Shots Won't Fall As Tigers Fall To Huntington North
Posted
Aaron McKrell-amckrell@timesuniononline.com
HUNTINGTON – Sometimes, the shots just don’t fall.
That was the case Saturday for the Warsaw boys basketball team, which lost 47-37 in a non-conference game at Huntington North.
The Tigers (2-2) shot an uncharacteristic 12 of 35 from the floor.
“We just didn’t play well,” said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle, who was denied his 250th varsity victory twice over the week, as the Tigers also los Friday at Homestead. “We didn’t shoot well. Unlike last night (against Homestead), we didn’t rebound well.”
The Tigers’ offensive struggles caught up to them in the third quarter. Up 17-16, Huntington North started hot with a three-pointer by Trey Williams and a bucket by Hank Pulver.
Warsaw responded with two free throws by Wyatt Amiss, but Pulver hit two more shots to give the Vikings the 26-18 lead. A trey by Amiss was the only field goal of the quarter for the Tigers, who went into the final frame down 31-21.
The Tigers never quit. Nolan Groninger scored 10 of his team-high 12 points in the fourth quarter, including a three-pointer to cut the Vikings’ lead to four with just a few minutes remaining.
However, with the clock winding down, Warsaw had to resort to fouling, and the Vikings made six of their last eight free throw attempts to seal the double-digit victory.
“Tonight was another struggle, but they did a good job of getting the ball inside, and we had to foul them,” Ogle said.
Huntington North (3-1) was 21 of 28 from the charity stripe, and Vikings coach Chris Teagle was impressed with his team’s foul shooting.
“We got to the foul line, that’s always your game,” he said. “If you have the lead, you should be going to the foul line.”
Warsaw and Huntington North finished a tight first quarter tied 7-7, before the Vikings held a one-point advantage to head into halftime.
The Tigers managed just three offensive rebounds, while turning over the ball 14 times.
“Sometimes we just need to be more fundamentally sound,” Ogle said. “Some of the passes we throw are just not fundamentally sound passes where we’re not pivoting, we’re standing up.”
Pulver had a game-high 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Vikings, while Zach Daugherty added 10 points.
Brian Elliott and Amiss each scored eight points for Warsaw.
The Tigers were edged 50-49 in the JV game.
The Tigers will look to bounce back from consecutive losses when they host Lake Central Friday.
“We’re gonna keep going, and we have a lot of improvements we need to make,” Ogle said.
