ELKHART — It took Warsaw until the second half to fully look like itself Saturday night at North Side Gym, but once the Tigers did, they appeared to be right at home — which is precisely what coach Matt Moore wanted at this particular venue.
Playing at what Moore hopes will feel like “our second home” come March, when Warsaw returns for the Class 4A Elkhart Sectional, the Tigers authoritatively distanced themselves from a slim 21-19 halftime lead by outscoring host Elkhart 22-5 in the third quarter on their way to a 65-40 victory.
“You hold a team to 35% on their home floor while you shoot 60, yeah, I think we were able to get comfortable,” Moore said, exactly nailing the night’s field goal percentages for each side. “I feel like we didn’t play great in the first half, but you get a 25-point win, there are a lot of positives you can take from that.”
Luke Bricker notched game highs of 20 points and nine rebounds as No. 11-ranked Warsaw (16-3) extended its longest winning streak in nine years to 10 games.
Brandt Martin added 13 points, 11 of those in the second half, and three assists and three steals for the Tigers, the latter two figures tying for game highs.
Robbie Finlinson contributed 12 points on 4-of-5 from the field and 3-of-4 at the line, and Mydin Burgher scored eight.
Warsaw got a scare midway through the third quarter when senior point guard Carson Gould, “the heartbeat of everything we do,” according to Moore, went down with an ankle injury and had to be assisted to the bench.
Gould never returned, but Moore was hopeful after the game that the fourth-year starter would be OK based on X-rays not being deemed necessary.
In the short term, anyway, the Tigers didn’t miss him much, extending their 31-20 lead at the time he exited to 43-24 by the end of the quarter.
“I thought the biggest thing was just settling in to who we are and what we needed to do,” Moore said of why the second half, when Warsaw outpointed the Lions 44-21, was so different from the first. “We gotta get stops. We can’t allow them to get rebounds and second-chance opportunities (Elkhart led 8-0 in second-chance points at the break and 14-9 in total rebounds). You saw in the third quarter how if we’re getting stops, we’re getting run-outs. We were turning them over and the game flowed a lot faster for us.”
Moore opted to start sophomore Sam Lara in the second half, and Lara, similar to Friday’s 61-49 win over NorthWood with first place in the Northern Lakes Conference on the line, quickly boosted his team like a set of jumper cables again.
Lara made a steal and basket right after Gould went out and finished the night with five points and three steals in 17 minutes, that after tallying a career-high 13 points and three steals in 21 minutes against NorthWood.
“He’s just been on a tear, especially defensively,” Moore said, “so that’s why he started the second half.”
The Tigers shot a blistering 17-of-25 from the field for 68% after the break while limiting the Lions to 6-of-19 for 32%. They also outrebounded the hosts 17-9 following the intermission in response to their minus-five in that department over the first two quarters.
“Generally speaking, it’s hard to play back-to-back games, especially when the first one’s an emotional one like (Friday),” Moore said in reference to the win over NorthWood.
Nevertheless, “in the first half, we played a little bit like, ‘Well, they’re 4-and-11,’ and you can’t do that,” Moore added. “You’ve got to respect (the opponent).”
Juniors Keaton Anderson and Alonzo Newbern led Elkhart (4-12) with eight points apiece. Sophomore Frank Willis added seven points and two steals, and sophomore Samarcus Gipson six points and eight rebounds.
The Lions started three sophs, a junior and a freshman, and their first two players off the bench were underclassmen as well.
Warsaw, 5-0 in the NLC, can clinch at least a share of the league title Thursday when it hosts Mishawaka (5-11, 1-4).
In Saturday’s JV game, the Tigers prevailed 40-36 with freshman Drew Jones scoring 23 points.