Before a crowd of nearly 7000 at the Crawley Center Saturday night, the McCutcheon Mavericks used a patient offensive approach to defeat Warsaw in the Class 4A North Semistate. It is the first semistate title in school history for the Mavs, who will face New Albany in next week's state finals at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Warsaw dictated the opening period with their methodical pace, patiently trying to attack the 3-2 zone of McCutcheon. Kyle Mangas would open the scoring for both sides when he hit a driving left-hand layup just over a minute in. McCutcheon seemed to try and force their tempo, missing their first four shots, all in quick fashion.
Eddy Collins would finally get the Mavs on the board with a three-pointer halfway through the quarter. Teammate Robert Phinisee would get an old fashioned three-point play, then split a pair of free throws to give McCutcheon the lead, but Warsaw would respond when Paul Marandet would find Kyle Mangas on an out of bounds play with two seconds left to give Warsaw a one-point lead after a quarter.
McCutcheon would up the pressure to start the second quarter with favorable results, turning Warsaw over repeatedly. "We did a good job turning them over, but we just couldn't capitalize with points," said McCutcheon coach Rick Peckinpaugh. The Mavs would open the quarter on a 12-2 run, as sophomore guard Robert Phinisee continually attacked the paint. Warsaw would close the quarter with an 8-2 spurt thanks to a pair of threes from Evan Schmidt, closing the gap to just three points at the halftime buzzer.
Starting the second half, McCutcheon's advantage in athleticism would be on display as Darnell Butler scored on two isolation plays. The teams would trade baskets and free throws but McCutcheon could not shake Warsaw, and the Tigers could not get over the hump to take the lead.
The Mavs would give Warsaw a page out of their own game plan to start the fourth quarter. Leading by four, McCutcheon would possess the ball for the first 4:46 of the period, as Robert Phinisee would dribble near the halfcourt line as Warsaw kept their defense inside the three-point arc. "We just saw that they were going to lay back. If we go in and miss, then they hit a three, now it's a one point game. I like our chances with a four-point lead late" said Peckinpaugh. Warsaw would come out at the four minute mark, but would see Haden Deaton drive from the corner and score, giving the Mavs a 35-29 lead.
McCutcheon would extend their lead to 37-29 following a pair of Robert Phinisee free throws with 1:06 left. A Paul Marandet three from 25 feet would rim out, and Charles Phinisee would corral the rebound, and was immediately fouled. The senior forward would miss the front end, and Marandet would attack and be fouled, and hit both his free throws.
This time Darnell Butler would go the shoot free throws for McCutcheon, and hit both, but a Kyle Mangas three with 13.9 left would keep Warsaw hopes alive. After Butler split a pair at the line, Mangas would hit another three, but McCutcheon did not have to inbound, and the clock ran out, giving McCutcheon their first semistate win in school history.
Peckinpaugh was clearly emotional after the win, talking about how much this meant to the school. "I don't know if I can explain this right now, it's hard for me to believe." Peckinpaugh continued, "It means the world to me for this group to get this chance."
Before a crowd of nearly 7000 at the Crawley Center Saturday night, the McCutcheon Mavericks used a patient offensive approach to defeat Warsaw in the Class 4A North Semistate. It is the first semistate title in school history for the Mavs, who will face New Albany in next week's state finals at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.