The year of the Tiger continues.

Facing off in the 4A Sectional 4 championship game, longtime rivals Warsaw and Northridge treated fans to an absolute doozy of a game. There were multiple times in the fourth quarter it appeared as if Northridge was going to take it, including on a three pointer that put them up with three seconds left. But a massive triple by Parker Justice tied things up at the horn, and the Tigers finished things off in OT with a 78-74 victory. 

“This is what it’s about. We loaded up our schedule to get tested, and we got tested every step of the way,” head coach Matt Moore said. “Injuries, everything you can think of, but these guys stayed the course and I’m proud of them.” 

Justice being the hero was extra sweet. The senior began the season playing limited minutes as he was behind Luke Bricker on the depth chart. When Bricker went down with an injury, Justice stepped up in numerous ways. 

“It’s been a heck of a journey. I wasn’t playing much and then I got the opportunity,” he said. “What leads to that is the countless reps and practice and belief in myself.”

Neither team wasted any time getting the party started, as both sides banged home threes on their first possessions. It was the Tigers that jumped in front from there, as two steals by Mydin Burgher turned into buckets at the other end, the second of which was a triple by Justice to make it 8-3 early. 

The Raiders responded well to that early spurt, scoring four straight points to get back within one in a hurry. After the initial success from beyond the arc, Warsaw continued to attempt jumpers from distance, but did not stay hot. Northridge used this to its advantage, retaking the lead with three minutes left in the first. 

The Raiders were employing the opposite tactic on offense, putting the ball inside and looking to get shots near the rim. It was working to perfection, as the visitors on the scoreboard were able to bully their way to a four-point lead. A second three by Robbie Finlinson temporarily got the Tigers within one, but Northridge answered immediately. 

The sharpshooting senior would add a third triple to his first quarter statline in the closing seconds, as he tied things up at 16 all heading into the second. 

“I knew this was going to be a big game so I gave it everything I had,” Finlinson said. “I took so many shots in this gym after practice this week, and they kept giving me space so I kept letting it fly.”

Five straight points for the Raiders put them right back in front in the following period. Warsaw was still struggling to find ways to get the ball inside, and the three point shooting, outside of Finlinson, was doing them no favors. Northridge continued to apply the pressure, going up by seven and forcing a Tiger timeout with five and a half minutes until halftime. 

A big three by Carson Gould following the break was able to stop the bleeding momentarily. On the following possession, Gould would use his passing ability to find a wide open Justice in the corner, and he’d convert on his shot from distance. Just like that, the lead had been shrunk to one and it was the Raiders calling a timeout. 

The shots continued to fall afterwards, as both sides added threes on their next two possessions, the second of which gave Brandt Martin his first points of the night. Finlinson, after not taking a shot for the first five minutes of the quarter, picked up right where he left off. His fourth three of the game tied things up at 30. 

With a minute left in the half, a layup by Mydin Burgher put the Tigers in front for the first time since the first quarter, officially erasing the seven-point deficit. After the Raiders jumped back in front, a last-second reverse layup by Martin with three seconds left on the clock served as the final points of the first half, giving Warsaw a 36-35 lead at the break. 

“We love playing these guys, it’s an absolute movie every time,” Finlinson said. “We’re probably the two best shooting teams in the state so we knew we were going to go back and forth.” 

The back and forth nature of the game continued into the third quarter, as the lead changed hands twice in the first minute. A few minutes into the second half, Northridge was able to rip off a short run that put them up by four, but yet another three by Finlinson answered it and made it a one-point game once more. 

Foul trouble hurt the Tigers badly in the third quarter, with the team committing four in the first four minutes, all of the shooting variety. The Raiders made them pay for the aggressiveness, making all eight from the charity stripe. This brought the lead back up to five in a hurry. 

Northridge continued to dominate the third quarter as it rolled on, coming up with an answer each time it seemed Warsaw was going to make a run at things. A big period for the visitors concluded with the Raiders holding onto a six-point lead and the Tigers needing to find some answers. 

A minute into the fourth quarter, Martin was able to cut the lead in half with a hoop plus the harm. It was quickly negated by an and-one on the other end, and the lead went right back to six. Warsaw continued to fight, but each time they cut into the deficit in any way, the Raiders were there to match them almost immediately. 

Finally, near the midway point of the quarter, five straight points by Justice put the Tigers back within one. After a Northridge layup on the other end, Justice did it again, hitting a massive triple in the corner to tie things up and force a Raider timeout. 

“We ran stuff for him and he had his opportunities. He took advantage of them,” Moore said.

Northridge answered the run with a massive three-point play to go right back in front after the break. A pair of free throws by Martin on the other end brought it back to one as now just two minutes remained. The two sides would trade baskets yet again and the difference remained the same with just 89 seconds left. 

A questionable foul put Northridge in the bonus with just under a minute left, which they would use to go back up by three. Martin was able to get back to the line on the ensuing possession, fouling out Northridge’s leading scorer Brady Scholl in the process. He’d only hit one, making it a two-point game. 

After a split at the other end, Finlinson came up massively with a stepback three to tie the game up with 20 seconds on the clock. The Raiders took their time on the following possession, and with three seconds left, were able to knock down a three of their own to put Warsaw on the brink. Perhaps a tad prematurely, the Northridge student section started chanting “start the buses.” 

It was premature indeed.

As they had all season long, the Tigers answered the call. Warsaw advanced the ball to midcourt and then called timeout. After the break, the ball found Justice in the corner. After a pump fake he rose up with it and hit nothing but net as the buzzer sounded., Thirty-two minutes would not be enough. We were going to overtime.

“I knew it was going in. I had been putting in countless reps all week long, working on my shot,” Justice said. “I had the belief in it.” 

His teammates were ecstatic, to say the least.

“That shot was crazy. At first I thought our season was done, but when it went up I thought it had a chance,” Martin said. “It was crazy.” 

“My heart was beating so fast, I didn’t know if we were going to pull it off,” Burgher said. “PJ hit that shot and I was like ‘MAN!’” 

Each team scored on the first possession of the fifth quarter. After a Raider turnover, the Tigers burned almost two full minutes off of the clock before Burgher’s second make of overtime put Warsaw on top. Burgher came up big on the next defensive possession as well, picking up a steal and getting fouled. He’d split a pair to put his team up by three with 71 seconds left. 

“I just knew we were going to have to space it out and get to the rim and with the big guy out we had a big advantage,” Burgher said.” 

With under a minute left, the lead was now two and the Tigers had broken the press to advance the ball. They’d call timeout with 37 seconds left. A few seconds later, Sam Lara would head to the line, and the sophomore came up huge by making both free throws to make it a four-point game. 

The Raiders hit a shot to cut the deficit in half, but a lot of time came off the clock before the visitors finally sent Gould to the line with nine seconds left. He’d split the pair to make it a three-point game, but made the heads up play on the defensive end to foul and force two free throws instead of giving Northridge a chance to tie. 

After hitting the first, the second was intentionally missed, but recovered by Warsaw. An inadvertent whistle stopped play, but gave the Tigers the ball out of bounds. The ball made it into the hands of Finlinson, who was fouled with four seconds left. With a chance to put things away for good, the senior hit both free throws. A long three by the Raiders at the horn was no good, finishing the job for Warsaw. 

Finlinson had 20 points, while Justice had 17. Burgher added 16, while Martin scored 15. Gould had 10 assists. 

“It means so much because we’ve been playing together for so long,” Martin said. “It really shows on the court.”

Warsaw (25-4) will face South Bend Riley in the regional.