By David Paulsen
Correspondent
A disastrous third quarter spelled defeat for the Whitewater High School boys basketball team in a Rock Valley Conference game against Jefferson Friday.
A 21-4 Jefferson margin in that third quarter led to a 45-43 loss that dropped the Whippet boys to 3-16 overall and 3-10 in the RVC.
“We missed a lot of shots in the third quarter,” head coach Dan Gnatzig said.
At the end of the third quarter, Jefferson made a bucket to go up by five points, then interecepted an inbounds pass and banked in a three-pointer as the clock expired to grab a 41-33 lead.
“That was a big momentum turn,” Gnatzig said.
The Whippets quickly got within two points early in the fourth quarter, but missed a few shots that would have tied it. Whitewater also had the ball at the end of the game with a chance to tie or win, but missed that opportunity.
Jefferson squeaked out a 10-9 lead after one quarter, but Whitewater outscored Jefferson 20-10 in the second quarter to take their largest lead of the game at the half – 29-20.
Gnatzig noted that up to that point the game had been very physical, and he hoped that if the boys kept playing the way they were, and got a few calls on fouls, that they could win the game. But missed shots turned the tide in Jefferson’s favor.
Brett Harms led the Whippet boys with 12 points, followed by Dustin Hayes with 10. Rigo Navejas added nine.
Schedule
The boys will travel to Edgerton Thursday, Feb. 7, for a 7:15 p.m. RVC game.
Next week, they will be at Evansville for an RVC contest on Tuesday, Feb. 12, and will host East Troy on Friday, Feb. 15, at 7:15 p.m.
