Potthoff scores 20, but Knox hands Winamac ‘crushing’ loss in sectional

Val T.
1 hour ago
2 min read

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Boys basketball

Knox 53, Winamac 49 (OT, Tuesday): Justin Potthoff scored 20 points, and Ethan Burgess added 10, but Knox avenged a regular season loss to Winamac in a Class 2A, Sectional 34 quarterfinal at LaVille Tuesday.

Parker Zeider added seven, and Will Malchow had six for the Warriors, who finished 19-5.

Myles McLaughlin scored a game-high 35 points for Knox (8-15). He had 21 of Knox’s 30 points after halftime, including the game-tying basket with two seconds left in regulation that necessitated overtime and all six points in the overtime.

Winamac came in No. 1 in the state with their 35.7 defensive scoring average.

Knox led 23-19 at halftime, but Winamac came back to lead 35-31 after three quarters.

Burgess hit a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter as the Warriors tried to keep pace with McLaughlin.

This ended a streak of four straight years in which Winamac won their first sectional game. Winamac has not won a sectional title since 2015.

Knox did not beat a team with a winning record in the regular season, and Winamac did not lose to a team with a losing record during the regular season. Winamac beat Knox 61-46 in their regular season meeting Dec. 9.

Knox had not won a sectional game since 2017 prior to Tuesday.

“Warriors played hard, but McLaughlin had an outstanding night,” Winamac coach Mike Springer said in a statement. “We had a really nice season but came up short tonight. It was a crushing loss to end a good season. … We graduate Will Machow, Parker Zeider and John Kletz along with Potthoff and Burgess. Warrior Nation is sad to see them go.”

WINAMAC (49) (19-5)

Jaybin Hines 0 0-0 0, Will Malchow 3 0-0 6, Justin Potthoff 9 2-3 20, Parker Zeider 2 1-4 7, Ethan Burgess 4 1-2 10, Sean Stark 0 2-2 2, Evan Burgess 2 0-0 4

TEAM: 20 6-11 49

KNOX (53) (8-15)

Fletcher 2 0-0 5, McLaughlin 13 7-11 35, Venice 2 0-0 5, Johnson 3 0-1 6, Weber 1 0-0 2, Carbine 0 0-0 0, Rudd 0 0-0 0

TEAM: 21 7-12 53

Three-point field goals:

Winamac 3 (Zeider 2, Ethan Burgess),

Knox 4 (McLaughlin 2, Venice, Fletcher)

Total fouls: Winamac 14, Knox 15

Score by quarters

Winamac 9 10 16 12 2 – 49

Knox 14 9 8 16 6 – 53