Simfukwe’s Career High 25 Leads Tigers Past Cavemen
February 5, 2021 at 4:19 a.m.
Simfukwe’s Career High 25 Leads Tigers Past Cavemen
By Chip Davenport-
Midway through the opening period Warsaw led 5-4 before launching a 14-2 run to close out the first period 19-6. Judah Simfukwe scored most of his 13 first half points via inside moves and offensive rebounds. The 6’1” junior guard grabbed four first -half offensive rebounds and finished the evening with a career high 25 points to go along with nine rebounds.
Sophomore Jaxon Gould added 11 first half points with only one score from beyond the arc, he too using the baseline to terrorize the cavemen. A total team defensive effort resulted in a 34-19 halftime lead for the Tigers.
Mishawaka showed flashes of a comeback in the third period including an 8-0 run but could not clear the double-digit deficit hurdle. The third period closed out with Warsaw in command 45-33.
The Cavemen spent most of the fourth quarter employing a pressure zone at half-court and man-to-man full court press but found themselves forgetting backside help as Bishop Walters, Simfukwe, Gould and Ben Bergen all scored easy buckets courtesy of solid passing from big men Jackson Dawson and Russ Winchester.
The Tigers finished the night with a 19-17 win within the quarter to spoil Mishawaka’s inaugural NLC season handing them their first conference loss.
Tiger head coach Matt Moore commented on the bigs’ passing, probably some of the best passing on a recurring basis since the days of Lucas Grose.
“Jackson Dawson all year long has been a really good passer and has done a really great job of getting into our offense,” Moore said. “Russ does a really good job.”
Moore was pleased with his team’s up-tempo play and effective offense and defense in transition.
“The tempo is good for us.” Moore said. “We don’t want to necessarily take it out and slow down (and) let their pressure bother us. We want to be a counter puncher. If they wanna play fast, up in us, we wanna play fast the other way.”
The Cavemen were led by Sacario Thomas and Trent Johnson with 12 points apiece. The Tigers defended shots well again, holding another opponent below 40%. The guests were 19-53 (36%) for the night.
Conversely, Warsaw hit 21 of 41 (51%) from the field and 18 of 21 (86%) free throws.
There were some remarkable individual achievements by the Tigers accompanying Simfukwe’s offensive showing. Walters broke free like a fighter jet under hot pursuit to score a handful of easy layups in transition. The silent assassin was 4-5 from the filed with one beyond the arc for a nine-point scoring effort.
Additional Warsaw contributions included Gould’s 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 feeds, Jackson Dawson’s 7 points, 9 rebounds and two assists, Ben Bergen’s four points and two assists, and Drew Heckaman’s two points.
The JV Tigers doubled their opponents’ scoring in a 64-32 win in the early game. Kyle Dawson, Jackson’s cousin, scored 19 points and 12 rebounds while Nick Katris added 17 points. Tyler Kuhn added seven rebounds and seven assists, and Julia Saldivar chipped in with five feeds.
Warsaw moves to 10-7 overall, and 5-1 in the NLC. They host the 14-2 Chesterton Trojans Saturday at 2:30 p.m. One of their two losses was to South Bend Adams, one of this season’s top tier teams in the state. The team’s sixth Duneland Athletic Conference opponent offers a forward-looking challenge for the Tigers.
Moore said, “We want to get in that afternoon game, get that regional feel. It’s a short turnaround.”
The Tigers are cleaning up the Elmo and Big Bird plates and keeping them out for the Trojans.
Midway through the opening period Warsaw led 5-4 before launching a 14-2 run to close out the first period 19-6. Judah Simfukwe scored most of his 13 first half points via inside moves and offensive rebounds. The 6’1” junior guard grabbed four first -half offensive rebounds and finished the evening with a career high 25 points to go along with nine rebounds.
Sophomore Jaxon Gould added 11 first half points with only one score from beyond the arc, he too using the baseline to terrorize the cavemen. A total team defensive effort resulted in a 34-19 halftime lead for the Tigers.
Mishawaka showed flashes of a comeback in the third period including an 8-0 run but could not clear the double-digit deficit hurdle. The third period closed out with Warsaw in command 45-33.
The Cavemen spent most of the fourth quarter employing a pressure zone at half-court and man-to-man full court press but found themselves forgetting backside help as Bishop Walters, Simfukwe, Gould and Ben Bergen all scored easy buckets courtesy of solid passing from big men Jackson Dawson and Russ Winchester.
The Tigers finished the night with a 19-17 win within the quarter to spoil Mishawaka’s inaugural NLC season handing them their first conference loss.
Tiger head coach Matt Moore commented on the bigs’ passing, probably some of the best passing on a recurring basis since the days of Lucas Grose.
“Jackson Dawson all year long has been a really good passer and has done a really great job of getting into our offense,” Moore said. “Russ does a really good job.”
Moore was pleased with his team’s up-tempo play and effective offense and defense in transition.
“The tempo is good for us.” Moore said. “We don’t want to necessarily take it out and slow down (and) let their pressure bother us. We want to be a counter puncher. If they wanna play fast, up in us, we wanna play fast the other way.”
The Cavemen were led by Sacario Thomas and Trent Johnson with 12 points apiece. The Tigers defended shots well again, holding another opponent below 40%. The guests were 19-53 (36%) for the night.
Conversely, Warsaw hit 21 of 41 (51%) from the field and 18 of 21 (86%) free throws.
There were some remarkable individual achievements by the Tigers accompanying Simfukwe’s offensive showing. Walters broke free like a fighter jet under hot pursuit to score a handful of easy layups in transition. The silent assassin was 4-5 from the filed with one beyond the arc for a nine-point scoring effort.
Additional Warsaw contributions included Gould’s 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 feeds, Jackson Dawson’s 7 points, 9 rebounds and two assists, Ben Bergen’s four points and two assists, and Drew Heckaman’s two points.
The JV Tigers doubled their opponents’ scoring in a 64-32 win in the early game. Kyle Dawson, Jackson’s cousin, scored 19 points and 12 rebounds while Nick Katris added 17 points. Tyler Kuhn added seven rebounds and seven assists, and Julia Saldivar chipped in with five feeds.
Warsaw moves to 10-7 overall, and 5-1 in the NLC. They host the 14-2 Chesterton Trojans Saturday at 2:30 p.m. One of their two losses was to South Bend Adams, one of this season’s top tier teams in the state. The team’s sixth Duneland Athletic Conference opponent offers a forward-looking challenge for the Tigers.
Moore said, “We want to get in that afternoon game, get that regional feel. It’s a short turnaround.”
The Tigers are cleaning up the Elmo and Big Bird plates and keeping them out for the Trojans.
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