(December 11th, 2014) – HOLGATE: Traveling to take on Green Meadows Conference member Holgate, Wauseon looked to represent the North Western Athletic League with pride.
It turns out they also did it with defense.
The Tigers were held to just 2 points in the entire first quarter, on their own home floor. The Indians, during that same span, put up 16 points. In the second period, Wauseon’s offense slowed down, but their defense continued to pound Holgate into submission. Taking a 23-8 lead into the half, the boys from Wauseon showed off their defensive chops again in the third quarter. They took the period by a 9-1 margin. Holgate finally managed to score in double digits during the fourth quarter, but the game was well in hand for Wauseon by then. The Indians claimed victory against the Tigers, 42-22.
Jacob Newlove led the offensive assault for the Indians, scoring 11 points. The senior standout also had 3 rebounds and 2 steals in the game. Fellow senior Zach Johnson was responsible for 8 points, also grabbing 4 rebounds and making a block.
Both teams were careful with the basketball. Wauseon only committed 11 turnovers. Under normal circumstances, that would be an impressive number. However, Holgate limited their own turnovers to just 7. The fact that they turned the ball over so few times and still lost by 20 displays just how intense the Indian defense can be, as the Tigers still had every chance to score and simply failed to do so.
And that defense was responsible for the hometown Tigers shooting a mere 13% from the floor, including a shocking 11% from inside the arc. The interior of the Wauseon defense was so intimidating that Holgate actually took more three-point attempts than they did two-point ones.
Wauseon out-rebounded Holgate, but not by much. They won the battle of the boards 31-26. Again, that the margin was this close is not indicative of the final score.
The Indians won this game because they didn’t allow Holgate to make shots. Those abysmal shooting percentages were the direct result of defenders harassing Tiger shooters after not allowing their interior players to establish themselves.
If Wauseon continues to play defense at this level, it’s hard to imagine them getting beat.