Winamac, Judson to meet again

Updated: March 23, 2011 3:50PM

Two age-old rivals will vie for the championship of the Class 2A Winamac Sectional tonight.

North Judson (21-1) and Winamac, (12-11) will meet for the third time this season, and both previous games came down to the wire, with North Judson winning both.

North Judson defeated Culver 42-35 in a game that was close until late in the fourth quarter.

Winamac defeated North Newton 58-34 in a game that was close for much of the first half, but once the Warriors got a lead, they built on it and eased through the rest of the way.

The Bluejays just couldn't pull away from the tenacious Cavaliers, whom North Judson had defeated easily during the regular season. But Culver upset the Bluejays last year in the sectional.

So there was a history here.

But the Jays used a lightning-quick, eight-point surge late, in less than 20 seconds, to pull away from Culver. In those few seconds, the Cavaliers saw almost an entire game of hard work disappear.

"Magic," smiled Judson coach Ryan Bales.

Actually, Bales admitted, it was a combination of hustle, hard work defensively, and quick hands.

Culver star Zoe Bauer had just brought his team back within four, at 36-32 with just over a minute to play.

But then the Jays struck.

Junior guard Winston Yergler fed senior guard Andrew Frasure on the break to push the lead to six.

Steals by Yergler and Frasure as Culver brought the ball downcourt, suddenly putthe Jays up 42-32 with 22 seconds left.

"Before you knew it, in a matter of seconds the game was over," said Bales. "A finish like that gives you a tremendous rush. Guys with quick hands made some great plays."

North Judson won the game with leading scorer John Eckert scoring just two points.

Frasure finished with 14 points, Yergler 13 and Mitch Fingerhut seven.

North Newton (1-20) stayed with Winamac deep into the second quarter. The Spartans were led in scoring by Chad Schultz and Wade Scheurich with six points each. Miles Reyes, Cody Wedding and Cody Balog had five points each.

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