Clay Beats Buzzer, Tigers
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SOUTH BEND - At times it resembled that old McDonald's commercial with Larry Bird and Michael Jordan where the two legends hit increasingly ridiculous shots in a game of horse.
Warsaw and host South Bend Clay exchanged all manner of circus shots and long-range bombs Tuesday night as the Colonials escaped with a 62-59 win on a buzzer beater by senior Nick Vail.
After a Warsaw timeout with 1.6 seconds left in regulation, Clay's Matt King found Vail streaking to the left corner of the Colonial basket.
Without setting his feet, Vail launched a teardrop three pointer over the outstretched arm of Shaun Cabrera that went in as time expired.
Vail's shot was indicative of the Colonials' night from the field. Clay shot a whopping 64 percent (23 of 36) from the field and missed just one shot in the fourth quarter.
And that one shot, a missed jumper by reserve Evan Youngquist, was quickly atoned for as 6-foot-5 senior Daniel Payne put the rebound back with a thunderous dunk.
"South Bend Clay sure shot well tonight," said fourth-year Warsaw head coach Doug Ogle. "A lot of their baskets were contested shots. We said at halftime they wouldn't shoot like they did in the first half. But I'll be darned if they didn't."
Clay jumped out to a 34-27 lead at halftime with a 12-of-20 (60 percent) shooting performance during the first 16 minutes.
The Tigers hung around in the first half thanks to senior Colin Clemens. Clemens hit step-back three-pointers, turnaround bank shots and long-range jumpers en route to a 15-point first half.
Clemens picked up his second foul late in the second quarter and was forced to sit down for a short stretch where the Colonials scored five quick points.
Clay had everyone contribute offensively as four different players scored in double digits for the Colonials.
That sort of balance helped ward off the Tigers in the third quarter as Warsaw made a push.
The Tigers twice cut the Colonials lead to four points only to have Clay guard Kenneth Moffett hit a three-pointer to extend the lead to seven.
"Every time we'd get on the cusp of taking the lead, someone would hit a shot for them. (Clay) played well. We just ran into a buzz saw tonight on offense," said Ogle.
If Clay's shooting performance was impressive, then Cabrera's fourth quarter surge was jaw dropping.
Cabrera scored 11 of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter as the Tigers rallied and erased a six-point deficit despite Clay missing just one shot in the quarter.
With less than three minutes left in the game, two steals by John-Wesley Maierle led to two Cabrera three-pointers in the span of 15 seconds to tie the game up at 57-57.
"Shaun got hot," said Ogle. "That was encouraging to see him break out offensively."
A break out performance indeed.
Cabrera hit six three pointers from nearly every part of the Colonial gym and finished the night 8 of 12 from the field.
Warsaw had a chance to take its first lead of the game with 1:31 left in the fourth quarter, but some stiff Clay pressure forced the Tigers into their only turnover of the half.
The Tigers played an efficient and heady ball game as they committed just six turnovers and were whistled for a paltry 11 fouls.
One of those 11 fouls came with 1.6 seconds left as Clemens picked up his fourth foul when he was whistled for a push on Payne.
The foul forced Clemens to sit out the last play of the ballgame but Ogle doesn't believe the 6-4 senior's presence would have changed his defensive scheme too much.
"The set a good screen for Vail," said Ogle. "We were trying to make it tough for them to throw the lob to Payne. We put Miles (Plumlee) on the ball. I give Clay credit."
Payne finished with a team-high 16 points while Mateen Kenny dropped 12 for the Colonials.
Besides Clemens and Cabrera, Maierle finished with six points while Mitch Reinholt scored five. Tommy Reinholt provided a spark off the bench in the first half and finished with three points and three rebounds.
Due to the outstanding shooting by both teams, the Tigers finished with just 14 team rebounds.
Warsaw drops its record to 1-2 overall and is in action Friday for its home opener against DeKalb for a 7:45 p.m. tipoff.
SB CLAY 62, WARSAW 59
Warsaw 13 14 15 17 - 59
SB Clay 15 19 14 14 - 62
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
*Cabrera 8-12 2-2 2 1 24
*Maierle 2-4 2-2 2 2 6
*Lemasters 0-3 0-0 2 1 0
*M. Reinholt 2-6 1-1 3 1 5
*Clemens 8-14 3-4 1 1 21
Truman 0-3 0-0 0 0 0
T. Reinholt 1-1 1-2 3 1 3
Plumlee 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Totals 21-43 9-11 14 7 59
SB Clay FG FT R S Pts.
*Vail 3-5 2-2 2 0 10
*Moffett 4-6 2-2 0 0 12
*Kenny 5-7 1-2 3 1 12
*Payne 7-11 2-2 7 1 16
*King 1-2 0-0 4 0 2
Rector 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
Youngquist 2-4 4-4 2 0 8
Totals 23-36 11-12 18 2 62
Three-point goals - Warsaw 8-18 (Cabrera 6-8, Clemens 2-5), SB Clay 5-8 (Vail 2-3, Moffett 2-4, Kenny 1-1). Turnovers - Warsaw 6, SB Clay 10. Fouls - Warsaw 11, SB Clay 15. Fouled out - None. [[In-content Ad]]
SOUTH BEND - At times it resembled that old McDonald's commercial with Larry Bird and Michael Jordan where the two legends hit increasingly ridiculous shots in a game of horse.
Warsaw and host South Bend Clay exchanged all manner of circus shots and long-range bombs Tuesday night as the Colonials escaped with a 62-59 win on a buzzer beater by senior Nick Vail.
After a Warsaw timeout with 1.6 seconds left in regulation, Clay's Matt King found Vail streaking to the left corner of the Colonial basket.
Without setting his feet, Vail launched a teardrop three pointer over the outstretched arm of Shaun Cabrera that went in as time expired.
Vail's shot was indicative of the Colonials' night from the field. Clay shot a whopping 64 percent (23 of 36) from the field and missed just one shot in the fourth quarter.
And that one shot, a missed jumper by reserve Evan Youngquist, was quickly atoned for as 6-foot-5 senior Daniel Payne put the rebound back with a thunderous dunk.
"South Bend Clay sure shot well tonight," said fourth-year Warsaw head coach Doug Ogle. "A lot of their baskets were contested shots. We said at halftime they wouldn't shoot like they did in the first half. But I'll be darned if they didn't."
Clay jumped out to a 34-27 lead at halftime with a 12-of-20 (60 percent) shooting performance during the first 16 minutes.
The Tigers hung around in the first half thanks to senior Colin Clemens. Clemens hit step-back three-pointers, turnaround bank shots and long-range jumpers en route to a 15-point first half.
Clemens picked up his second foul late in the second quarter and was forced to sit down for a short stretch where the Colonials scored five quick points.
Clay had everyone contribute offensively as four different players scored in double digits for the Colonials.
That sort of balance helped ward off the Tigers in the third quarter as Warsaw made a push.
The Tigers twice cut the Colonials lead to four points only to have Clay guard Kenneth Moffett hit a three-pointer to extend the lead to seven.
"Every time we'd get on the cusp of taking the lead, someone would hit a shot for them. (Clay) played well. We just ran into a buzz saw tonight on offense," said Ogle.
If Clay's shooting performance was impressive, then Cabrera's fourth quarter surge was jaw dropping.
Cabrera scored 11 of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter as the Tigers rallied and erased a six-point deficit despite Clay missing just one shot in the quarter.
With less than three minutes left in the game, two steals by John-Wesley Maierle led to two Cabrera three-pointers in the span of 15 seconds to tie the game up at 57-57.
"Shaun got hot," said Ogle. "That was encouraging to see him break out offensively."
A break out performance indeed.
Cabrera hit six three pointers from nearly every part of the Colonial gym and finished the night 8 of 12 from the field.
Warsaw had a chance to take its first lead of the game with 1:31 left in the fourth quarter, but some stiff Clay pressure forced the Tigers into their only turnover of the half.
The Tigers played an efficient and heady ball game as they committed just six turnovers and were whistled for a paltry 11 fouls.
One of those 11 fouls came with 1.6 seconds left as Clemens picked up his fourth foul when he was whistled for a push on Payne.
The foul forced Clemens to sit out the last play of the ballgame but Ogle doesn't believe the 6-4 senior's presence would have changed his defensive scheme too much.
"The set a good screen for Vail," said Ogle. "We were trying to make it tough for them to throw the lob to Payne. We put Miles (Plumlee) on the ball. I give Clay credit."
Payne finished with a team-high 16 points while Mateen Kenny dropped 12 for the Colonials.
Besides Clemens and Cabrera, Maierle finished with six points while Mitch Reinholt scored five. Tommy Reinholt provided a spark off the bench in the first half and finished with three points and three rebounds.
Due to the outstanding shooting by both teams, the Tigers finished with just 14 team rebounds.
Warsaw drops its record to 1-2 overall and is in action Friday for its home opener against DeKalb for a 7:45 p.m. tipoff.
SB CLAY 62, WARSAW 59
Warsaw 13 14 15 17 - 59
SB Clay 15 19 14 14 - 62
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
*Cabrera 8-12 2-2 2 1 24
*Maierle 2-4 2-2 2 2 6
*Lemasters 0-3 0-0 2 1 0
*M. Reinholt 2-6 1-1 3 1 5
*Clemens 8-14 3-4 1 1 21
Truman 0-3 0-0 0 0 0
T. Reinholt 1-1 1-2 3 1 3
Plumlee 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Totals 21-43 9-11 14 7 59
SB Clay FG FT R S Pts.
*Vail 3-5 2-2 2 0 10
*Moffett 4-6 2-2 0 0 12
*Kenny 5-7 1-2 3 1 12
*Payne 7-11 2-2 7 1 16
*King 1-2 0-0 4 0 2
Rector 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
Youngquist 2-4 4-4 2 0 8
Totals 23-36 11-12 18 2 62
Three-point goals - Warsaw 8-18 (Cabrera 6-8, Clemens 2-5), SB Clay 5-8 (Vail 2-3, Moffett 2-4, Kenny 1-1). Turnovers - Warsaw 6, SB Clay 10. Fouls - Warsaw 11, SB Clay 15. Fouled out - None. [[In-content Ad]]