North Union’s Mason Soviak goes up for a lay-up while a Columbus Academy defender attempts to block his shot. Soviak tallied 12 points during the Wildcats’ 59-40 tournament loss that ended their season.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
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The North Union Wildcats opened and closed their post basketball season all in one night. The 16th seeded Cats faced off against No. 6 Columbus Academy in Division III Central District action.
Despite the Wildcats’ ability to keep the Vikings within reach, they still could not move on to the next round after a 59-40 loss.
Leading into the tournament, the Wildcats had been playing what head coach Brian Terrill stated as good basketball with four wins in a row and securing a winning record.
The winning streak came to close on Monday night, however, the Cats didn’t go down quietly.
Both teams swapped the lead throughout the opening quarter. In large part, the efforts of Mason Soviak came up with some solid low post play that tallied four points.
The outside shooters found some open looks due to the Cats’ ability to patiently wait for their shots.
Riley Price put five points to the scoreboard and NU ended the first quarter with a 16-15 lead due to a three-quarter length buzzer-beater by Connor Terrill.
Soviak picked up a second foul early in the second quarter which put him on the bench for the majority of the first half.
That led to some defensive break-downs that eventually gave CA a 29-24 lead by the half.
“That second foul he (Soviak) caught in the second quarter really hurt,” said Terrill. “He might have played seven minutes in the first half. If he plays 14 or 15, we might have a five-point lead at the half, instead of down five.”
Soviak rejoined his squad on the floor in the third set and the difference was immediately felt.
He worked the ball down low and pick up points off the glass to keep the Wildcats within striking distance.
Cody Neel also helped the Cats keep it close with a three-point goal that pulled them to within 32-29.
NU’s troubles at the free throw line, though, couldn’t reel in the Vikings.
“We had been shooting really well in the last four or five games in a row and then tonight,” Terrill said. “The numbers had to be ugly, somewhere around 50 percent probably.”
The Cats ended the game converting four of 13 charity shots.
Feeling the clock count down to the end of their season, the Wildcats took a more aggressive defensive stance.
That put Academy shooters at the line where they were able to stretch the lead .
The Cats had no answer with a short time on the clock as they could only string together four points in the final eight minutes.
Terrill believes the game resembled that Cats’ season as a whole.
“Inconsistency… we play good for a couple of games and then not so good,” he said. “We will play good for three quarters and then not so good, but I was proud of our guys for the first half. They executed our game plan.”
Despite the loss, Terrill believes the youthful squad gained some great season and post-season experience for the future of Wildcat basketball.
“We had four seniors and two senior starters, but at the same time we had no juniors and we had two freshmen and three sophomores,” he said. “It is a mix of extremes. We had a lot of young guys get some valuable playing time. So we will have to see.”
The Wildcats ended their season at 12-11.
Columbus Academy
Moultrie 8-0-16, Boyce 2-2-8, Boyde 2-4-8, Warstler 2-0-6, Whitman 2-0-6, Deere 2-1-5, Mitchell 0-4-4, Compton 1-0-2, Fredman 0-2-2, Scott 1-0-2. Totals 20-13-59.
Three-point goals: Boyce 2, Warstler 2, Whitman 2.
North Union
Soviak 6-0-12, Day 2-2-6, Price 2-1-6, Terrill 2-0-6, Feasel 2-0-4, Neel 1-0-3, Deickert 1-0-2, Crabtree 0-1-1. Totals 16-4-40.
Three-point goals: Terrill 2, Neel 1, Price 1.