SOUTH BEND - The Warsaw Tigers held the South Bend Washington Panthers to eight fourth quarter points on Saturday to turn a 49-43 deficit into a 60-57 win, their eight straight, to finish the regular season with a record of 15-7.

The Tigers trailed 45-36 in the third period before shifting gears, outscoring Washington 24-12, including a 10-0 run, to take the driver’s seat in a game with eight ties and five lead changes.

Warsaw showed why it’s evident they have one of the two best guard combos in the Times-Union area. Sophomore Jaxson Gould led the charge with 24 points, seven rebounds, three blocked shots, three steals and an assist. Judah Simfukwe, his junior counterpart, added 11 points, and five assists.

When that duo wasn’t lighting up the scoreboard, the Tigers demonstrated their depth at the guard position courtesy of seniors Ben Bergen and Bishop Walters. Bergen was 4 for 5 from the field including two 3-pointers, four rebounds, and assist and a steal. Walters scored six points in 10 minutes of action.

Drew Heckaman scored three points and snared two steals, and the trio of Jackson Dawson, Russ Winchester, and Kyle Dawson (two points apiece) completed the scoring for Warsaw. Jackson Dawson helped the Tigers get second chance scoring opportunities by grabbing four offensive rebounds.

Warsaw had it’s fourth straight game shooting almost the same percentage from the field throughout the game, connecting on 55.6% in the first half, and 55.3% in the second half.

The Panthers (4-16) shot well over 40%, finishing the night hitting 23 of 48 for 48%. They also finished each of the first three quarters in command with leads of 19-14, 33-31, and 49-43 respectively.

The hosts were led by Marcus Northern’s 22 points, and Jason Jones’ 15.

The JV Tigers tamed the JV Panthers 41-34 and finished the season with an 11-game win streak and a 16-5 record.

Tayde Kiser’s 15 points and seven rebounds led the way, and 6’6” freshman Luke Yeager added a season-high nine points. Yeager also crashed the boards for six offensive rebounds.

Warsaw will join the six-team field of Concord, Elkhart, Goshen, Northridge, and Penn in the IHSAA Class 4A Sectional March 2nd though March 6th.