Warsaw Opens NLC Play With Win Over WarriorsIn each team’s first Northern Lakes Confer-ence matchup of the season, the Warsaw Tigers boys basketball team defeated the Wawasee Warriors 54-36 at home Friday night.
Despite a spirited defensive game from the Warriors, a high-percentage shooting night from inside the arc – 16 of 21 – kept the Tigers on top for all but a few moments in the first quarter.
Wawasee came out intent on keeping the number of possessions to a minimum, seeking to keep Warsaw from getting into an offensive rhythm.
“They really tried to hold the ball and slow the game down,” said Warsaw head coach Doug Ogle. “They’ve done it pretty effectively before. When we pulled ahead 16-6 after the first quarter, though, that kind of took that strategy off the table.”
“(Ogle) changed things up after that timeout in the first that kept us from running the offense exactly the way we wanted to,” Wawasee’s head coach Jon Everingham said. “He’s one of the best coaches in the state, so he knows what he’s doing.”
In the second quarter, both teams’ defenses played well. The Warriors held Warsaw to 10 points in the period, while the Tigers let the Warriors score only 11. Warsaw’s quarter could have been even better, Ogle said, if they had kept Wawasee from getting to the free throw line.
“They only made four baskets in the first half, two in each quarter” said Ogle, “but they still scored 17. We need to be smarter deciding when we foul. A lot of the fouls we committed were unnecessary, and there were times when we didn’t foul when we should have to stop easy baskets.”
Part of Wawasee’s difficulty scoring stemmed from senior Austin Miller getting in foul trouble.
“Miller’s aggressiveness is key for us; it really hurts us when he’s on the bench after too many fouls,” said Everingham.
“(Miller) puts up 16 a night,” said Ogle. “Losing him is rough on them.”
At halftime, the Tigers discussed limiting Wawasee senior Ethan Hardy, who had made his presence felt both in scoring – he scored six of his eight points in the first half – and in rebounding, totaling two offensive boards on his way to five total rebounds for the night. They were successful in the second half, keeping him to two points and one offensive rebound.
Warsaw was able to extend their lead in the third quarter, outscoring Wawasee 15-9, and the Warriors were unable to claw their way back in during the fourth, ending the game down 18 points after hanging within 10 for most of the game.
Despite the loss, Everingham was not distressed about losing a conference game.
“Warsaw has a lot of juniors and seniors. They’ve got a lot of leaders who have played in big moments on the football team,” he said. “We’re an inexperienced team with a lot to learn. Now, I won’t be using that line for much longer here – I believe you only need eight-to-ten games to get that needed experience – but it takes time. We have four or five key guys who have never played in an environment like Warsaw.”
“We’ve got great kids, and we executed the game plan,” he continued. “We just have to keep improving, which I saw us do throughout the game.”
Everingham noted that to compete with Warsaw, the Warriors had to play tougher and more physical, especially in the rebounding department.
Outside of foul trouble, Ogle only had a few complaints on his team’s play.
“We didn’t handle the ball great tonight, and we had a few defensive breakdowns,” he said. “But we passed the ball well to break down the zone, and we pressured them into some turnovers in the half court.”
Warsaw (6-1, 1-0 NLC) will take on Kokomo (3-2, 0-1 conference) on Saturday at Grace College. Wawasee (3-4, 0-1 NLC) will host Central Noble (3-2, 2-2 conference) next Friday.
