01-31-13
BY JACK BULLOCK
FARINA – In a game where possessions were at a premium and mistakes were magnified, the Patoka Warriors made some untimely errors that led to their eventual downfall on the road Thursday night against rival South Central.

Not being able to get going on offense, Coach Joe Eddy's club allowed the Cougars to dictate the tempo of the game.

The hosts made the most of their opportunities as Coach Rick Simmons' team held off Patoka, 45-41 at home on a rare Thursday night boy's contest.

The Cougars hit free throws when they needed to and forced Patoka into 13-important turnover, including five in the pivotal fourth quarter, as they improved to 7-15 on the season with the triumph.

“It is one of those kind of games when you are 'grinding' it out offensively and we worked hard defensively,” said Coach Simmons. “I thought we did an excellent job defensively, despite going into sort of a prevent defense late where we gave them some open 3's. I watched them (Patoka) around Thanksgiving and they have improved so much so it was nice to come out of here with a victory.”

The Warriors saw their mark slip to 13-9 on the season.

Three players hit for double-figures for South Central with senior leaders Fischer Tharp and Rudy Hablewitz scoring 12-points each in the victory while freshman guard Brett Harmeier chipped in 11.

Patoka was topped by Johnnie Clift with 15-points but no other Warrior reached double-digits.

Despite the turnovers, the Warriors had victory chances but came up short in the final quarter.

A 3-pointer by senior Drew Back cut the Cougars lead to just 32-31 with 4:20 remaining.

However the next few possessions by Patoka turned disastrous as Coach Eddy's team went the next 3:33 without a field goal.

By the time Clift scored his final basket of the game with :47, Patoka still trailed 40-36.

“That is what we talked about before the game that they (South Central) were going to try and 'grind' the game out and limit possessions because that is how they beat people,” said Coach Eddy. “I told the kids that we have to get our transition game going. But we turned it over and a lot of them came on fast breaks. Then we didn't execute our half-court offense and they did, which is more of their style.”

South Central hit 7-of-8 free throws in the final 1:24 to seal the win.

The hosts committed just eight turnovers in the contest in which they wanted to limit possessions by the high scoring Warriors.

The strategy worked to near perfection and Patoka, after a pretty good start, floundered offensively with those key miscues.

South Central finished 14-of-31 overall and hit 2-of-4 from behind the arc as the Cougars kept the pace where they wanted it.

The Warriors shot the ball well as well, hitting 15-of-33 while winning the rebounding contest 20-16.

In fact Patoka appeared ready to make quit work of the hosts, jumping out to a 7-3 lead in the early going.

A 3-pointer by Seth Allen and pair of drives to the basket by Quinn Wadkins and Jake Orrell gave the Warriors a 7-3 lead with 3:30 to go in the opening frame.

Coach Simmons' squad took command with a run to close the second quarter.

Harmeier, a 5-foot-11 freshman guard, scored six of his points in the crusade.

His 3-pointer from the left wing gave the Cougars back the lead for the final time at 13-12 at the 3:52 mark.

He then converted a conventional 3-point play on a drive to the basket and teammate Hablewitz nailed a mid-range shot that beat the second quarter buzzer for a 23-18 halftime lead.

Using more patience on offense in the third quarter, South Central slowed down the tempo even more.

In a quarter in which no turnovers were committed, the Cougars outscored the visitors 7-6 and led 30-24 heading to the final quarter.

Senior Austin Schwarm scored seven points for South Central on the night and his 3-pointer from the right wing was a big offensive boost for the Cougars in the third.

By the time the teams headed to the fourth quarter, the Warriors were in frustration mode.

Patoka cut the South Central lead to one-point on two different occasions, only to make key mistakes to stop themselves from winning the game.

Coach Eddy's team, trailing just 34-33 and with possession, committed back-to-back turnovers in which the Cougars turned into four points.

A shot from the right side by Hablewitz and a pair of free throws by Tharp pushed South Central to a 38-33 lead with 1:24 remaining.

Patoka guard Sheldon Felchlia hit a 3-pointer with :26 left.

But two more free throws by Hablewitz increased the lead again two seconds later.

Patoka tried to find an open look from behind the 3-point line on its next possession, but the South Central defense denied the Warriors an attempt.

By the time the Warriors' Orrell made a driving shot, Patoka called time with just :04.7 left.

Having to foul, Patoka sent Tharp back to the line and the senior iced the game by making 1-of-2 free throws to give the Cougars the hard fought win.

The Warriors saw their overall mark fall to 13-9 on the season while South Central improved to 7-15 on the year.

Patoka hosts Sandoval on Friday night while the Cougars head back into action next Tuesday at Effingham St. Anthony.

“No matter how you look at it, it was a good win,” added Coach Simmons. “We are trying to build some momentum and get ourselves ready for the regional. And this is a step in the right direction.”

Patoka (41) – Clift 4 0 7-10 15, Cain 0 0 0-0 0, Felchlia 0 2 0-0 6, Donaldson 0 0 0-0 0, Allen 1 1 0-0 5, Wadkins 2 0 0-0 4, Orrell 3 0 0-0 6, Dy. Back 0 0 0-0 0, Houston 0 0 0-0 0, Dr. Back 1 1 0-0 5.
2FG-11, 3FG-4, FT-7-10, PF-20.
South Central (45) – Harmeier 2 1 4-6 11, Hablewitz 5 0 2-3 12, Ratermann 0 0 0-0 0, Rose 0 0 1-2 1, Schwarm 1 1 2-3 7, Riley 1 0 0-0 2, Powless 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-12, 3FG-2, FT-15-22, PF-13.
Fouled Out – Allen - Patoka.
Technical Fouls – None.