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Looking to pick up a road win in the Northern Lakes Conference for the second straight week, the Warsaw boys basketball team traveled to The Pit to take on co-NLC leader NorthWood on Friday night. In what was a low-scoring, downright ugly game at times, the Panthers were able to squeak out a 31-30 win on a last-second free throw.
It took nearly five minutes before NorthWood’s Colin Edwards scored the first points of the night. Both defenses were playing well, but weren’t doing anything earth-shattering. Both offenses began the game by struggling out of the gate and it evolved from there. The Tigers especially were getting some good looks, but just couldn’t find the bottom of the net.
Even as the quarter went on, the offensive struggles only got worse for the visitors. The team’s first basket didn’t come until seven minutes into the game, when Warsaw’s leading scorer Mydin Burgher nailed a three from the wing.
That was the only bucket for the Tigers in the quarter. On the other end, the Panthers got a pair of buckets inside from center Mason Pearson to give the home side a 6-3 lead after an ugly first quarter.
The Panthers nearly matched their first period total in the first two minutes of the second, scoring a quick five points to go up by six. Burgher had added another two points for Warsaw during that stretch, but the visitors desperately needed someone else to get it going offensively.
A pair of free throws by Jaron Courtois put a second Tiger on the board near the midway point of the quarter. After the hot start to the period by NorthWood, the home side had cooled off significantly over the next few minutes, opening the door for the visitors.
With five seconds to go in the quarter, a steal, score and foul by freshman Nash Wiggins made it a one-point game. It was the first field goal of the game for Warsaw not made by Burgher, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Despite scoring its fewest points in a half this season, the Tigers were right there with their opponent down 13-12
“You have to give them credit. They played tough defense from the jump and made things awfully difficult for Mydin,” Warsaw head coach Matt Moore said. “But in those situations, you need to have somebody step up when they have the opportunities.”
Neither offense began the second half performing any better than they did in the first. Through four minutes, the two teams had combined for just seven points, with the Panthers still leading by a possession at the midway point of the third. Eventually, Burgher was able to provide his team with the spark it desperately needed. The senior scored four straight points in quick succession to tie things up for the first time since it was 0-0.
Sophomore Drew Jones of Warsaw puts up a shot along the baseline during the first quarter of Friday night's game at NorthWood...Nieter
Over the final three minutes of the quarter, NorthWood retook the lead multiple times, and each time, the Tigers were there to match them and tie things back up again. The visitors were unable to get over the hump and take their first lead of the night, and with eight minutes left in the game, Warsaw trailed by two.
With just under six minutes left, Burgher and the Tigers finally broke through on his second triple of the night. Now holding onto a two-point lead of their own, the visitors were able to string some stops together. However, with multiple opportunities to add on to the advantage, Warsaw came up empty. That allowed NorthWood to tie things back up with less than three minutes left.
After a basket for each side, things remained knotted up at the two-minute mark. With 90 seconds left, point guard Sam Lara put Warsaw on top, but 30 seconds later, Pearson was there with an answer. Unsurprisingly, a game that had been neck-and-neck the whole way was going to come down to the wire.
Getting the ball back with 50 seconds left, the Tigers elected to burn the rest of the clock and try to take the final shot of regulation. After calling timeout with 10 seconds left, the ball found its way into Burgher’s hands. Mydin got a good look from near the free throw line, but sent it a tad long. NorthWood got the rebound and called time with three seconds to go, giving the home side a crack at it.
“The last thing we said coming out of the timeout was that we needed to take the last shot,” Moore said. “It was a good look, nine times out of ten he makes it. But I didn’t put us in a good position on the play. The timing was bad and that’s on me.”
After passing the ball to midcourt, the Panthers called a second timeout. In the half court, the play was perfect. The inbounds pass was a lop to senior Brogan Ferrell, who was fouled with 1.5 left by Lara. He’d have a chance to win the game at the line.
He split the pair, but thats]’s all it took. Drew Jones collected the rebound and fired it from half court, but it banged off the backboard as the horn sounded.
“I’ve got to do a better job of teaching them situational basketball. That’s something we’ve struggled with this season,” Moore said. “We’re just not where we need to be and we need to improve. Fortunately, we get to play through these things.”
Warsaw (8-9, 2-3 NLC) is back at home against Elkhart on Saturday.
