Tigers Pounce On Panthers in 4th, Win 47-42
January 30, 2021 at 4:47 a.m.
Tigers Pounce On Panthers in 4th, Win 47-42
By Chip Davenport-
Jaxon Gould hit a three-point shot late in the third quarter breaking the last of the game’s nine ties in to put Warsaw ahead for good 30-27. The Tigers widened their lead in the final period on Jackson Dawson’s passing from the high post to Judah Simfukwe and other teammates along the baseline stretching their lead to 47-36 before the Panthers’ Cade Brenner hit two buckets beyond the arc to close out the game’s scoring.
It was Senior Night in the Tiger Den, and pandemic level orange permitted the hosts to fill the gym at 25%. The long-awaited reprieve resulted in an energized crowd, two full, student sections ready to burst, and the best game-night environment yet this season to test the composure of both teams.
The Tiger defense forced NorthWood into 15 turnovers, with ten of them being traveling violations. Tiger head coach matt Moore commented on the Warsaw defense rattling their guests.
“It was a collective effort by everybody.” Moor said. “The rebounding, the defense, the consistency we’re now maturing into. Jackson Dawson, again, does a great job defensively, big on the boards. Usually, they’re a team that can move freely with the ball, but we stepped up and pressured them.”
The Tigers had some adversity on their way to the crucial conference victory. Jaxon Gould, the squad’s leading scorer, picked up three fouls in the first half. Bishop stepped up in Gould’s absence to hit a big three-pointer to keep the Tigers close in the first half. NorthWood’s Cooper Weins drained a three-point shot at the buzzer, however, and the team retreated to their locker rooms tied 19-all.
There were seven lead changes heading into the final seconds of the third stanza when Gould bounced back from the challenge of foul trouble and nailed his trey to put the orange and black on top 30-27 for the eighth and final lead change.
Coach Moore said, “Gould played through an up and down game with some foul trouble, then hits a big three to give us some momentum.”
An even bigger game changer in the second half was the passing of Jackson Dawson. The 6’6” junior post player had four assists in the second half, six for the night, shut out the Panthers’ leading scorer (Ian Raasch), hit second chance shots and rebounded well.
Final book on the night for Dawson was 9 points, 8 rebounds (4 off the offensive glass), 6 assists and two blocked shots.
Moore enthusiastically commented on Dawson’s most complete game to date.
He said, “He is finally is doing what I think he can do. He locks their best player (Raash) to no points.”
NorthWood’s Brenner led his team in scoring with 18 points followed by Wiens (9 points), Ben Vincent and Jamar Jackson (7 points each).
Simfukwe scored 12 second half points to lead the Tigers with 14 for the night. Gould added 12 points, followed by Dawson’s 9, and Walters’ 5 tallies. Ben Bergen, and Russ Winchester added two pints apiece.
The Tigers shot 59% (10 for 17) on their way to hitting 16 of 32 to finish the night at 50%. They also hit 12 of 14 (86%) at the charity stripe.
The Senior Night festivities honored cheerleaders, statisticians, managers and the following five Tiger cagers: Ben Bergen, Graydon Brath, Caleb Sands, Brock Poe, and Bishop Walters.
Tyler Kuhn ripped the cords for the JV Tigers with a 7 for 9 three-point shooting effort to lead his team to a 48-39 victory over the Panthers. Kyle Dawson added 13 points for Warsaw.
The Tigers head to cavernous North Side Gymnasium tonight to battle the Elkhart Lions. JV tip-off is 6:00 p.m.
Jaxon Gould hit a three-point shot late in the third quarter breaking the last of the game’s nine ties in to put Warsaw ahead for good 30-27. The Tigers widened their lead in the final period on Jackson Dawson’s passing from the high post to Judah Simfukwe and other teammates along the baseline stretching their lead to 47-36 before the Panthers’ Cade Brenner hit two buckets beyond the arc to close out the game’s scoring.
It was Senior Night in the Tiger Den, and pandemic level orange permitted the hosts to fill the gym at 25%. The long-awaited reprieve resulted in an energized crowd, two full, student sections ready to burst, and the best game-night environment yet this season to test the composure of both teams.
The Tiger defense forced NorthWood into 15 turnovers, with ten of them being traveling violations. Tiger head coach matt Moore commented on the Warsaw defense rattling their guests.
“It was a collective effort by everybody.” Moor said. “The rebounding, the defense, the consistency we’re now maturing into. Jackson Dawson, again, does a great job defensively, big on the boards. Usually, they’re a team that can move freely with the ball, but we stepped up and pressured them.”
The Tigers had some adversity on their way to the crucial conference victory. Jaxon Gould, the squad’s leading scorer, picked up three fouls in the first half. Bishop stepped up in Gould’s absence to hit a big three-pointer to keep the Tigers close in the first half. NorthWood’s Cooper Weins drained a three-point shot at the buzzer, however, and the team retreated to their locker rooms tied 19-all.
There were seven lead changes heading into the final seconds of the third stanza when Gould bounced back from the challenge of foul trouble and nailed his trey to put the orange and black on top 30-27 for the eighth and final lead change.
Coach Moore said, “Gould played through an up and down game with some foul trouble, then hits a big three to give us some momentum.”
An even bigger game changer in the second half was the passing of Jackson Dawson. The 6’6” junior post player had four assists in the second half, six for the night, shut out the Panthers’ leading scorer (Ian Raasch), hit second chance shots and rebounded well.
Final book on the night for Dawson was 9 points, 8 rebounds (4 off the offensive glass), 6 assists and two blocked shots.
Moore enthusiastically commented on Dawson’s most complete game to date.
He said, “He is finally is doing what I think he can do. He locks their best player (Raash) to no points.”
NorthWood’s Brenner led his team in scoring with 18 points followed by Wiens (9 points), Ben Vincent and Jamar Jackson (7 points each).
Simfukwe scored 12 second half points to lead the Tigers with 14 for the night. Gould added 12 points, followed by Dawson’s 9, and Walters’ 5 tallies. Ben Bergen, and Russ Winchester added two pints apiece.
The Tigers shot 59% (10 for 17) on their way to hitting 16 of 32 to finish the night at 50%. They also hit 12 of 14 (86%) at the charity stripe.
The Senior Night festivities honored cheerleaders, statisticians, managers and the following five Tiger cagers: Ben Bergen, Graydon Brath, Caleb Sands, Brock Poe, and Bishop Walters.
Tyler Kuhn ripped the cords for the JV Tigers with a 7 for 9 three-point shooting effort to lead his team to a 48-39 victory over the Panthers. Kyle Dawson added 13 points for Warsaw.
The Tigers head to cavernous North Side Gymnasium tonight to battle the Elkhart Lions. JV tip-off is 6:00 p.m.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092