LIGONIER — Saturday night’s effort was the best collective performance the Wawasee boys basketball team had put together on the court so far this season and, as one might assume, it led to the teams first victory. The Warriors traveled to play a potential sectional opponent in West Noble and would leave with a 53-43 victory.

“It was clearly our most complete game,” said Wawasee head coach Steve Wiktorowski. “We defended very well, holding them to 43 points. And I thought our offense was the most complete we’ve seen it over four quarters, it’s still up and down, but our ball movement and selection was much better.”

Great ball movement was a big factor in Wawasee’s solid start to the game. The Warriors dished out 18 points in the opening frame, all while holding the Chargers to five. The shots were falling, the defense was holding and the Warriors were felling good. But the second quarter brought things back to Earth for Wawasee a little bit.

What went right for the visitors in the first quarter was simply not working in the second. Wawasee’s offensive production fell, the ball movement was not as crisp and the shot selection did not match what was seen in the first quarter. Still, Wawasee’s defensive performance remained strong and West Noble worked a few of its players into foul trouble. The Warriors weathered a run by the Chargers and held a 26-18 lead at the break.

Wawasee started the third quarter with a flurry of fouls and would hold an “advantage” of four fouls to West Noble’s zero just a few minutes into the second half. This looked as if it would be a problem for Wawasee but the Chargers struggled to string together a run let the Warriors go into the fourth carrying a 37-28 lead.

The fourth quarter was sloppy, at best, by both teams. But Wawasee was able to protect its lead thanks to efforts from a slew of players.

Chase Rookstool, who finished his night with nine points, was huge in the final frame as he dropped seven points for the Warriors. But one of the senior’s biggest contributions actually came from what he didn’t do. Rookstool scored and drew a foul around the 4:10 mark of the quarter with his team holding a 46-34 victory. Rookstool missed the “and one” attempt, but the rebound was pulled down by Jayce Boatwright. Stephon Miller would eventually turn the new possession into two more points, putting Wawasee up 48-34 with under four minutes to play.

It was just two points, but the missed free throw seemed like it would be a small break for the Chargers. Boatwright’s offensive board and Miller’s bucket noticeably took energy out of the home crowd. All three players involved in that sequence were seniors. The team’s fourth senior, Parker Hatfield, also came up big as he had nine points of his own.

Wawasee was led offensively by Tyler Smith’s 14 points. Cayden Wegener continued the solid start to his season with 13 points. West Noble was led by Larry Nickolson’s 11-point effort.

“Cayden Wegener did a great job tonight,” said Wiktorowski of his sophomore. “He got us some points but also did a great job at running the floor. Tyler Smith also did a nice job for us. Our bigs are also starting to become a presence for us offensively.”

Wawasee hopes to be hitting a stride as it has a week off before hosting Whitko (2-1) at the Hardwood Tee Pee next Saturday. The Warriors defeated the Wildcats twice last year, including a 71-59 decision in the sectional opener.

Wawasee’s JV team moved to 4-0 with a 63-36 victory over West Noble. No stats were provided for the JV game.