Bricker Leads Warsaw In Bounce Back Win Over Elkhart
January 29, 2023 at 8:10 p.m.
Bricker Leads Warsaw In Bounce Back Win Over Elkhart
By Anthony Anderson-
Heck, as far as Warsaw coach Matt Moore is concerned, it’s not even sufficient to call Bricker a shooter.
“He’s not a shooter, he’s a maker, and he made ’em tonight,” Moore said after Bricker helped propel the Tigers to a 58-33 thumping of Elkhart on Saturday at storied North Side Gym.
The smooth, quick-release sophomore swished 6-of-7 on 3-pointers and finished with 21 points as Warsaw bounced right back from Friday’s 53-36 loss against Class 3A No. 1 NorthWood to record a resounding win.
Bricker, coming off the bench, scored all of his 21 over the first three quarters as the Tigers (10-7) built a 40-25 lead on the way to their fourth win in their last five outings. Flirting with perfection, he closed 7-of-8 from the field and made his lone free throw.
“I think guys will naturally pass up what are good looks for them to get a great look for him,” Moore said of Bricker. “They celebrate his success, and I think he appreciates that, and it’s fun to see, because he is a weapon.”
He wasn’t the only one, thanks in part to Warsaw’s sharp and purposeful passing that broke down the zone defenses the Lions primarily presented.
The Tigers racked up 16 assists and finished 22-of-42 from the field for 52.4%.
“It was our ability to continue to make the easy pass, and eventually they’re gonna have to get to sides of the floor, and get tired, and you find gaps and you make the simple play,” Moore said. “It sounds arbitrary at times, but those lead to big-advantage shots, and we made those tonight, especially Luke.”
Trai Davis added eight points for Warsaw, going 4-of-5 from the field.
Fellow sophomore Carson Gould racked up game highs of seven assists and seven rebounds for the winners to accompany five points. Luke Yeager chipped in six points and grabbed six rebounds. Drew Heckaman scored six, too.
Jaxson Gould tallied an atypically low four points, but that was still enough to improve the senior’s career total to 1,046 and lift him into a 10th-place tie on the all-time Tiger scoring chart.
What wasn’t atypical was Gould finding other ways to contribute. He coaxed every one of the night’s three charging fouls to go with four assists and a team-high three steals.
Moore was appreciative of his team having a game a night after the loss to NorthWood, and appreciative of how his club responded.
“No question, just getting the feel back of being with your team and seeing things you work on come to fruition in a game is a good feeling,” Moore said. “Defensively, we had no dip from last night’s effort to tonight’s effort, and that’s where we needed to be.”
The Tigers held the Lions (5-11) to just 12-of-43 from the field for 28%, including 3-of-15 on 3-pointers.
Senior Damarion Anderson led Elkhart with 14 points and six rebounds, but he was just 6-of-19 from the field, and nobody else scored more than five points for the hosts.
Each side finished at 16 turnovers, but Warsaw showed itself a willing and able participant, especially with counter attacks, on the occasions the game shifted to a quicker tempo off cough-ups.
The contest was played potentially a month to the day from when the Tigers will be back in North Side if they happen to not get a bye in the six-team Class 4A Elkhart Sectional that tips off Feb. 28. That field will feature No. 2-ranked Penn (16-1).
“Good to play well here,” Moore said. “Thirty-one days from tonight, it becomes real, and we hope the draw comes out in our favor, but I think we’d like to play Tuesday. Our mindset’s going to be to play three games.”
Warsaw hosts Mishawaka (14-3, 4-1) on Thursday with a chance to move into a second-place tie in the Northern Lakes Conference.
The Tigers won Saturday’s junior varsity game 49-37. Drew Sullivan scored 17 points for Warsaw and Robbie Finlinson 12.
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Heck, as far as Warsaw coach Matt Moore is concerned, it’s not even sufficient to call Bricker a shooter.
“He’s not a shooter, he’s a maker, and he made ’em tonight,” Moore said after Bricker helped propel the Tigers to a 58-33 thumping of Elkhart on Saturday at storied North Side Gym.
The smooth, quick-release sophomore swished 6-of-7 on 3-pointers and finished with 21 points as Warsaw bounced right back from Friday’s 53-36 loss against Class 3A No. 1 NorthWood to record a resounding win.
Bricker, coming off the bench, scored all of his 21 over the first three quarters as the Tigers (10-7) built a 40-25 lead on the way to their fourth win in their last five outings. Flirting with perfection, he closed 7-of-8 from the field and made his lone free throw.
“I think guys will naturally pass up what are good looks for them to get a great look for him,” Moore said of Bricker. “They celebrate his success, and I think he appreciates that, and it’s fun to see, because he is a weapon.”
He wasn’t the only one, thanks in part to Warsaw’s sharp and purposeful passing that broke down the zone defenses the Lions primarily presented.
The Tigers racked up 16 assists and finished 22-of-42 from the field for 52.4%.
“It was our ability to continue to make the easy pass, and eventually they’re gonna have to get to sides of the floor, and get tired, and you find gaps and you make the simple play,” Moore said. “It sounds arbitrary at times, but those lead to big-advantage shots, and we made those tonight, especially Luke.”
Trai Davis added eight points for Warsaw, going 4-of-5 from the field.
Fellow sophomore Carson Gould racked up game highs of seven assists and seven rebounds for the winners to accompany five points. Luke Yeager chipped in six points and grabbed six rebounds. Drew Heckaman scored six, too.
Jaxson Gould tallied an atypically low four points, but that was still enough to improve the senior’s career total to 1,046 and lift him into a 10th-place tie on the all-time Tiger scoring chart.
What wasn’t atypical was Gould finding other ways to contribute. He coaxed every one of the night’s three charging fouls to go with four assists and a team-high three steals.
Moore was appreciative of his team having a game a night after the loss to NorthWood, and appreciative of how his club responded.
“No question, just getting the feel back of being with your team and seeing things you work on come to fruition in a game is a good feeling,” Moore said. “Defensively, we had no dip from last night’s effort to tonight’s effort, and that’s where we needed to be.”
The Tigers held the Lions (5-11) to just 12-of-43 from the field for 28%, including 3-of-15 on 3-pointers.
Senior Damarion Anderson led Elkhart with 14 points and six rebounds, but he was just 6-of-19 from the field, and nobody else scored more than five points for the hosts.
Each side finished at 16 turnovers, but Warsaw showed itself a willing and able participant, especially with counter attacks, on the occasions the game shifted to a quicker tempo off cough-ups.
The contest was played potentially a month to the day from when the Tigers will be back in North Side if they happen to not get a bye in the six-team Class 4A Elkhart Sectional that tips off Feb. 28. That field will feature No. 2-ranked Penn (16-1).
“Good to play well here,” Moore said. “Thirty-one days from tonight, it becomes real, and we hope the draw comes out in our favor, but I think we’d like to play Tuesday. Our mindset’s going to be to play three games.”
Warsaw hosts Mishawaka (14-3, 4-1) on Thursday with a chance to move into a second-place tie in the Northern Lakes Conference.
The Tigers won Saturday’s junior varsity game 49-37. Drew Sullivan scored 17 points for Warsaw and Robbie Finlinson 12.
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