Tigers Go On The Attack, Pound Panthers At Grace
December 17, 2023 at 5:50 p.m.
What a difference a day makes.
A day after losing at home in their Northern Lakes Conference opener to Wawasee Friday, the Warsaw boys basketball team stormed out to a big early lead and posted an 86-45 win over South Bend Washington at the Manahan O.C.C at Grace College Saturday night.
It didn’t take long to figure out what direction the game was heading.
Warsaw used faulty Panther shooting, alert half-court defense and an almost flawless transition game to turn Washington’s first-quarter miscues into 24 points.
Junior Carson Gould of Warsaw rises above the Washington defense for a shot during Saturday night's game at Grace College. Photo by Gary Nieter
They did it, in part, by doing something they had hoped to do on Friday—feed Luke Yeager in the post.
“He (Yeager) was aggressive, he picked his spots, and he was commanding in the post,” said Head Coach Matt Moore. “I am happy for him. He has had a tough start to the season with fouls and other things, and it’s good to see him see it go in.”
Yeager scored six points in each of the first two quarters and finished with a career-high 14 points.
Junior Robbie Finlinson led all scorers with 22 points, including six 3-pointers—four of them in a 28-point Tiger second quarter that removed all doubt in the outcome.
“Can you imagine when we all get on the same page and are all hitting shots?” Moore added. “We made the extra pass a lot tonight and it showed.”
The 52 points in the first half was a season high and came on 20 of 33 shooting and 5 of10 from long range.
At one point, the Tigers led by 37 in the second period, meaning the second half was played with a running clock with few exceptions.
Finlinson and Yeager were joined in double-figures by Drew Sullivan off the Tiger bench with 15 and Brandt Martin with 12.
The lead would eventually grow to 42 late in the fourth at 82-40—a very unexpected result considering how well Washington had been playing lately. After losing their opener, the Panthers had rattled off six straight wins and were averaging almost 69 points per game heading into Saturday’s matchup at Grace.
But on this night, the Tiger defense was too good, holding the Panthers to 37% shooting and 45 points while turning their 14 turnovers into 20 points of their own.
Warsaw (4-2) will head out for a road trip to Carroll Tuesday night before wrapping up the 2023-portion of the schedule at Lafayette Harrison on December 30.
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What a difference a day makes.
A day after losing at home in their Northern Lakes Conference opener to Wawasee Friday, the Warsaw boys basketball team stormed out to a big early lead and posted an 86-45 win over South Bend Washington at the Manahan O.C.C at Grace College Saturday night.
It didn’t take long to figure out what direction the game was heading.
Warsaw used faulty Panther shooting, alert half-court defense and an almost flawless transition game to turn Washington’s first-quarter miscues into 24 points.
Junior Carson Gould of Warsaw rises above the Washington defense for a shot during Saturday night's game at Grace College. Photo by Gary Nieter
They did it, in part, by doing something they had hoped to do on Friday—feed Luke Yeager in the post.
“He (Yeager) was aggressive, he picked his spots, and he was commanding in the post,” said Head Coach Matt Moore. “I am happy for him. He has had a tough start to the season with fouls and other things, and it’s good to see him see it go in.”
Yeager scored six points in each of the first two quarters and finished with a career-high 14 points.
Junior Robbie Finlinson led all scorers with 22 points, including six 3-pointers—four of them in a 28-point Tiger second quarter that removed all doubt in the outcome.
“Can you imagine when we all get on the same page and are all hitting shots?” Moore added. “We made the extra pass a lot tonight and it showed.”
The 52 points in the first half was a season high and came on 20 of 33 shooting and 5 of10 from long range.
At one point, the Tigers led by 37 in the second period, meaning the second half was played with a running clock with few exceptions.
Finlinson and Yeager were joined in double-figures by Drew Sullivan off the Tiger bench with 15 and Brandt Martin with 12.
The lead would eventually grow to 42 late in the fourth at 82-40—a very unexpected result considering how well Washington had been playing lately. After losing their opener, the Panthers had rattled off six straight wins and were averaging almost 69 points per game heading into Saturday’s matchup at Grace.
But on this night, the Tiger defense was too good, holding the Panthers to 37% shooting and 45 points while turning their 14 turnovers into 20 points of their own.
Warsaw (4-2) will head out for a road trip to Carroll Tuesday night before wrapping up the 2023-portion of the schedule at Lafayette Harrison on December 30.