Walters Triggers Triumphant Tiger Turnaround Over Chesterton 69-54
February 8, 2021 at 4:16 a.m.
Walters Triggers Triumphant Tiger Turnaround Over Chesterton 69-54
By Chip Davenport-
Tiger head coach Matt Moore made a point about Walters’ recent success as his ankle injury is further in the rearview mirror.
“He sprained his ankle just before tryouts. If you know anything about this, if you’ve seen him in the last week, he’s starting to get his bounce back, his rhythm back with that ankle. It really limits what you can do.” Moore said. “We have seniors like Bishop for a reason. When he’s open, he’s gotta knock down shots. He’s tough enough to battle through the ups and downs of a season.”
Walters responded to Moore’s green light with a 4 for 7 showing from three-point range. When he didn’t have the open shot, he found open Tigers instead, dishing four assists for the afternoon.
Chesterton entered the fray 14-2, and ranked 12th in Class 4A, and a 5-0 record in the Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC). The Tigers already lost to DAC members Crown Point and Valparaiso in December.
Warsaw started roughly, falling behind 12-5 before their 14-point barrage. The hosts scored nine of those points in the final 65 seconds to close the opening period on top 19-12. They never tied nor trailed thereafter. Coach Moore commented on the adjustments.
“In these games when you’re not familiar with your opponent it takes a while to feel these things out. (Chesterton is) physical, they get down the floor quickly, and it’s hard to see that on film. I think it took a little bit for these guys to figure that out.”
The Trojans, trailing 32-22 at halftime, came as close to Warsaw as they would during the remainder of the game, down 40-36 on a third period closing score by Chesterton’s Luke Lombardini. The Tigers’ offense exploded in the final period as it displayed its potential for up-tempo firepower outscoring their guests 29-18 for their fifth straight win.
Warsaw (12-7, 5-1) is playing its best team ball of the season within their recent winning streak.
Coach Moore commented on the team effort Saturday as well as throughout their recent run where they’ve outscored their opposition 58-47.
“I can’t say enough about the minutes that Russ Winchester and Caleb Sands gave us in the first half when we get in foul trouble.” Moore said. “Those guys came in and sustained us.”
“Everybody has leveled up. I think it’s been by committee.” Moore continued. “I think Judah has through his actions. Jaxon Gould’s voice has grown. Ben’s (Bergen) stability is very reassuring. Caleb Sands and those guys have been able to stay the course. Collectively instead of being critical they’ve been able to pick each other up.”
Travis Grayson scored 16 of his 20 team-leading points for the 12th ranked Trojans, now 14-3. Luke Lombardini added 12 points. Chesterton, who used a greater number of taller players in the game than the Tigers, were dominated by the orange and black on the boards 30-17.
Warsaw’s Gould (27 points, 8 rebounds), Simfukwe (20 points, 5 rebounds), and Walters (14) scored 61 of the team’s 69 points (88%). Ben Bergen added 6 points, and Russ Winchester rounded out the effort with two points.
The Tigers nailed 24 of 38 shots (63%) from the field, and 17 of 23 (74%) from the charity stripe including 16 of 17 (94%) in the second half.
Warsaw’s JV Tigers picked up a 52-40 win with cousins Kyle and Jeremiah Dawson netting 14 and 10 points, respectively. Tyler Kuhn and Nick Katris each added four assists.
The Tigers can clinch a share of the Northern Lakes Conference crown Friday when they travel to Plymouth. They also host Wabash Saturday in their final home game. JV tip-off for both games is 6:15 p.m.
The Warsaw-Carroll game slated for February 26th has been cancelled due to the maximum number of allowable regular season games (22).
Tiger head coach Matt Moore made a point about Walters’ recent success as his ankle injury is further in the rearview mirror.
“He sprained his ankle just before tryouts. If you know anything about this, if you’ve seen him in the last week, he’s starting to get his bounce back, his rhythm back with that ankle. It really limits what you can do.” Moore said. “We have seniors like Bishop for a reason. When he’s open, he’s gotta knock down shots. He’s tough enough to battle through the ups and downs of a season.”
Walters responded to Moore’s green light with a 4 for 7 showing from three-point range. When he didn’t have the open shot, he found open Tigers instead, dishing four assists for the afternoon.
Chesterton entered the fray 14-2, and ranked 12th in Class 4A, and a 5-0 record in the Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC). The Tigers already lost to DAC members Crown Point and Valparaiso in December.
Warsaw started roughly, falling behind 12-5 before their 14-point barrage. The hosts scored nine of those points in the final 65 seconds to close the opening period on top 19-12. They never tied nor trailed thereafter. Coach Moore commented on the adjustments.
“In these games when you’re not familiar with your opponent it takes a while to feel these things out. (Chesterton is) physical, they get down the floor quickly, and it’s hard to see that on film. I think it took a little bit for these guys to figure that out.”
The Trojans, trailing 32-22 at halftime, came as close to Warsaw as they would during the remainder of the game, down 40-36 on a third period closing score by Chesterton’s Luke Lombardini. The Tigers’ offense exploded in the final period as it displayed its potential for up-tempo firepower outscoring their guests 29-18 for their fifth straight win.
Warsaw (12-7, 5-1) is playing its best team ball of the season within their recent winning streak.
Coach Moore commented on the team effort Saturday as well as throughout their recent run where they’ve outscored their opposition 58-47.
“I can’t say enough about the minutes that Russ Winchester and Caleb Sands gave us in the first half when we get in foul trouble.” Moore said. “Those guys came in and sustained us.”
“Everybody has leveled up. I think it’s been by committee.” Moore continued. “I think Judah has through his actions. Jaxon Gould’s voice has grown. Ben’s (Bergen) stability is very reassuring. Caleb Sands and those guys have been able to stay the course. Collectively instead of being critical they’ve been able to pick each other up.”
Travis Grayson scored 16 of his 20 team-leading points for the 12th ranked Trojans, now 14-3. Luke Lombardini added 12 points. Chesterton, who used a greater number of taller players in the game than the Tigers, were dominated by the orange and black on the boards 30-17.
Warsaw’s Gould (27 points, 8 rebounds), Simfukwe (20 points, 5 rebounds), and Walters (14) scored 61 of the team’s 69 points (88%). Ben Bergen added 6 points, and Russ Winchester rounded out the effort with two points.
The Tigers nailed 24 of 38 shots (63%) from the field, and 17 of 23 (74%) from the charity stripe including 16 of 17 (94%) in the second half.
Warsaw’s JV Tigers picked up a 52-40 win with cousins Kyle and Jeremiah Dawson netting 14 and 10 points, respectively. Tyler Kuhn and Nick Katris each added four assists.
The Tigers can clinch a share of the Northern Lakes Conference crown Friday when they travel to Plymouth. They also host Wabash Saturday in their final home game. JV tip-off for both games is 6:15 p.m.
The Warsaw-Carroll game slated for February 26th has been cancelled due to the maximum number of allowable regular season games (22).
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092