SOUTH WAYNE - The Black Hawk boys basketball team was protecting a precarious four-point lead in its 48-41 victory against Juda on Friday night when the Warriors committed turnovers on four straight trips down the floor.
First-year coach Corey Manlick did a nice job holding his composure on the bench - even if he felt like his head was about to explode.
"The guys might have some select words for me at times, but I'm coming from the idea that we take care of the ball," Manlick said. "Any turnover, I just get frustrated. Kids make mistakes, I understand that. It's the ones that come back and respond from it and are able to get over that hump."
Count Merik Meythaler among that group.
Meythaler was the guilty party on one of those fourth-quarter miscues, and earned a quick trip to the bench. But the junior guard returned to hit six consecutive free throws in the final 1 minute, 34 seconds - putting the finishing touches on a solid effort after being inserted into the starting lineup.
Meythaler and junior center Cory Rupnow scored 13 points apiece for Black Hawk, which led the Six Rivers East game from the early moments, briefly fell behind midway through the third quarter, then closed strong in the fourth quarter.
"It's a big win," Meythaler said. "We haven't done so good, but we're starting to get better. We have not been able to pull out close games, and we finally played a good fourth quarter. We were able to make free throws and play great defense, and that's obviously what helped us win the game in the end."
Meythaler scored nine of his 13 points in the fourth quarter - including the Warriors' only field goal when he knocked down a 3-pointer from the top the key. The trey was part of a 6-0 run to start the quarter that gave Black Hawk (4-6, 2-3 Six Rivers East) a 41-35 lead.
Juda (6-3, 2-3) didn't make its score column move until 1:38 remained, when Cody Suiter hit a 3-pointer. But Meythaler hit four straight free throws to push Black Hawk's lead back to 45-38 with 1:17 left.
"We needed a change of pace," Manlink said of inserting Meythaler into the starting lineup. "Tonight, he was a big factor."
Rupnow scored eight of his 13 points in the second quarter, helping the Warriors take a 24-23 lead into the break.
"I just brought the ball up the court and was able to get Rupnow some points in the first half," Meythaler said. "The second half, they went to that zone so I was just trying to penetrate and get to the free throw line."
Senior forward Joey Jordan hit two jumpers, one of them a 3-pointer, and senior guard Brandon Bauman scored in the paint in a 7-0 run that gave Juda a 35-32 lead with 1:50 left in the third quarter - the Panthers' first lead since early in the first quarter.
But Black Hawk's Kyle Walters made a free throw and Meythaler hit a runner with 6 seconds left in the third quarter to tie the game at 35.
"I knew after the first quarter was done exactly what type of game this was going to be," Juda coach Mike Armitage said. "We just didn't get our job done."
Armitage credited Black Hawk for playing hard, ticked off four facets of the Panthers' game in which he was disappointed, then added Juda has come out flat in three straight contests.
"I feel we're the best team in the conference but we haven't shown it, so I guess we're not," Armitage said.
Jordan scored 12 points and Bauman 11 to lead Juda.
Manlick said before the season started that Black Hawk's goal would be to allow 40 points or less. The Warriors allowed 41 and did just fine on this night.
"The record shows we've gone through our bumps and bruises with this whole 'We're playing my style of basketball now,' but the kids are buying into it, they're working at it and we're becoming so much better at it," Manlick said. "This is huge for us."
First-year coach Corey Manlick did a nice job holding his composure on the bench - even if he felt like his head was about to explode.
"The guys might have some select words for me at times, but I'm coming from the idea that we take care of the ball," Manlick said. "Any turnover, I just get frustrated. Kids make mistakes, I understand that. It's the ones that come back and respond from it and are able to get over that hump."
Count Merik Meythaler among that group.
Meythaler was the guilty party on one of those fourth-quarter miscues, and earned a quick trip to the bench. But the junior guard returned to hit six consecutive free throws in the final 1 minute, 34 seconds - putting the finishing touches on a solid effort after being inserted into the starting lineup.
Meythaler and junior center Cory Rupnow scored 13 points apiece for Black Hawk, which led the Six Rivers East game from the early moments, briefly fell behind midway through the third quarter, then closed strong in the fourth quarter.
"It's a big win," Meythaler said. "We haven't done so good, but we're starting to get better. We have not been able to pull out close games, and we finally played a good fourth quarter. We were able to make free throws and play great defense, and that's obviously what helped us win the game in the end."
Meythaler scored nine of his 13 points in the fourth quarter - including the Warriors' only field goal when he knocked down a 3-pointer from the top the key. The trey was part of a 6-0 run to start the quarter that gave Black Hawk (4-6, 2-3 Six Rivers East) a 41-35 lead.
Juda (6-3, 2-3) didn't make its score column move until 1:38 remained, when Cody Suiter hit a 3-pointer. But Meythaler hit four straight free throws to push Black Hawk's lead back to 45-38 with 1:17 left.
"We needed a change of pace," Manlink said of inserting Meythaler into the starting lineup. "Tonight, he was a big factor."
Rupnow scored eight of his 13 points in the second quarter, helping the Warriors take a 24-23 lead into the break.
"I just brought the ball up the court and was able to get Rupnow some points in the first half," Meythaler said. "The second half, they went to that zone so I was just trying to penetrate and get to the free throw line."
Senior forward Joey Jordan hit two jumpers, one of them a 3-pointer, and senior guard Brandon Bauman scored in the paint in a 7-0 run that gave Juda a 35-32 lead with 1:50 left in the third quarter - the Panthers' first lead since early in the first quarter.
But Black Hawk's Kyle Walters made a free throw and Meythaler hit a runner with 6 seconds left in the third quarter to tie the game at 35.
"I knew after the first quarter was done exactly what type of game this was going to be," Juda coach Mike Armitage said. "We just didn't get our job done."
Armitage credited Black Hawk for playing hard, ticked off four facets of the Panthers' game in which he was disappointed, then added Juda has come out flat in three straight contests.
"I feel we're the best team in the conference but we haven't shown it, so I guess we're not," Armitage said.
Jordan scored 12 points and Bauman 11 to lead Juda.
Manlick said before the season started that Black Hawk's goal would be to allow 40 points or less. The Warriors allowed 41 and did just fine on this night.
"The record shows we've gone through our bumps and bruises with this whole 'We're playing my style of basketball now,' but the kids are buying into it, they're working at it and we're becoming so much better at it," Manlick said. "This is huge for us."
