WLDS/WEAI Chatter - Day 2
WINCHESTER CHATTER - ISSUE #2 - Monday, January 12, 2015 - DAY 3
Note to coaches-Usually we hand out all tournament ballots the first day of the tournament. That is, when I am thinking. Missed that opportunity Saturday, so we will be chasing down coaches this week. We will announce the all tournament team sponsored by WEAI radio after the title game next Saturday. We also plan to e mail ballots to make sure everyone has them. Please return ballots no later than halftime of the third place game to the WEAI broadcast location, Jeff Abell or Denny Vortman.
There were no upsets in the first round of the tournament on Saturday. That marks the 2nd straight year the opening round failed to produce any surprises. Running clocks were used in three games, single digit wins allowed Greenfield/Northwestern and North Greene to survive. This marks the first tourney since 2005 that features teams with 9 or more wins making the championship bracket, second round. The combined record of the 8 teams in the title bracket this year is 86 and 23.
When was the last night a basketball team in the Winchester tournament failed to make a single free throw in a game? It has happened in the WIT many times, the last time Payson in 2008. But, how many times has a team failed to shoot a free throw, not one, in a game? Triopia did it in the loss to Liberty 55-17 Saturday. Historian Kent Coultas tells me the last team to complete a game without any free throw attempts was Rushville in a 62-57 loss to West Pike in a first round game in 1999.
West Central came one three pointer short of tying the tournament record for most treys made in a game. The Cougars finished with 10 in the first round loss to Calhoun. Bluffs in 1997, and Porta in 2007 each made 11 in a game.
Triopia’s 17 point performance in that loss to Liberty Saturday was the fewest by a team since the record of 13 was set by Pleasant Hill in 2013. Both teams, Liberty, and Triopia, combined to score 4 points in the 4th quarter of that game. That’s the fewest combined points of two teams in a quarter in tournament history, breaking the old record of 5 points by North Greene and Triopia in 1993, and Camp Point and Routt in 2011. We acknowledge that the running clock contributed a lot to that record. Maybe it needs an asterick.
Liberty had a run of 24 straight points against Triopia Saturday from mid first quarter through the 2nd half. Triopia hit the first bucket of the third quarter, that snapped the run. The 24 point run ties the tournament record set by Griggsville Perry two years ago.
Defense continues to be king at the WIT. No winning team hit 70 in the first round, and just four hit 60 or more. On the other side, six teams came up short of 40 points in losing efforts.
This is the 6th straight year that Liberty has advanced to the winners’ side of the bracket at Winchester. That run usually means Liberty finishes with one of the top trophies. How about one title, 3 second place finishes, and a third place trophy. Carrollton owns the longest streak of championship bracket advancements with 13 straight. Payson has advanced to the winners’ side in all eight tournament appearances.
Payson and Liberty meet for the third time this year tonight. Payson won the first match up 60-55 at the end of November, and Liberty claimed the 2nd meeting 58-54 one month later. The two teams are set to meet again February 6th at Payson. Calhoun plays Griggsville Perry for the 2nd time this year, the Warriors winning in the Carrollton Holiday tournament 77-76.
Junior guard Drew Burwinkel turned in a strong offensive performance in the opening round, hitting 33 points, or exactly half the points scored by Payson in the first round win over Brown County 66-31. Here are the top ten scorers from Saturday’s action.
1) Drew Burwinkel - Payson - 33
2) Joseph Myers - Griggsville-Perry - 26
3) Austin Plogger - Greenfield/NW - 21
4) Austin Bishop - Greenfield/NW - 19
5) Manning Plater - Rushville/Industry - 18
6) Trevor Cawthon - West Central - 17
Skyler Miller - Griggsville-Perry - 17
Kaleb Root - Pleasant Hill - 17
Matt Muller - Porta/AC - 17
10) Sam Barczewski - Calhoun - 16
Luk Weder - West Central - 16
