Raiders get past Edgerton,
NC for district title
By KEVIN
WANNEMACHER
Sportswriter
NAPOLEON – In what is a storybook season ending for Wayne Trace, the Raiders advanced to their ninth regional appearance in 24 seasons after getting past Edgerton and North Central in district play last week.
Wayne Trace, now 13-10 on the season, hooked up with Kalida (21-2) in regional semifinal action last night at Bowling Green State University. Results were not available at press time.
In the district championship, the Raiders avenged an earlier loss to Edgerton by posting a 49-41 victory over the Bulldogs.
Caleb Davis, who missed the regular season meeting between the two schools, scored 18 points and hit a key three-pointer just before the third quarter buzzer that put Wayne Trace in front for good.
The senior point guard kept Wayne Trace in the game for the opening two quarters, scoring a dozen of the squad’s 19 points as the Raiders trailed 20-19 at the intermission.
“Caleb had an outstanding game tonight,” noted Raider head coach Jim Linder. “He hit shots in the first half that kept us in the game and gave us an opportunity to stay in the game. One of the things he did tonight though was just make sure that we kept our heads in the game and stayed under control. He is capable of doing that and he did a great job of running the offense tonight.”
Edgerton pushed the lead to five points three different times in the third quarter but Wayne Trace answered each time.
Spencer Hastedt started the second half scoring for Edgerton to give the Bulldogs a 24-19 advantage, Wayne Trace’s Henk Akkerman hit a running 12-foot jumper to cut the deficit to three.
Another Hastedt basket opened the lead back to five, but a Derrick Baksa bucket pulled Wayne Trace back within three at 26-23.
Edgerton again tried to open the game up, using a pair of Brody Flegal foul shots to widen the margin to 28-23. The Raiders again responded though with a Brett Beckman trey to slice the lead to 28-26.
“They got the lead to five there for three possessions and we were able to answer each time which was crucial,” continued Linder. “Our guys battled all night long, but especially right there. That was a critical time of the game. Then we got the big three by Caleb just before the end of the quarter and that gave us a lift.”
After an Edgerton turnover, Davis answered with a trey just before the third quarter buzzer to give Wayne Trace a 29-28 lead with eight minutes of action remaining. It was a lead the Raiders would not relinquish.
“That was a big momentum shot,” Linder stated. “It gave us a lift and got the momentum on our side.”
The Raiders then pushed the lead to 35-30 after baskets by Baksa and Akkerman along with a pair of Jason Gordon free throws. Edgerton would never get closer than four points the rest of the way.
A Gordon bucket off of an Akkerman assist widened the lead to 37-31 with 2:18 remaining and the Raiders were in control.
Flegal answered with a basket for the Bulldogs to get Edgerton within 37-33 and the Raiders would have to hit free throws down the stretch.
Two Davis foul shots and a Jordan Sherry free throw pushed the margin to 40-33. After a Bulldog turnover, Baksa tossed a long pass to Sherry for another bucket, giving Wayne Trace a 42-33 advantage with 58 seconds remaining.
Edgerton would make one more run, getting treys from Flegal and Nathan Stark to pull within 43-39.
However, the Raiders then sealed the outcome at the charity stripe. Akkerman, Baksa and Evan Klopfenstein each hit a pair of foul shots to help ice the eight point win and district championship in the process.
“I am just so proud of the players and the coaches,” Linder added. “This group of seniors has really come out and done all we could ask them to do and have worked really hard. I am so happy for them.”
Baksa chipped in eight points and six rebounds for Wayne Trace with Beckman and Akkerman each adding six markers. Sherry also had five points and five boards for the red, white and blue.
“This was a total team effort,” concluded the Raider mentor. “This is a big win for these kids. They all contributed, whether it be making a shot or playing great defense. That’s the kind of effort it will take though no matter whom we play each night.”
Flegal paced the Bulldogs with 15 markers with Hastedt adding 10 and Nathan Stark chipping in nine. Hastedt also had 11 rebounds for Edgerton, which closes the season at 11-12.
SEMIFINAL GAME
In the semifinal game against North Central, Wayne Trace jumped on top 24-5 after one quarter and never looked back in cruising to the 55-36 victory.
Wayne Trace owned the first quarter with the Eagles, closing the stanza on a 15-0 run to take complete control of the contest.
The Raiders were 9 of 13 from the field in the period, including a perfect five of five from behind the arc.
“The quick start was big for us,” noted Linder. “We were able to get in front and build some confidence up quickly. I think it allowed us to relax as well. The biggest thing I think was it put our kids in a good frame of mind confidence wise.”
Beckman hit three treys in the period while Baksa added a trey and two buckets. Davis, Sherry and Jason Gordon also scored in the opening stanza for Wayne Trace.
“Even though we hit some outside shots, we had kids that made plays going to the basket as well,” Linder continued. “I think we were able to into the flow of the game very quickly tonight.”
Baksa paced the Raiders with 13 points with Beckman chipping in a dozen markers, all on treys. Akkerman also added 10 for Wayne Trace while Davis picked up seven markers and seven boards.
Jordan Sherry had three assists and three steals for the Raiders.
Derrick Wyrick led the Eagles with 17 points, 10 rebounds and Chayse Keesecker chipped in eight markers and eight boards.