Findlay plays Whitmer tough, but falls

FINDLAY – Findlay didn't get to savor the sweet taste of victory on Friday.But Findlay High boys basketball coach Ryan Grose had to admit even a 64-48 loss to preseason league favorite Toledo Whitmer was a lot easier to swallow."We had a bad taste in out mouth after Tuesday's night. That was not a good performance by us," Grose said of a 73-35 beat down from Anthony Wayne."We got after them Wednesday and Thursday in practice, and the kids went hard. We stressed toughness and taking care of the basketball, because we knew we had to play tougher and we had value the ball more against a big physical team (like Whitmer)."I was happy with the way our kids took that challenge. Certainly their size and their athleticism can overwhelm you, but I thought our kids really battled. They didn't back down from it."Toledo Whitmer came to Findlay with a stronger resume than Anthony Wayne, with nine seniors on the roster and four returning starters from a team that went 25-3 and advanced to the Division I state semifinals.Two of those returning starters – Purdue recruit and two-time all-Ohio senior guard Antonie West Jr. and junior guard Andre Young III – were not available for Friday's game, but the Panthers had six other players – all 6-foot-3 or taller – with enough talent, athleticism and experience to stamp Whitmer as the team to beat by a unanimous vote of Northern Lakes League Buckeye Division coaches.Whitmer did its part to live up to those expectations early on, dominating on the boards – six of the Panthers 16 first quarter rebounds came on the offensive end – and using Tim Davis's steal and slam dunk as the spark for a 12-0 run that built a 15-4 lead.When back-to-back baskets by Bronson Drew trimmed the deficit to 15-10 early in the second quarter, another steal and dunk – this one by Mikhi Leach – stopped Findlay's momentum and triggered another Whitmer burst that pushed the lead back into double digits.Findlay could have folded at the half. Instead the Trojans started the third quarter with a rally that had Whitmer back on its heels.A 3-pointer by Drew and two inside baskets by Cooper McKanna, a 6-3 sophomore post, sliced Whitmer's lead to 25-22. Drew was credited with another basket on a goal-tending call on Whitmer, and when Beck Garmong broke up court and scored on a jailbreak inbounds play, Findlay had come all the way back to tie the game at 26.Whitmer had too many weapons, though, and eventually they got zeroed in.Wes Lyons, a back-up senior guard, was the first to go off. Lyons would score all 10 of his points in the third quarter and all coming after Findlay had tied the game.Lyons broke the deadlock with a free throw, then would convert an and-one three-point play and knock down two 3-pointers, the second one giving Whitmer a 41-30 cushion in the final minute of the period.KeShaun Wood stepped up in the fourth quarter when the senior guard hit two 3-pointers and scored 10 of his 12 points."We had a lot of guys step up tonight," said Whitmer coach Anthony Stacy."Wes (Lyons) off the bench had a huge third quarter. With his energy I thought we got the pace where we needed it to go."Leach led Whitmer (4-2) with 13 points, Wood had 12, Lyons 10 and Davis nine. The Panthers outrebounded Findlay 53-28 with Leach and Jay Hooker grabbing eight each. After going 0-for-13 on 3-pointers in the first half, Whitmer connected on 6-of-7 from range in the second. The Panthers attempted 37 free throws, but made just 18.After opening the season with losses to two strong programs – Centerville and Reynoldsburg – Whitmer had won four straight. Stacy says it's been an up-and-down four-game run, though."I've not been happy with the way we're playing. We've been really selfish, not sharing the ball the way I'd like, not guarding like we have in the past. Obviously we've had two starters out, Antoine (West) with the flu and Dre (Young) who's suspended right now for conduct detrimental to the team."Somehow we have to understand that last year is over. We have to get back to playing our ball, gritty, tough, blue collar Panther ball."We got away from that. I think today was a step in the right direction, though, even with two starters out."Drew pumped in a game-high 16 points in leading Findlay. Carter Imke had nine points and Jed Scott and McKanna added six each for the Trojans (1-5), who travel to Tiffin Columbian today to take on the Tornadoes (2-4).Both teams enter the game coming off Friday night losses, but Grose hopes the Trojans continue to display the tenacity he saw against Whitmer."We didn't get all the loose balls and rebounds, but we were definitely fighting for them," he said."It's a learning process for these kids. Sometimes we forget that you have to show up every night and compete and play with toughness or you'll get the breaks beat off you kind of like we did Tuesday."I'm happy with our growth over the past couple of days. It's not the results we wanted, but we improved in a lot of areas. We just need to continue that growth and do that every day." TOLEDO WHITMER (4-2)Leach 3-7 7-9 13, Hooker 1-4 1-4 3, Wood 4-8 2-6 12, Haralson 2-4 2-4 6, Davis 4-6 1-2 9, Johnson 0-1 1-2 1, Rodriguez 1-3 0-0 3, Lyons 3-4 2-3 10, Banister 0-1 0-0 0, Nix 1-4 2-7 4, Beach 1-4 0-0 3. TOTALS: 20-45 18-37-64.FINDLAY (1-5)Drew 6-10 2-2 16, Garmong 2-7 0-0 4, Wendt 1-7 0-0 2, Korkos 1-4 0-0 2, McKanna 3-4 0-0 6, Imke 2-3 5-5 9, Scott 2-5 1-3 6, Bailey 1-6 0-0 2, Flowers 0-1 1-2 1, Montgomery 0-0 0-0 0, Sadler 0-1 0-0 0, Stechschulte 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 18-54 9-12—48.Whitmer 15 8 20 21—64Findlay 6 9 15 18—483-POINT GOALS: Toledo Whitmer 6-20 (Johnson 0-1, Rodriguez 1-2, Leach 0-3, Lyons 2-3, Hooker 0-1, Bannister 0-1, Beach 1-3, Wood 2-6, Haralson 0-1). Findlay 3-22 (Drew 2-5, Garmong 0-3, Wendt 0-3, Scott 1-4, Bailey 0-5, Korkos 0-1).REBOUNDS: Toledo Whitmer 53 (Leach 8, Hooker 8, Nix 6, Haralson 6); Findlay 28 (Bailey 6, Scott 5, Drew 5).TURNOVERS: Toledo Whitmer 21; Findlay 19.JUNIOR VARSITY: Toledo Whitmer, 45-42.