2004-2005 Boys Basketball  IHSAA - Class 2A, 3A Northern Semistate Previews A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith (3-16-2005)

Northern 3A Semistate

Huntington North Semistate

No. 7 Plymouth (21-3) vs. Wawasee (20-6)

HUNTINGTON - The irony here is that Wawasee defeated Plymouth twice on the way to the state football finals last fall. When these two met in basketball during the Northern Lakes Conference (NLC) season, Plymouth won 75-74 in three overtimes.

So the stage is set for Plymouth to beat Wawasee for the second time, returning the favor, and qualifying for the state 3A basketball finals, right?

We'll see. Plymouth soundly rejected Hammond and Twin Lakes last week, two squads that were seeing them for the first time.

Plymouth is led by state No. 2 scorer Kyle Benge (28 ppg.), a 6-1 guard, who is the focus of everyone's defense. What fools first time foes is 5-8 senior guard Geoff Sheetz (13 ppg.), who has an NLC leading 90 three-point baskets.

Plymouth embarrassed a Hammond team 56-36, which has vastly superior athletic ability. They outran a speedy Twin Lakes squad 67-56. I would suspect that many teams underestimate Plymouth and walk home thinking they should have beaten the Pilgrims.

Hammond held Benge to 15 but Sheetz hit seven three-pointers for 21 points. Twin Lakes held (??) Sheetz to 17 but Benge scored 21 and grabbed six rebounds.

With no one taller than 6-3, Plymouth has rebounding problems. But you have to make them miss some three-pointers. Your center is useless because they run him through picks and screen to get open jump shots. In the Hammond game, Plymouth only scored five two-point baskets.

This has been the greatest year in the history of Wawasee high school, which is a 37-year-old consolidation of former town schools Syracuse, Milford and North Webster in the northern portion of rural Kosciusko County. The Warriors reached the state finals with 6-2 senior Kory Lantz at quarterback. Lantz (15 ppg.) 'quarterbacks' the basketball team with 6-3, 225-pound Ryan Kauchak (11.5 points, 6.0 rebounds) in the pivot.

The Warriors returned all five starters off a 16-5 team last season and they used a fast-breaking attack to upset Tippecanoe Valley 73-63 and No. 1 Bellmont 73-64 last Saturday to the surprise of everyone at the Northwood Regional.

There are two keys to this game. In the 75-74 Plymouth win in January, Wawasee senior guard Anthony Kaiser (19.2 ppg.),  scored 30 against Bellmont and 21 against TV. Kaiser was 25-of-25 from the foul line in the two games.

Benge is the number one weapon. His three-point accuracy (80 of 178, 44.9%) means he stretches the defense to the three-point line and forces everyone to defend.

Without ever having seen Wawasee, I'd go to a multiple guard attack and try to make the 225-pound Kauchak guard a shooter. The Warriors have the quickness to chase the mobile Benge, who scored 28 points including six three-pointers in the earlier matchup.

Lantz, a quick and strong guard, hit a game-tying 25-footer at the end of the second overtime in the earlier matchup.

Wawasee has won 11 of their last 12 while Plymouth has won 10 in a row. Most of the state won't appreciate this game because there's no powerhouse post men and no slam dunkers but the Northern Lakes Conference followers will love it.

Wawassee has played eight 4A teams. Plymouth played seven. Neither team has anyone taller than 6-3. They could not be more familiar with each other.

I'd go with veteran coach Jack Edison (498-243) and Plymouth. Opposing coaches are quoted frequently as saying that Plymouth is extremely well coached and maximizes their ability.

Playoff games slow up but this one may not. The Pilgrims should shoot well at the fine Huntington North gym and if they shoot well, there is not much Wawasee can do to stay ahead of them.

Plymouth 65, Wawasee 60

Northern 2A Semistate

HUNTINGTON - Here is the most intriguing game on the board because, on paper, it's a mismatch. Pay no attention to the records. Harding is the smallest school (the only 2A) in the big-time eight-team Summit Athletic Conference, Fort Wayne's city league.

The Hawks have played eight Class 4A schools, an unheard of number for a 2A school. That explains Harding's 15-9 record and it also explains why Harding has blasted all five 2A teams they have met in the state playoffs by 18 points or more.

Harding has very good size inside with 6-5 Selwyn Lymon and 6-8 sophomore backup Jermaine Muff.

Lead guard Rodney Bell is a veteran player who will try to push the tempo of the game so Glenn can't dig in with their physical half-court defense. Harding averages 70 points a game and that's what opens your eyes here. Glenn has held 17 teams to 50 points or less. Harding will NOT score 70 on Glenn.

John Glenn coach Gordon Bosson (334-185 in 23 years) has his boys pull the defense away from the basket and hits the other side with quick back door cuts to the basket. Mosson and all his victories (14 per year) have been tucked away in the far southwest corner of St. Joseph's County for almost a quarter century and it would be a tribute to Indiana basketball if he got to the final game after 23 years of trying. The Falcons have no star offensive players. Senior Joe Curtis scored 15 against Bone Grove but senior Brandon Egger led the scoring against Rensselaer with 17. Glenn held Rensselaer to just 22 points through three quarters by slowing the pace. The Falcons held Boone Grove to just 27 points through 3 quarters. They double-team the post aggressively and shorten the game. Glenn will hold the ball for the final minute of a period, going for the last shot. Sophomore guard Dylan Morris is the player you must attack and Morris sank 10 of 12 free throws against Rensselaer. Glenn hit 28 of 38 foul shots total against the Bombers. If you cannot shoot from outside, you will have problems with this team.

Harding reportedly is a team that depends on transition layups and post play. Glenn has proven they can stop both against lesser athletic teams. When a small school team plays a big school schedule it toughens them, but that does not always show in a single-elimination tournament.

Bishop Noll baseball used a big school schedule to roar to the state title. Bishop Noll basketball has been unable to to the same thing with the same schedule.

On the playground, Harding would win this game by 20. From what I can learn about Harding (without seeing them), there's a considerable difference in athletic ability. I'd like to think Glenn can close that margin with fundamentally solid and conservative play.

But Harding's strength is rebounding and that's where Glenn must get an even break. Glenn's football team was stopped at the semistate and the basketball team will be stopped here as well. Huntington is almost a home game for Harding and they will play like it.

Harding 64, John Glenn 50

Copyright © 2005 USA-365.com and Meyer Multimedia Services, a division of Meyer Broadcasting Corp.  All rights reserved.
Revised: March 16, 2005 .