{"id":11788,"date":"2024-01-10T20:09:41","date_gmt":"2024-01-11T01:09:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/?p=11788"},"modified":"2024-01-10T20:09:42","modified_gmt":"2024-01-11T01:09:42","slug":"heritage-reaches-semis-with-signature-win-at-woodlan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/2024\/01\/10\/heritage-reaches-semis-with-signature-win-at-woodlan\/","title":{"rendered":"Heritage reaches semis with signature win at Woodlan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By DEAN JACKSON<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WZBD.com<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t Stop Believin\u2019 Hold On, Journey, 1981<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WOODBURN – Kyle Sovine said it so much this season that he might have to pay royalties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s more than just a cliche or catchphrase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Heritage, it has become a mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With their effort in a 56-52 comeback win over Woodlan in the Allen County Athletic Conference tournament on Tuesday, they might just make their music video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Landon Lybarger finished with 18 points for Heritage. D’Vontaye Washington added eleven points. Kobe Meyer had seven points, four rebounds, and four assists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe preach it every day. Just keep competing; keep fighting,\u201d Sovine said. \u201cWhen things get tough, you either pout and stop playing or you can play harder and get through it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He added, “That\u2019s what we’re trying to build here. Just keep fighting through that adversity, and every day gets better. Come in and work hard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Patriots (4-6) will host Bluffton in the Friday semi-final. The Tigers (6-5) advanced in a 47-20 win over Southern Wells.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After taking control in the first half, the Warriors (6-6) built their largest lead at 12 points. That’s when Braden Smith nailed a three-pointer to make it 37-25 with 7:11 in the third quarter. It was his second straight bucket. It looked like Woodlan was about to cruise to a blowout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, it gave Heritage a gut check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The persistent Patriots instead held their own before going on a 12-3 rally to start the final period when Washington scored on a tip-in to make it 48-46 with 2:55 to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“Washington got that lay-up, and it sparked that momentum. And then you carry all that momentum back on defense. I think that our strong point this year has been our defense,” Sovine reasoned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Warriors hit just two field goals in the final six minutes of the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe amped up the pressure on Trey Yoder and Smith. Smith got away in the first three quarters, getting wide-open threes. We had to make some adjustments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woodlan clung tight, hitting 4-of-4 free throws late, including a pair of shots from Smith that trimmed the Heritage advantage to 51-50 with 22.5 remaining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s when Meyer answered the call, finishing 5-for-6 at the line\u2014all in the final 20 seconds\u2014to preserve the win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meyer was aware of the situation, but he didn’t overthink it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just settled in and took my time, and we practiced free throws all the while doing what I usually do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meyer finished with seven points; five of them were right in the clutch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the other boy’s semi, Jay County is at Adams Central. The Jets rolled 62-35 over South Adams. Jay County drew a first-round bye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the girls tournament, Woodlan (11-7) advanced with a 49-21 victory over Heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The score isn’t a priority for Heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Patriots (1-15) understand It’s all part of the process of building a program. Growing is hard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Patriots are young. They have six freshmen and three sophomores; there’s a lot to take in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can’t shortcut experience; you can’t shortcut the learning process,\u201d Heritage coach Nicole Sisson reasoned. \u201cI’ve said this a lot, but it’s the truth. You’re going to make mistakes. Development can be hard, and development can be ugly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trinitee Brown led Heritage with seven points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The effort isn’t a question, and they have had the right attitude\u2014a hallmark of the team, Sisson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo matter what, the scoreboard says, we’re going to play a certain way. We are going to control and learn from the lumps and move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I mean, I am proud of them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It won’t always be this way if they keep putting the work in, Sisson explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey are going to grow. They are going to learn for a couple of years. They’re going to be different players.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woodlan now plays Bluffton on Friday at Heritage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By DEAN JACKSON WZBD.com Don’t Stop Believin\u2019 Hold On, Journey, 1981 WOODBURN – Kyle Sovine said it so<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11790,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[41,51,26],"class_list":["post-11788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-basketball","tag-heritage","tag-sports"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/heritage-444-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11788"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11788\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}