(December 13th, 2014) – WAUSEON: Opening their gym to the Apaches, Wauseon made sure the Fairview boys’ stay on the Indians’ reservation would be a memorable one.
Beating them by thirty probably did the trick.
Making 44% of their field goals helped set up the 66-36 victory for Wauseon. Most of those points came from inside the arc, with the Indians making 24 of their 48 attempts from that area. In particular, senior Noah Castle was quite busy in the paint, as 12 of his team-leading 15 points came from there.
Fairview shot a respectable 37% from the floor against an aggressive Wauseon defense. That number becomes a bit less impressive when it is taken into consideration that the Apaches managed to take 20 less shots than the Indians.
Most of Fairview’s opportunities were literally ripped from them. The Indian boys had 14 steals in the game. Castle was responsible for half of them, swiping the ball from the Apaches 7 times. Jacob Newlove stole the ball a normally impressive 3 times as well.
All those steals, as well as general pressure put on them by Wauseon, led to a high number of turnovers for the visitors from Fairview. By the end of the game, they had turned the ball over a grand total of 22 times. While not great, the Indians’ efforts to protect the ball were far better than the Apaches. The hometown boys from Wauseon only made 16 possession-costing mistakes in the game.
Despite the convincing nature of the victory, Wauseon did leave some opportunities untapped. Shooting just 53% from the free throw line, the Indians only connected on 9 of their 17 attempts. The did limit the Apaches trips to the free throw line, however, minimizing the damage their own poor shooting from the stripe could produce. That may not have even been necessary, though, as Fairview made just 3 of their 11 shots from the line for an abysmal 27% team average.
Newlove, a senior, had a strong evening scoring the ball, offering 11 points to the Indian cause. Yet another senior, Zach Johnson put up 10 points. Carter Bzovi added 9 points in the game as well.
Perhaps the most dominant stat of the game, other than the score, was the rebounding margin. With a remarkably balanced performance, Wauseon pulled down 24 rebounds on each side of the floor for a total of 48. A mere 7 offensive rebounds reduced Fairview’s total to a mere 21 boards. Castle once again led the Indians with 16 rebounds, including 10 on offense, giving him a double-double against the Apaches. Johnson reigned in 11 rebounds, putting him at double-double status as well.
Wauseon defeated Fairview, not just on the scoreboard, but in nearly every statistical category as well. Castle, Johnson, and Newlove had a great deal to do with that, as all three played a significant role in the Apaches nightmare evening.
Perhaps Fairview will be a bit more cautious the next time they pay Wauseon a visit.