Buck, Finnegan Outshine Kline
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
HUNTINGTON - Warsaw boys basketball coach Al Rhodes said he wanted to make things rough for Huntington North's Sean Kline Thursday.
In a 68-60 Warsaw win in overtime, the Tigers did just that.
Kline scored 17 points and pulled down 11 rebounds but fouled out with 3:35 remaing in the fourth quarter. With Kline on the bench, 6-foot-4 Tiger senior Josh Buck took control of the game.
Buck scored five points in the last 3:35 of the fourth and then six in the overtime, including the game's final four points.
"Josh Buck has always played well against Kline," Rhodes said. "If he (Kline) was near the basket, we wanted all the help we could get."
Rhodes said he moved 6-7 senior Paul Finnegan to the outside to open up the middle for Buck and Greg Clay. His plan worked.
Finnegan scored 10 points in the first quarter and finished with a career-high 19. Buck led all scorers with 26, while Clay added 14.
"We've tried all kinds of combinations," Rhodes said. "Paul adds some outside shooting, and that opens up the middle for Josh and Greg."
The win improves Warsaw to 13-6 on the season, while Huntington North, whose junior varsity team topped the Tigers 27-25 to end Warsaw's 53-game win streak, falls to 11-8.
Trailing 2-0 early, Warsaw got two free throws from Buck and a three-pointer from Finnegan to take a 5-2 lead with 5:29 left in the first.
Viking junior Adam Thompson cut the lead to five, 13-8, with a field goal at the 2:23 mark, but Finnegan scored the next five to give Warsaw a 10-point lead with 28 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
Huntington North then went on a 12-2 run to tie the game at 20 with Thompson's field goal at the 5:10 mark of the second stanza.
From that point until the end of regulation, the game was tied five more times, and the biggest lead was a six-point advantage, 39-33, the Tigers had with 4:17 to play in the third when Finnegan hit another trey.
Kline answered with a three of his own, and then 6-3 senior Matt Blackburn hit a three to tie the game at 39.
Kline scored his final two points of the game with 4:42 remaining in the final frame, knotting the game at 47. Buck gave the Tigers a 49-47 lead on a pair of free throws, and then 43 seconds later, Kline was whistled for his fifth personal foul, despite complaining to officials.
"That was extremely important," Rhodes said of the highly touted Kline fouling out. "But by the same token, credit Buck and Clay for the way they played him. He didn't dominate us."
Warsaw took a 52-47 lead after Kline's dismissal, but the Vikings tied the game at 52 on baskets from Thompson and Blackburn and a free throw from senior Bart Mitchell. The teams added one basket each before going into overtime tied at 54.
Warsaw took a 60-55 lead in the overtime session, but a Blackburn three brought the Vikings back again.
The Tigers sealed the deal with a pair free throws each from Trent Martin, Brad Seiss, Buck and then an easy layup by Buck as time ran out.
"Overall I think we played a good game," Rhodes said. "We put together 32 solid minutes and then had a solid overtime."
Warsaw will host Carroll Feb. 23 for Senior Night.
WARSAW 68
HUNTINGTON NORTH 60 (OT)
Warsaw (13-6) 18 11 14 11 14 - 68
H. North (11-8) 12 13 16 13 6 - 60
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
Buck (F) 8-17 10-11 5 2 26
Finnegan (F) 8-13 0-0 6 0 19
G. Clay (G) 5-10 4-5 2 0 14
Seiss (G) 1-2 2-2 1 2 4
C. Clay (F) 0-2 1-2 6 0 1
Martin 0-3 2-2 0 0 2
Foster 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Shaw 0-0 0-0 4 1 0
Knepper 0-0 2-2 1 0 2
Totals 22-47 21-24 26 5 68
H. North FG FT R S Pts.
Kline (F) 5-9 6-7 11 0 17
Mitchell (G) 7-14 1-3 2 2 15
Blackburn (F) 3-11 0-0 2 0 8
Mast (G) 0-0 4-4 1 0 4
Kennedy (C) 1-1 1-2 4 1 3
Thompson 6-8 0-0 3 0 12
Scheiber 0-1 1-2 1 0 1
Totals 22-44 13-18 24 3 60
Three-point goals - Warsaw 3-10 (Finnegan 3-6, Martin 0-2, Seiss 0-1, G. Clay 0-1), H. North 2-11 (Blackburn 2-10, Mitchell 0-1). Turnovers - Warsaw 6, H. North 9. Fouls - Warsaw 18, H. North 9. Fouled out - G. Clay, Kline.
JV - Huntington North 27, Warsaw 25
Warsaw (17-1) - Ryan DeGeeter 13, Geoff Walmer 6, William Knepper 4, Erik Fussle 2
H. North (16-1) - Brent Manges 12, Brad Berghoff 8, Tim Schultz 5, Sam Ryan 2 [[In-content Ad]]
HUNTINGTON - Warsaw boys basketball coach Al Rhodes said he wanted to make things rough for Huntington North's Sean Kline Thursday.
In a 68-60 Warsaw win in overtime, the Tigers did just that.
Kline scored 17 points and pulled down 11 rebounds but fouled out with 3:35 remaing in the fourth quarter. With Kline on the bench, 6-foot-4 Tiger senior Josh Buck took control of the game.
Buck scored five points in the last 3:35 of the fourth and then six in the overtime, including the game's final four points.
"Josh Buck has always played well against Kline," Rhodes said. "If he (Kline) was near the basket, we wanted all the help we could get."
Rhodes said he moved 6-7 senior Paul Finnegan to the outside to open up the middle for Buck and Greg Clay. His plan worked.
Finnegan scored 10 points in the first quarter and finished with a career-high 19. Buck led all scorers with 26, while Clay added 14.
"We've tried all kinds of combinations," Rhodes said. "Paul adds some outside shooting, and that opens up the middle for Josh and Greg."
The win improves Warsaw to 13-6 on the season, while Huntington North, whose junior varsity team topped the Tigers 27-25 to end Warsaw's 53-game win streak, falls to 11-8.
Trailing 2-0 early, Warsaw got two free throws from Buck and a three-pointer from Finnegan to take a 5-2 lead with 5:29 left in the first.
Viking junior Adam Thompson cut the lead to five, 13-8, with a field goal at the 2:23 mark, but Finnegan scored the next five to give Warsaw a 10-point lead with 28 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
Huntington North then went on a 12-2 run to tie the game at 20 with Thompson's field goal at the 5:10 mark of the second stanza.
From that point until the end of regulation, the game was tied five more times, and the biggest lead was a six-point advantage, 39-33, the Tigers had with 4:17 to play in the third when Finnegan hit another trey.
Kline answered with a three of his own, and then 6-3 senior Matt Blackburn hit a three to tie the game at 39.
Kline scored his final two points of the game with 4:42 remaining in the final frame, knotting the game at 47. Buck gave the Tigers a 49-47 lead on a pair of free throws, and then 43 seconds later, Kline was whistled for his fifth personal foul, despite complaining to officials.
"That was extremely important," Rhodes said of the highly touted Kline fouling out. "But by the same token, credit Buck and Clay for the way they played him. He didn't dominate us."
Warsaw took a 52-47 lead after Kline's dismissal, but the Vikings tied the game at 52 on baskets from Thompson and Blackburn and a free throw from senior Bart Mitchell. The teams added one basket each before going into overtime tied at 54.
Warsaw took a 60-55 lead in the overtime session, but a Blackburn three brought the Vikings back again.
The Tigers sealed the deal with a pair free throws each from Trent Martin, Brad Seiss, Buck and then an easy layup by Buck as time ran out.
"Overall I think we played a good game," Rhodes said. "We put together 32 solid minutes and then had a solid overtime."
Warsaw will host Carroll Feb. 23 for Senior Night.
WARSAW 68
HUNTINGTON NORTH 60 (OT)
Warsaw (13-6) 18 11 14 11 14 - 68
H. North (11-8) 12 13 16 13 6 - 60
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
Buck (F) 8-17 10-11 5 2 26
Finnegan (F) 8-13 0-0 6 0 19
G. Clay (G) 5-10 4-5 2 0 14
Seiss (G) 1-2 2-2 1 2 4
C. Clay (F) 0-2 1-2 6 0 1
Martin 0-3 2-2 0 0 2
Foster 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Shaw 0-0 0-0 4 1 0
Knepper 0-0 2-2 1 0 2
Totals 22-47 21-24 26 5 68
H. North FG FT R S Pts.
Kline (F) 5-9 6-7 11 0 17
Mitchell (G) 7-14 1-3 2 2 15
Blackburn (F) 3-11 0-0 2 0 8
Mast (G) 0-0 4-4 1 0 4
Kennedy (C) 1-1 1-2 4 1 3
Thompson 6-8 0-0 3 0 12
Scheiber 0-1 1-2 1 0 1
Totals 22-44 13-18 24 3 60
Three-point goals - Warsaw 3-10 (Finnegan 3-6, Martin 0-2, Seiss 0-1, G. Clay 0-1), H. North 2-11 (Blackburn 2-10, Mitchell 0-1). Turnovers - Warsaw 6, H. North 9. Fouls - Warsaw 18, H. North 9. Fouled out - G. Clay, Kline.
JV - Huntington North 27, Warsaw 25
Warsaw (17-1) - Ryan DeGeeter 13, Geoff Walmer 6, William Knepper 4, Erik Fussle 2
H. North (16-1) - Brent Manges 12, Brad Berghoff 8, Tim Schultz 5, Sam Ryan 2 [[In-content Ad]]