01-28-04
WOODLAWN VS. PATOKA
CHRISTOPHER VS. SANDOVAL
@ WOODLAWN/WALTONVILLE ROUND ROBIN
BY JACK BULLOCK
WOODLAWN - After two days of in climate weather, the 12th Annual Woodlawn/Waltonville Round Robin got under way Wednesday night.

And after the first night, it is clear who are the two favorites to win the event as both the host Cardinals and Christopher Bearcats produced impressive wins.

Derek Burns scored 18-points, including 16 in the second half as Woodlawn pulled away from Patoka in the opening game 55-37.

Christopher snapped a three-game losing skid in topping Sandoval in the nightcap 72-47.

Four players hit for double figures for the Bearcats, led by James Trogolo with 18.

WOODLAWN 55, PATOKA 37
The Cardinals struggled a bit early against upstart Patoka in the opener.

But the hosts used a 'huge' offensive spurt to take control of the contest in the last few minutes of the second quarter that carried over to the second half.

Woodlawn has two guards that have been getting most of the credit for the Cardinals success this season.

But with Patoka using a 'triangle and two' defense set up to try and slow down the guard tandem of Burns and Matt Pool, the Cardinals got some key shots from Jeremy Wilton, Blake Mellot and Mike Tiemann to not only take the lead but to bring the Warriors out of its gimmick strategy.

That trio of Red Birds scored Woodlawn's final 10-points of the first half.

Wilton got in on the act first as his drive to the basket gave the Cardinals their first lead in the second quarter at 15-13 with 4:10 remaining.

Then Tiemann stepped off of the Cardinal bench and canned two impressive 3-point shots from the left side of the court. His second shot from deep in the left corner gave Woodlawn back the lead for good at 21-19.

Then it was Mellot's turn, as he finished out the quarter with steal and a fast break.

Although he missed his attempt, he managed to get the ball back and scored to send the teams to the break at 23-19.

"We have seen that (triangle-and-two) in the past and your other players are going to get all kinds of good looks against that defense," said Woodlawn coach Shane Witzel. "It is just a matter of kids stepping up and shooting the ball at the right time and location as well as shooting with confidence. Tiemann came in a hit a couple of big shots and kind of loosened that zone up a little."

The young Patoka club started out the contest by getting a lot of things done on the offensive end.

Sophomore Brandon Metcalf and freshman Rio Hames combined for the first nine Warrior points.

Metcalf's conventional 3-point play at the 3:12 mark gave Patoka a 6-5 advantage.

Metcalf, who topped Patoka with 13-points, scored six of his points in the second quarter to keep the game close.

His baseline move and bucket with 1:52 left gave the Warriors their final lead of the night at 19-18.

The second half, much to the chagrin of Patoka mentor Terry Heern, was all Woodlawn.

Burns, who had been held in check in the opening 16-minutes, roared out of the break with six-consecutive points for the Cards.

His fast break lay in on a pass from Pool capped an 11-0 Woodlawn run that carried over from the second quarter.

That shot forced a Patoka time out at 29-19 with 6:10 left in the third.

Turnovers took its toll in the third quarter, especially since Patoka's point guard Mike Criner went down with an ankle injury in the first half. Without his only pure point guard in the game, Coach Heern's team struggled with the Woodlawn pressure.

"When you loose your only true ball handler to an injury, it is tough because we didn't have anyone that could 'bring it' down the court," added Heern. "Pool and Burns are very good in their (Woodlawn's) backcourt and it was tough for us."

Patoka gave a great effort to try and stay close as Justin Miller hit a 3-pointer from the right wing and Metcalf scored again from the baseline to cut the Woodlawn margin to 32-24.

But then Burns took off again by scoring eight of the Cardinals' 10 points to finish off the quarter.

After a pair of Burns free throws, Jeremy Clinton hit a 12-footer from the right side to make it 36-24.

Burns finished off the run with a pull-up jumper from the right side just before the buzzer and it was 42-26 heading to the final frame.

After holding the ball for a the first few moments of the fourth quarter to bring Patoka out of its zone, the Cardinals went in for the kill as Pool and Jody Kabot combined for six quick points. Kabot's rebound basket pushed the lead to 48-26 with 5:31.

By the time Wilton converted his steal and lay up while being fouled by Miller, Woodlawn had iced the contest at 51-29 with 4:14 left.

"We were really trying to pressure their guards and try to get some easy shots in transition. Get the game more into the open court," added Witzel, whose team is now 15-6 overall for the season. "I think that was the difference in the game."

After Burn's 18-points, Woodlawn got eight points apiece from Clinton and Tiemann. Pool added seven points while Wilton kicked in six.

Patoka's Hames added 12-points to the 13 from Metcalf. However the other Warriors managed just 12 total points.

Tonight at the Woodlawn Invitational, the hosts take a night off as Sandoval and Patoka hook up at 6:30 pm while Christopher and Waltonville tangle at 8 pm.

Woodlawn (55) - Pool 1 1 2-2 7, Burns 7 0 4-4 18, Wilton 2 0 2-6 6, Clinton 3 0 2-4 8, Mellot 1 0 0-0 2, Kabot 2 0 0-0 4, Tiemann 1 2 0-0 8, Bonifucius 1 0 0-0 2.
2FG-18, 3FG-3, FT-10-16, PF-17.
Patoka (37) - Jason Adams 0 0 2-2 2, Jared Adams 2 0 1-2 5, Sullens 0 0 2-2 2, Miller 0 1 0-0 3, Hames 4 0 4-6 12, Metcalf 6 0 1-2 13.
2FG-12, 3FG-1, FT-10-14, PF-14.
Fouled Out - Smith, Patoka.

CHRISTOPHER 72, SANDOVAL 49
The Blackhawks hung in with the favored Bearcats for a quarter.

But a 16-0 run broke open a close game that gave Christopher the easy win.

Coach Jeff Johnston's Bearcats outscored Sandoval 27-12 in the second quarter to assume command.

James Trogolo (18-points) led five Christopher (12-7) double-digit scorers in the easy win. Lucas Rains added 14 points while Jesse Martin and Blaine Kroeger added 11.

Joe Kretz contributed 10.

Sandoval was led in scoring by a pair of sophomores, Jared Whipple (15) and James Norton (13).

Christopher (72) - Kretz 2 1 3-4 10, Martin 2 0 7-7 11, Trogolo 9 0 0-0 18, Rains 4 2 0-0 14, Carr 2 0 0-3 4, Snyder 1 0 0-0 2, Miller 1 0 0-0 2, Kroger 5 0 1-2 11.
2FG-26, 3FG-3, FT-11-16, PF-14.
Sandoval (49) - Crawford 0 0 2-2 2, Bosler 2 0 0-0 4, Whipple 6 0 3-4 15, Irvin 0 1 2-3 5, Norton 4 1 2-2 13, Hayes 0 0 1-2 1, Conrad 2 0 0-0 4, Michael 2 0 0-0 4, Ward 0 0 1-2 1.
2FG-16, 3FG-2, FT-11-15, PF-13.