Wawasee’s Jairus Boyer. (File Photo by Mike Deak)

SYRACUSE — After what was an up and down regular season for the Wawasee boys basketball team, the Warriors are ready to go home. But, that has a different meaning for the Green and Gold this season as Wawasee will host the IHSAA Class 3-A Sectional 21 Tournament. Yes, going home for the Warriors means getting to defend the Hardwood Teepee one last time.

Wawasee enters the postseason in better shape than it did last season. The Warriors were 2-20 going into the sectional at NorthWood and were surrendering over 60 points per game. This year Wawasee still struggles on offense, averaging 40.7 points per contest, but has lowered its defensive average to just 48 points per game. That stat gives the Warriors the second-best scoring defense in the six-team field, only behind NorthWood’s 46.7 average.

The Warriors have the advantage of playing at home and, while still struggling to find the win column consistently, have played some of its best basketball as of late. But, of course, ‘almost’ does not get it done in the state tournament.

Wawasee has experienced its growing pains through the year, as any young team with a new coach is expected to do. But Jon Everingham and his staff have progressed the boys from the start of the season into better defenders, shooters and all-around players. Wawasee appears to be at full health going into the postseason, which is key after not having its top scorer, Trevon Coleman, for several games.

Coleman missed four games this season, but still scored over 200 points and averages north of 13 points per game. When he’s in the game for Wawasee, the offensive production increases drastically. The Warriors averaged just 31.5 points per game during his absence, going 1-3. In the games that Coleman has been active, Wawasee averages 43.2 points on offense. In the first four games of his return on Feb. 2, the Warriors scored over 50 points per contest, showing his importance and the strides the rest of the roster had made offensively.

Coleman is just one part of the equation as the Warriors have seen continued development from Jairus Boyer, Jacob Hand and Cayden Wegener. Those three, along with Coleman, and other budding juniors, have already started to put their mark on the program, but would prefer to make a lot more noise before having to prepare for their senior campaign.

Current seniors Tim Conley, Cam Schlabach and Tyler Smith will look to carry some of the weight as well this postseason in hopes of picking up the team’s first sectional title since 2010. The first hurdle in that bracket-busting journey is one that the Warriors are all too familiar with.

Wawasee (5-17) will take on Tippecanoe Valley (10-13) Tuesday night in the opening game of the sectional 21 tournament. The Warriors and Vikings have met five out of the past six sectionals in addition to their annually scheduled game at the end of the regular season. Valley won the most recent matchup this past Friday 53-42. The Warriors enter Tuesday’s quarterfinal game with a nine-game losing streak.

“We’re only concerned about a one-game winning streak,” Everingham stated. “It’s only about one game. It’s the biggest game of the season, it’s at home and we’ve got two days to prepare. I don’t think there’s any question that we’ll be ready.”

Wawasee topped other potential sectional foes Fairfield (48-39) and West Noble (61-44) and suffered losses to NorthWood (59-33) and Lakeland (35-32). If Wawasee earns the win Tuesday night, it would face West Noble (8-14) Friday evening. Only NorthWood (20-2) enters the tournament with a winning record and the Panthers are the clear-cut favorite to cut down the nets for the fourth year in a row.

NorthWood enters as the only team ranked in Class 3-A, coming in at No. 2 in the final regular season poll. The Panthers are deep and dangerous, led by Vinny Miranda and Luke Zurcher.

Lakeland (8-14) will play NorthWood in Tuesday’s second game. West Noble and Fairfield (11-12) received the byes in this year’s bracket.