Eagles Soar Past Tigers
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
COLUMBIA CITY - Doug Ogle said he told his players how good Columbia City is.
The fourth-year Warsaw boys basketball coach said he's not sure if they believed him, and after Saturday night he hopes they do.
The Eagles hosted the Tigers Saturday night in a battle of U.S. 30 rivals and came away with a 50-44 win at Donald S. Weeks Gymnasium.
The final score, however, made the game look a lot closer than it was on the court, as the Eagles dominated play in the final three quarters to improve to 2-0 on the season.
Warsaw fell to 1-1.
"Columbia City played well, and we didn't," said Ogle. "In the first half, I thought we rushed way too much on offense. We were not into making simple plays. In the second half, we missed too many good shots. We got good shots, we just missed them."
The Tigers finished the game 17 of 44 (38.6 percent) from the floor overall and hit 7 of 18 three-point attempts. Warsaw shot just three free throws in the game, making one.
After trailing 11-10 at the end of the first quarter, Warsaw took a quick lead in the second stanza when 6-foot-4 senior Colin Clemens, who started the season with a double-double against Tippecanoe Valley, made good on a field goal attempt.
The lead was short-lived, however, as back-to-back three-pointers from sharp-shooting sophomore Jake Sittler sparked a 17-3 run by the Eagles, a run that gave Columbia City a 28-15 lead after senior Kyle Rucks scored the first two points of the third quarter.
Columbia City outscored the Tigers 15-5 in the second quarter to take control of the game, leading 26-15 at the intermission.
The Eagles held a 50-38 advantage with 59 seconds remaining in the game, but the Tigers crept closer with a three-pointer from Clemens and then a pair of baskets from junior Ben Truman and classmate Steve Lemasters when both coaches put in numerous subs.
While the scoreboard showed a six-point game, Ogle agreed it wasn't that close.
"Not at all," Ogle said. "In the third quarter we couldn't get any shots to go numerous times. With the exception of Truman, every one of our guys didn't play up to their potential."
Truman came off the bench to score seven points on 3-of-5 shooting. He hit 1 of 3 three-point attempts and also had a steal.
Lemasters led Warsaw in scoring with 12 points, while Clemens added 10.
Both were 4 of 10 from the field.
Seniors John-Wesley Maierle and Shaun Cabrera scored six and five points, respectively, for the Tigers, while classmate Mitch Reinholt scored four points and led the team with seven rebounds.
Columbia City had four players in double figures, with Sittler, Rucks, Tyler Shively and 6-foot-8 center Zach Coverstone scoring 10 points each. Travis Preston, the fifth starter, finished the game with eight points. Jordan Moss came off the bench to score the Eagles' other two points.
"That performance makes Columbia City the team to beat in the sectional," said Ogle. "I thought they were before. They played well tonight."
The only areas where the host Eagles really struggled was at the free throw line, where they finished 13 of 28, including a 4-of-13 performance in the fourth quarter, and at the three-point arc, where they finished 3 of 12.
Even with their shooting woes at the charity stripe and three-point arc, the Eagles had the game in control for the better part of three quarters.
Warsaw wasn't able to score inside, a lot of it having to do with the presence of Coverstone, who pulled down nine rebounds to go with his 10 points.
"He's a real presence," Ogle said of Coverstone. "We could not keep him off the offensive boards. Defensively, he affected so many of our shots."
Warsaw leads the overall series with Columbia City, holding a 62-39 advantage, but the Eagles have won six of the last seven meetings.
"I think this is a game we can learn a lot from," said Ogle. "We're going to use this to get better. We need to keep chipping away. There's a good chance we could play this team again (in the sectional). That gives us something to shoot for."
The Tigers are in action again Tuesday at South Bend Clay and then host DeKalb, the team that ended their season last year in the sectional, Friday at the Tiger Den.
COLUMBIA CITY 50, WARSAW 44
Warsaw 10 5 10 19 - 44
Col. City 11 15 12 10 - 50
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Cabrera 2-7 0-0 5 1 5
* Maierle 2-6 1-2 2 1 6
* Lemasters 4-10 0-0 6 0 12
* M. Reinholt 2-4 0-0 7 0 4
* Clemens 4-10 0-0 2 1 10
Truman 3-5 0-1 0 1 7
Mi. Plumlee 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
T. Reinholt 0-0 0-0 3 1 0
Blanton 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Fuller 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Ma. Plumlee 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Totals 17-44 1-3 26 5 44
Col. City FG FT R S Pts.
* Shively 3-6 4-6 2 3 10
* Sittler 3-5 1-2 2 0 10
* Rucks 4-10 2-5 8 2 10
* Coverstone 3-4 4-10 9 2 10
* Preston 3-7 2-4 3 2 8
Briggs 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Burnsworth 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Moss 1-1 0-1 0 0 2
Curry 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Taulbee 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Miner 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Smith 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 17-34 13-28 24 9 50
Three-point goals - Warsaw 7-18 (Lemasters 2-5, Clemens 2-3, Cabrera 1-3, Maierle 1-3, Truman 1-3, M. Reinholt 0-1), Col. City 3-12 (Sittler 3-4, Shively 0-3, Preston 0-1). Turnovers - Warsaw 18, Col. City 12. Fouls - Warsaw 17, Col. City 8. Fouled out - none..
JV - Warsaw 37, Col. City 34 OT [[In-content Ad]]
COLUMBIA CITY - Doug Ogle said he told his players how good Columbia City is.
The fourth-year Warsaw boys basketball coach said he's not sure if they believed him, and after Saturday night he hopes they do.
The Eagles hosted the Tigers Saturday night in a battle of U.S. 30 rivals and came away with a 50-44 win at Donald S. Weeks Gymnasium.
The final score, however, made the game look a lot closer than it was on the court, as the Eagles dominated play in the final three quarters to improve to 2-0 on the season.
Warsaw fell to 1-1.
"Columbia City played well, and we didn't," said Ogle. "In the first half, I thought we rushed way too much on offense. We were not into making simple plays. In the second half, we missed too many good shots. We got good shots, we just missed them."
The Tigers finished the game 17 of 44 (38.6 percent) from the floor overall and hit 7 of 18 three-point attempts. Warsaw shot just three free throws in the game, making one.
After trailing 11-10 at the end of the first quarter, Warsaw took a quick lead in the second stanza when 6-foot-4 senior Colin Clemens, who started the season with a double-double against Tippecanoe Valley, made good on a field goal attempt.
The lead was short-lived, however, as back-to-back three-pointers from sharp-shooting sophomore Jake Sittler sparked a 17-3 run by the Eagles, a run that gave Columbia City a 28-15 lead after senior Kyle Rucks scored the first two points of the third quarter.
Columbia City outscored the Tigers 15-5 in the second quarter to take control of the game, leading 26-15 at the intermission.
The Eagles held a 50-38 advantage with 59 seconds remaining in the game, but the Tigers crept closer with a three-pointer from Clemens and then a pair of baskets from junior Ben Truman and classmate Steve Lemasters when both coaches put in numerous subs.
While the scoreboard showed a six-point game, Ogle agreed it wasn't that close.
"Not at all," Ogle said. "In the third quarter we couldn't get any shots to go numerous times. With the exception of Truman, every one of our guys didn't play up to their potential."
Truman came off the bench to score seven points on 3-of-5 shooting. He hit 1 of 3 three-point attempts and also had a steal.
Lemasters led Warsaw in scoring with 12 points, while Clemens added 10.
Both were 4 of 10 from the field.
Seniors John-Wesley Maierle and Shaun Cabrera scored six and five points, respectively, for the Tigers, while classmate Mitch Reinholt scored four points and led the team with seven rebounds.
Columbia City had four players in double figures, with Sittler, Rucks, Tyler Shively and 6-foot-8 center Zach Coverstone scoring 10 points each. Travis Preston, the fifth starter, finished the game with eight points. Jordan Moss came off the bench to score the Eagles' other two points.
"That performance makes Columbia City the team to beat in the sectional," said Ogle. "I thought they were before. They played well tonight."
The only areas where the host Eagles really struggled was at the free throw line, where they finished 13 of 28, including a 4-of-13 performance in the fourth quarter, and at the three-point arc, where they finished 3 of 12.
Even with their shooting woes at the charity stripe and three-point arc, the Eagles had the game in control for the better part of three quarters.
Warsaw wasn't able to score inside, a lot of it having to do with the presence of Coverstone, who pulled down nine rebounds to go with his 10 points.
"He's a real presence," Ogle said of Coverstone. "We could not keep him off the offensive boards. Defensively, he affected so many of our shots."
Warsaw leads the overall series with Columbia City, holding a 62-39 advantage, but the Eagles have won six of the last seven meetings.
"I think this is a game we can learn a lot from," said Ogle. "We're going to use this to get better. We need to keep chipping away. There's a good chance we could play this team again (in the sectional). That gives us something to shoot for."
The Tigers are in action again Tuesday at South Bend Clay and then host DeKalb, the team that ended their season last year in the sectional, Friday at the Tiger Den.
COLUMBIA CITY 50, WARSAW 44
Warsaw 10 5 10 19 - 44
Col. City 11 15 12 10 - 50
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Cabrera 2-7 0-0 5 1 5
* Maierle 2-6 1-2 2 1 6
* Lemasters 4-10 0-0 6 0 12
* M. Reinholt 2-4 0-0 7 0 4
* Clemens 4-10 0-0 2 1 10
Truman 3-5 0-1 0 1 7
Mi. Plumlee 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
T. Reinholt 0-0 0-0 3 1 0
Blanton 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Fuller 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Ma. Plumlee 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Totals 17-44 1-3 26 5 44
Col. City FG FT R S Pts.
* Shively 3-6 4-6 2 3 10
* Sittler 3-5 1-2 2 0 10
* Rucks 4-10 2-5 8 2 10
* Coverstone 3-4 4-10 9 2 10
* Preston 3-7 2-4 3 2 8
Briggs 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Burnsworth 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Moss 1-1 0-1 0 0 2
Curry 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Taulbee 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Miner 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Smith 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 17-34 13-28 24 9 50
Three-point goals - Warsaw 7-18 (Lemasters 2-5, Clemens 2-3, Cabrera 1-3, Maierle 1-3, Truman 1-3, M. Reinholt 0-1), Col. City 3-12 (Sittler 3-4, Shively 0-3, Preston 0-1). Turnovers - Warsaw 18, Col. City 12. Fouls - Warsaw 17, Col. City 8. Fouled out - none..
JV - Warsaw 37, Col. City 34 OT [[In-content Ad]]