Warriors suffer narrow home defeat

For the Daily Journal

The Whiteland boys basketball team saw a six-point lead evaporate quickly in the final two minutes against Decatur Central.

Khiree Williams had a lot to do with that, hitting two 3-pointers in the final 75 seconds to lift the Hawks to a 62-59 victory against the host Warriors in Mid-State Conference action Friday night.

“They made big shots from the perimeter,” said Whiteland coach Matt Wadsworth, whose team record dropped to 12-5 overall and 2-3 in the conference. “In game situations, we’ve done a good job all year getting shutouts. Sometimes an opponent is going to be able to that shot. We got to be able to answer, and we didn’t do that.”

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Whiteland’s Aaron Gross broke a 50-all tie with a 3-pointer That started an 8-0 run, capped by another 3 by Gross.

The Hawks (7-12, 5-1) held a 12-1 edge the rest of the way.

With the Warriors trailing 60-59, Michael Valle’s layup attempt just went in and out. Decatur Central’s Gary Wright hit two free throws with 21.2 seconds left.

Gross, who finished with 12 points, missed a deep 3-point shot with four seconds left. Whiteland got the ball again with 2.2 seconds left but couldn’t get a shot off.

The Warriors led 13-8 after the first quarter, but they trailed 28-25 at halftime and were down by 10 midway through the third quarter.

“We can’t have those four-minute stretches at the start of the second half where we sputter whether it’s because of turnovers or missed shots,” Wadsworth said. “We created a deficit that we had to battle back from. I was proud of our effort and the way we gave ourselves us a chance to get back in the game.”

Wadsworth said it was a game the Warriors can learn from for the rest of the season.

“We did a better job of taking care of the ball in the fourth quarter,” said Wadsworth, whose team plays at Shelbyville tonight. “I like once we passed the ball out of the trap, we got the ball moving and found the open guy around the basket.”

Valle, a 6-7 senior, was high for the Warriors with 18 points, hitting 8 of 11 free throws. Sophomore Brennan Neal added 16 points.

Williams led the Hawks with 17 points.

“Williams hit some clutch shots at the end,” Hawks coach John Ashworth said. “I think the biggest stat for us is hitting eight of nine from free throw line. On the season, we’re shooting about 60 percent, which is terrible. … But for those boys to step up and hit free throws when they mattered in the fourth quarter was big for us.”