UNION TOWNSHIP | The frustration was on all the faces of the Wheeler Bearcats on Saturday night.
The past four years the Bearcats were champions of the Wheeler Holiday Tournament. On this day, though, the host school went 0-2.
First, they lost to Clark in the morning 67-63, after leading for two and a half quarters. The Bearcats trailed by nine in the fourth, came back and tied it, then lost by four.
Against Hobart in the consolation game, Wheeler led by four with a minute and change remaining. Hobart players drove down the lane for layups to tie it.
Then, Wheeler had the ball for a last second shot, took 23 seconds off the clock and threw it away with 1.5 left.
Hobart would win in overtime 65-59.
“We're disappointed,” Wheeler coach Tom Johnson said. “I'm pleased with the way the kids battled against Hobart. The effort was there. It was not against Clark (in the) morning.”
Jeremy Truchan and Kevin Barnes scored 18 against the Pioneers. Against the Brickies (3-6), Truchan scored 22 and Barnes had 15.
Hobart was led by Jarrett Colvin's 16, Anthony Burgos added 13 and Juan Lamar scored 11.
“This is very frustrating,” Truchan said of his team that fell to 4-4, losers of four straight. “We know we can play with guys like this. We expect to win our own tournament. We didn't.”
Truchan talked about his team's inability to stop dribble penetration, especially down the stretch.
“We definitely have to work on that,” Truchan said. “We can't let guys penetrate like that. Our effort was better against Hobart. We have to play like that every night.”
Griffith beat Hobart 46-30 in Saturday's second semifinal.
“Our defense against the drive has been an issue the last several games,” Johnson said. “We have to correct that and soon.”
Please Wait…
