Reese, Groninger Help Tigers Avenge Loss In Big Way
Reese, Groninger Help Tigers Avenge Loss In Big Way
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
Reese, Groninger Help Tigers Avenge Loss In Big WayELKHART – Jaylen Reese, said Warsaw boys basketball coach Doug Ogle, played like a senior who doesn’t want to lose.
Fellow senior Nolan Groninger was pretty good, too, finishing just two assists shy of a triple-double.
Opening Class 4A Sectional 4 at historic North Side Gym against an Elkhart Memorial team they lost to seven days prior, the Warsaw Tigers led from start to finish Tuesday in a convincing 65-50 victory.
Reese and Groninger provided much of the firepower for the Tigers, who improved to 14-7 and advanced to Friday’s 6 p.m. semifinal against the host Elkhart Central Blue Blazers.
Reese was 5 of 5 from the field and scored a career-high 17 points, a performance that included a dunk in the final two minutes to give the Tigers a 62-47 lead at the time.
Groninger, the recently-crowned Times-Union Area Player of the Year, finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
“We’ve been waiting for Reese to have a game like that,” said Ogle, whose team had to settle for a share of the Northern Lakes Conference championship after falling 48-45 to Memorial in the Tiger Den a week ago.
“I’m so happy for him. He’s had struggles offensively. He was the guy tonight. Good start to the game for him ... he played like a senior that doesn’t want to lose.”
While his 17 points were impressive, topping his previous high of 13 against Columbia City in the second game of the season, Reese played lockdown defense on Memorial senior sharpshooter Hank Smith.
Smith averaged nearly 16 points per game this season, but was held to eight Tuesday night as he struggled through a 3-of-19 shooting performance.
Smith, who will be teammates with Reese next season at Grace College, was 0 of 7 from the field in the first half and didn’t score until making a three-pointer with 6:49 remaining in the third quarter.
“Jaylen is a good matchup for Hank because of his length, and he played him really well,” said Ogle. “I thought our defense in the first half was really good.”
The Tigers led 13-3 after one quarter of play, 32-17 at halftime and 47-34 heading into the final frame.
Memorial got no closer than seven points in the second half, and Warsaw ended the defending sectional champions’ season at 16-7.
“All week we’ve been talking about patient possessions and not rushing shots, letting the game come to you,” said Reese, whose statline also included four rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and a steal.
“A lot of players in the sectional tend to speed up and get under pressure because the stakes are so high. It’s all about doing what you’ve been doing all year and just playing to your capabilities and not trying to do too much.”
Seniors Trevor Rumple and Tyler Metzinger scored 11 and 10 points respectively, and junior Keagan Larsh chipped in with six points and six rebounds.
“We had more drive and more determination to beat them,” said Groninger when asked about avenging the recent three-point loss to Memorial.
“We had a better gameplan coming into this game, and I think that helped a lot. We packed it in a lot more, and I think that helped a lot. We focused on rebounding a lot this last week. I think that helped a lot, too.”
The Tigers were 25 of 43 from the field overall, compared to Memorial’s 14 of 50.
Warsaw outrebounded the Crimson Chargers 36-33.
Trey Gallope led Memorial with 16 points, while Smith and D’Arjon Lewis scored eight points each, and Miller finished with seven.
In the previous game against Warsaw, Miller was 5 of 5 from three-point range en route to 18 points. Tuesday he was 1 of 4 from the arc and scored four of his seven points from the free throw line.
Sectional play resumes at North Side Gym tonight when Concord and Northridge battle at 6 p.m., followed by Plymouth and Goshen.
Tonight’s winners will play in Friday’s second semifinal.
