SELMA, Ind — Before the Wapahani Raiders and Delta Eagles played Friday evening at Wapahani High School, the crowd remembered a special community member.
Kevin Conwell, a local farmer and a 30-year Wapahani boys’ basketball bus driver, passed away Friday at Ball Memorial Hospital. According to Wapahani head coach and athletic director Matt Luce, he was a dear friend and someone who represented the best of the Selma community.
“He was just a great man and a great friend to our community,” Luce said. “We really miss him.”
Luce informed the team around 4:30 p.m. of the news.
With remembrance and respect on their minds — and the fact that the Raiders defeated the Eagles 43-38 earlier this season in the Delaware County Tournament — the Raiders wanted to do it the right way.
“After that moment, we knew it was a spark,” Wapahani senior Nate Luce said. “We knew what we had to get done.”
After four quarters, they did just that, topping the blue and gold 44-38.
The game started the same way it finished: tight. At the end of the first quarter, the Raiders (15-1) and Eagles (11-4) were tied 12-12.
One factor that hurt the Raiders was when junior guard Camden Bell was hit in the nose on the second possession of the game. He ran to the locker room and returned later with a new jersey and different number.
Though he finished the game with only two points, he was able to record multiple assists to help the white and red break down the Eagle defense.
”He and our team makes winning plays,” Luce said. “They're not counting points.
They're counting victories.”
Part of Wapahani’s struggles was due to Delta’s defense. At halftime, Wapahani only led 22-19 as the blue and gold used that and found momentum on offense to finish the half with a 7-0 scoring run.
Like the opening half, the second half was more of the same play. But one thing was different as Nate found momentum from the 3-point line. He ended the game with six baskets from deep and led the team with 20 points.
Behind Nate was junior Eli Andrews with 14 points. Senior Bronson Edwards led the Eagles with 11 points and senior Cooper Bratton added 10.
To Delta head coach Mark Detweiler, it came down to which team had the right attitude and effort. But in the end, the Raiders won in that category.
“You can't settle and take five or six questionable shots because you don't have five or six to throw away,” he said. “Right now, we still throw away too many ... We just throw it away because we're not willing to get deeper into the possession.”
One thing that both Matt and Detweiler agreed on was what the game represented. A sectional or county tournament type of a game.
“We didn't know if it would be high scoring, but we knew it would be competitive and these games make us better,” Matt said.
Wapahani will next face Cowan at home Thursday, Feb. 6 at 7:30 p.m. For the Eagles, they will go on the road the same day to face Greenfield-Central. The game will also start at 7:30 p.m.
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu or via X @ZachCarter85.
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