Strong Start, Finish Lift Tigers To WinA game of runs favored Warsaw Friday.
The Tigers started fast, relented, and picked up the pace for a 61-47 Northern Lakes Conference boys basketball win over the visiting NorthWood Panthers.
“It’s a big relief, this win, because it wasn’t a gimme to get this win for sure,” said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle.
The Tigers (10-4, 5-0 NLC) bolted out of the gate, scoring seven points off turnovers to jump to a 16-4 lead.
“We did not start the game the way we had hoped,” said NorthWood coach Aaron Wolfe. “There were some unforced turnovers that carried into the late first quarter.”
Warsaw held a 21-10 lead by the end of the first quarter, but the Panthers (6-8, 2-3 NLC) responded with a 12-1 run of their own to tie the game at 22.
“Once we got the big lead, we became complacent and lost our focus big-time,” Ogle said.
The Tigers refocused when Trevor Rumple hit a shot, and NorthWood missed consecutive shots.
The Panthers failed to capitalize on a Tigers turnover, and Nolan Groninger hit a three-pointer.
NorthWood responded with Ben Vincent’s bucket, but Jaylen Reese answered with a shot of his own for the Tigers.
Blake Marsh hit a contested shot from the corner at the buzzer to give the Tigers a 31-24 lead.
“So now we’re up seven at halftime and (it was), let’s not let this happen again,” Ogle said.
The third quarter found Warsaw up by as much as 14 at one point, but once again the Panthers battled back to cut the lead to eight.
However, the closest NorthWood got was six points on Vincent’s free throws midway through the fourth quarter.
Groninger responded with a basket, Luke Adamiec made a free throw, and Wyatt Amiss scored on a put-back for a double-digit lead the Tigers rode to victory.
“Each possession’s a new page,” Ogle said. “You’re on a new page, and you can’t let what was on the previous page affect you.”
Groninger scored a game-high 20 points.
Making his first varsity start, Adamiec scored 13 points in place of Tyler Metzinger, who is out with a foot injury.
Ogle said he did not know when Metzinger will return.
Edwards scored a team-high 15 points for NorthWood, while Vincent had 13 points.
Wolfe, now in his 12th season at NorthWood, is a former assistant of Ogle. He has won five sectionals since 2012, but still remembers his time at Warsaw fondly.
“It’s always special coming back and seeing all the changes, even in the building,” Wolfe said. “But, we were very fortunate and had a great experience while we were here.”
Warsaw has won 31 of its last 33 NLC games. The Tigers will play today against Elkhart Central at North Side Gym.
WARSAW 61,
NORTHWOOD 47
NW 10 14 7 16 – 47
W 21 10 11 19 – 61
NorthWood – Brock Flickinger 2-6 0-0 4, Ben Vincent 4-10 2-2 13, Trent Edwards 7-11 1-2 15, Matt Dutkowski 2-5 0-0 5, Jason Borkholder 0-0 0-0 0, Josh Stafford 0-0 0-0 0, Nick Bean 4-10 0-0 10, Totals 19-42 3-4 47.
