory of the school’s first-ever sectional championship.
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Panther-Charger final
The No. 3-ranked NorthWood “Black Swish” survived an upset bid by a determined group of Fairfield Falcons Friday night in the high school girls basketball Class 3A sectional at Wawasee.
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Kelly, Irish reshuffle coach lineup
When a football team falls short of its goals, changes are often made to the coaching staff.
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