Eagles Take Tigers Down To The Wire
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
In his 20 years as Warsaw boys basketball coach, Al Rhodes has never coached a game that ended the way Saturday's 38-37 win did against Columbia City.
"This is a first," he said.
In his four years as Columbia City boys basketball coach, Chris Benedict has, and this is the second time it has happened to him on his home court.
"Our sectional final against Tippecanoe Valley a few years ago," Benedict said. "A loose ball foul with :00.3 seconds left. A free throw wins the ball game for Valley.
"It's a tough way to end it."
Warsaw owned the basketball with eight seconds left. Six-foot-6 senior forward Steve Siebenmorgen attempted a shot, and as time ran out, a foul was called on Columbia City 6'2' senior forward Seth Hoppe.
With :00 on the clock, Siebenmorgen stepped up to the free throw line, hit the first free throw to give Warsaw the one-point win, turned to his home crowd, struck a pose, flexed his muscles and roared.
"We set up the play for Steve," Rhodes said. "We set up a double screen for (guard Chris) Wiggins and let the defense chase out to him, then dropped Steve under the basket. Our execution was good."
Said Benedict: "We knew they were going to go inside. I thought he initiated some contact on the shot. (The referee) didn't see it that way."
The 2-0 Tigers, ranked in the top 10 in the state in the Associated Press and Hoosier Basketball Magazine polls, survived their second scare in their first two games. They went into double overtime to win at Tippecanoe Valley in their first game. Columbia City, which began the season with a 63-52 win at Whitko, fell to 1-1.
"There's not a whole lot of people talking about us right now," Benedict said. "We'll come out and play our 32 minutes and have them scratch their heads when they go home and say, 'How'd that happen?'"
Senior center Zach Nelson led Warsaw with 15 points, while Siebenmorgen and Wiggins added seven each. Senior guard Mike Schumaker scored 14 to lead Columbia City.
Benedict said the Tigers miss 6'4' senior guard Ross Kesler, a starter last year who is out with a fractured back. Kesler could begin running Monday.
"That hurts them," he said. "He does a lot of little things people don't see. He does a lot of defending, a lot of rebounding. He gives them another guy who can put the ball on the floor and attack the basket."
Like Valley, the Eagles were undersized, with no player taller than 6'2', while Warsaw played seven players 6'4' or taller. Columbia City dictated the tempo throughout a game that saw Warsaw take only 31 shots and Columbia City 29.
"It was a good game," Benedict said. "We couldn't have played defense any better than we did. We come out here winning 39-38, everybody thinks it's a great plan. We lose 38-37, everybody thinks it's a horrible plan. This gives us the best chance to win with this team."
While he could have done without the call to end the game, Benedict refused to blame officiating. Instead, he looked at how Siebenmorgen made his free throw when given the chance, then looked at how his team more times than not missed free throws when given the chances. Columbia City finished the game 8 of 17 from the line.
"I told our kids in the locker room that you don't come out here and take the responsibility away from where it should be," Benedict said. "It should be with us. We missed free throws. We didn't take care of the basketball in crucial situations."
The Tigers went from putting the game away with one basket to winning the game with a basket with no time left.
Nelson and Warsaw senior forward Greg Seiss hit the first two baskets of the fourth quarter, putting Warsaw ahead 37-27 with 5:32 left. After leading by no more than seven through the first three quarters, Warsaw owned its first double-digit lead in the game.
A Columbia City team that had scored 27 points in the first 25-1/2 minutes now had to make up a 10-point deficit in 5-1/2 minutes.
The Eagles did just that.
With 4:50 left, a technical foul was called on Warsaw senior guard Chris Rhodes. Columbia City guard Mike Schumaker hit two of the three free throws to make it a 37-29 game. More importantly, the technical foul ignited Columbia City's team and sparked the 10-0 run that they needed. Sophomore guard Trevor Shively capped the 10-0 run with a runner through the paint, tying the game at 37-37 with 20 seconds to go.
"We wanted to make sure there were no threes," Rhodes said. "We didn't want to be behind."
For the final 5:32 Warsaw went scoreless, until Siebenmorgen won the game with :00 to play.
Defensively, the Tigers solved Columbia City. The Eagles played the inside-out game in the first half, getting the ball inside, then kicking the ball out to an open player behind the three-point line. They hit three three-pointers and made 5 of 6 shots in the first quarter doing this, but then Warsaw ended the Eagles' inside-out approach by pressuring the guards on the perimeter with half-court traps.
"In the first half, we didn't stop the dribble penetration from their guards," Rhodes said. "They were continually taking the ball from the wing into the middle of the floor. That gives them 360 degrees to pass through. That's very frustrating to play defense against that style of offense.
"In the second half, Brad Seiss, Chris Wiggins, Josh Buck and Greg Seiss put tremendous pressure on the ball. Then we went to a straight 1-2-2 zone to stop dribble penetration."
Said Benedict: "We weren't able to get penetration in the second half. When you have two 5-7 guys trying to throw around 6-4 guys, that's kind of tough to do. I thought their zone was effective in that it made us take longer to get good looks at the basket."
Problem was, Warsaw never could solve its offensive woes.
"Our offensive execution was miserable," Rhodes said. "Their guards came at us and were very aggressive. But we didn't finish plays in the post and showed no outside shooting. All in all, it's one of the worst offensive performances we've had in a long time.
"All of our perimeter players played poorly. We had an awful lot of turnovers from the wing position. They were trying to feed the post when it was not quite there. We had turnover after turnover in the last two minutes of the game. We can't beat some of the people we play later playing at this level."
WARSAW 38, COLUMBIA CITY 37
Warsaw (2-0) 9 11 13 5 - 38
Columbia City (1-1) 11 6 10 10 - 37
Warsaw FG FT A S R Pts.
Nelson (C) 6-8 3-3 1 1 5 15
Wiggins (G) 3-6 0-0 1 1 0 7
Siebenmorgen (F) 3-9 1-3 1 1 3 7
B. Seiss (G) 2-2 0-0 1 3 1 5
Rhodes (G) 0-0 0-0 4 0 1 0
G. Seiss 2-4 0-0 2 1 1 4
Finnegan 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0
Buck 0-1 0-2 3 2 6 0
Martin 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0
Walmer 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0
Totals 16-31 4-8 13 9 20 38
Columbia City FG FT A S R Pts.
Schumaker (G) 4-10 3-5 1 0 3 14
Fuller (F) 2-3 0-0 0 0 1 5
Schmitt (G) 0-2 4-4 5 6 1 4
Roth (F) 2-2 0-1 0 1 5 4
Boylan (F) 1-5 1-4 0 0 1 3
Shively 2-3 0-2 0 0 1 5
Wymer 1-2 0-1 0 0 1 2
Hoppe 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Pettigrew 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 0
Totals 12-29 8-17 6 8 16 37
Three-point goals - Columbia City 5-11 (Schumaker 3-6, Shively 1-2, Fuller 1-1, Schmitt 0-1, Pettigrew 0-1), Warsaw 2-6 (Wiggins 1-3, B. Seiss 1-1, Nelson 0-1, Finnegan 0-1). Turnovers - Columbia City 14, Warsaw 18. Fouled out - Schmitt. Total fouls - Warsaw 21, Columbia City 15.
JV: WARSAW 44, COLUMBIA CITY 24
Warsaw (2-0) scoring - Greg Clay 14, David Fawley 14, Jerad Shaw 8, Brian Johnson 4, Chris Clay 2, Nick Bolesky 2.
Columbia City (1-1) scoring - Bob Dye 7, Ryan Boylan 7, Ian Heuer 6, Andy King 4. [[In-content Ad]]
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In his 20 years as Warsaw boys basketball coach, Al Rhodes has never coached a game that ended the way Saturday's 38-37 win did against Columbia City.
"This is a first," he said.
In his four years as Columbia City boys basketball coach, Chris Benedict has, and this is the second time it has happened to him on his home court.
"Our sectional final against Tippecanoe Valley a few years ago," Benedict said. "A loose ball foul with :00.3 seconds left. A free throw wins the ball game for Valley.
"It's a tough way to end it."
Warsaw owned the basketball with eight seconds left. Six-foot-6 senior forward Steve Siebenmorgen attempted a shot, and as time ran out, a foul was called on Columbia City 6'2' senior forward Seth Hoppe.
With :00 on the clock, Siebenmorgen stepped up to the free throw line, hit the first free throw to give Warsaw the one-point win, turned to his home crowd, struck a pose, flexed his muscles and roared.
"We set up the play for Steve," Rhodes said. "We set up a double screen for (guard Chris) Wiggins and let the defense chase out to him, then dropped Steve under the basket. Our execution was good."
Said Benedict: "We knew they were going to go inside. I thought he initiated some contact on the shot. (The referee) didn't see it that way."
The 2-0 Tigers, ranked in the top 10 in the state in the Associated Press and Hoosier Basketball Magazine polls, survived their second scare in their first two games. They went into double overtime to win at Tippecanoe Valley in their first game. Columbia City, which began the season with a 63-52 win at Whitko, fell to 1-1.
"There's not a whole lot of people talking about us right now," Benedict said. "We'll come out and play our 32 minutes and have them scratch their heads when they go home and say, 'How'd that happen?'"
Senior center Zach Nelson led Warsaw with 15 points, while Siebenmorgen and Wiggins added seven each. Senior guard Mike Schumaker scored 14 to lead Columbia City.
Benedict said the Tigers miss 6'4' senior guard Ross Kesler, a starter last year who is out with a fractured back. Kesler could begin running Monday.
"That hurts them," he said. "He does a lot of little things people don't see. He does a lot of defending, a lot of rebounding. He gives them another guy who can put the ball on the floor and attack the basket."
Like Valley, the Eagles were undersized, with no player taller than 6'2', while Warsaw played seven players 6'4' or taller. Columbia City dictated the tempo throughout a game that saw Warsaw take only 31 shots and Columbia City 29.
"It was a good game," Benedict said. "We couldn't have played defense any better than we did. We come out here winning 39-38, everybody thinks it's a great plan. We lose 38-37, everybody thinks it's a horrible plan. This gives us the best chance to win with this team."
While he could have done without the call to end the game, Benedict refused to blame officiating. Instead, he looked at how Siebenmorgen made his free throw when given the chance, then looked at how his team more times than not missed free throws when given the chances. Columbia City finished the game 8 of 17 from the line.
"I told our kids in the locker room that you don't come out here and take the responsibility away from where it should be," Benedict said. "It should be with us. We missed free throws. We didn't take care of the basketball in crucial situations."
The Tigers went from putting the game away with one basket to winning the game with a basket with no time left.
Nelson and Warsaw senior forward Greg Seiss hit the first two baskets of the fourth quarter, putting Warsaw ahead 37-27 with 5:32 left. After leading by no more than seven through the first three quarters, Warsaw owned its first double-digit lead in the game.
A Columbia City team that had scored 27 points in the first 25-1/2 minutes now had to make up a 10-point deficit in 5-1/2 minutes.
The Eagles did just that.
With 4:50 left, a technical foul was called on Warsaw senior guard Chris Rhodes. Columbia City guard Mike Schumaker hit two of the three free throws to make it a 37-29 game. More importantly, the technical foul ignited Columbia City's team and sparked the 10-0 run that they needed. Sophomore guard Trevor Shively capped the 10-0 run with a runner through the paint, tying the game at 37-37 with 20 seconds to go.
"We wanted to make sure there were no threes," Rhodes said. "We didn't want to be behind."
For the final 5:32 Warsaw went scoreless, until Siebenmorgen won the game with :00 to play.
Defensively, the Tigers solved Columbia City. The Eagles played the inside-out game in the first half, getting the ball inside, then kicking the ball out to an open player behind the three-point line. They hit three three-pointers and made 5 of 6 shots in the first quarter doing this, but then Warsaw ended the Eagles' inside-out approach by pressuring the guards on the perimeter with half-court traps.
"In the first half, we didn't stop the dribble penetration from their guards," Rhodes said. "They were continually taking the ball from the wing into the middle of the floor. That gives them 360 degrees to pass through. That's very frustrating to play defense against that style of offense.
"In the second half, Brad Seiss, Chris Wiggins, Josh Buck and Greg Seiss put tremendous pressure on the ball. Then we went to a straight 1-2-2 zone to stop dribble penetration."
Said Benedict: "We weren't able to get penetration in the second half. When you have two 5-7 guys trying to throw around 6-4 guys, that's kind of tough to do. I thought their zone was effective in that it made us take longer to get good looks at the basket."
Problem was, Warsaw never could solve its offensive woes.
"Our offensive execution was miserable," Rhodes said. "Their guards came at us and were very aggressive. But we didn't finish plays in the post and showed no outside shooting. All in all, it's one of the worst offensive performances we've had in a long time.
"All of our perimeter players played poorly. We had an awful lot of turnovers from the wing position. They were trying to feed the post when it was not quite there. We had turnover after turnover in the last two minutes of the game. We can't beat some of the people we play later playing at this level."
WARSAW 38, COLUMBIA CITY 37
Warsaw (2-0) 9 11 13 5 - 38
Columbia City (1-1) 11 6 10 10 - 37
Warsaw FG FT A S R Pts.
Nelson (C) 6-8 3-3 1 1 5 15
Wiggins (G) 3-6 0-0 1 1 0 7
Siebenmorgen (F) 3-9 1-3 1 1 3 7
B. Seiss (G) 2-2 0-0 1 3 1 5
Rhodes (G) 0-0 0-0 4 0 1 0
G. Seiss 2-4 0-0 2 1 1 4
Finnegan 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0
Buck 0-1 0-2 3 2 6 0
Martin 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0
Walmer 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0
Totals 16-31 4-8 13 9 20 38
Columbia City FG FT A S R Pts.
Schumaker (G) 4-10 3-5 1 0 3 14
Fuller (F) 2-3 0-0 0 0 1 5
Schmitt (G) 0-2 4-4 5 6 1 4
Roth (F) 2-2 0-1 0 1 5 4
Boylan (F) 1-5 1-4 0 0 1 3
Shively 2-3 0-2 0 0 1 5
Wymer 1-2 0-1 0 0 1 2
Hoppe 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Pettigrew 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 0
Totals 12-29 8-17 6 8 16 37
Three-point goals - Columbia City 5-11 (Schumaker 3-6, Shively 1-2, Fuller 1-1, Schmitt 0-1, Pettigrew 0-1), Warsaw 2-6 (Wiggins 1-3, B. Seiss 1-1, Nelson 0-1, Finnegan 0-1). Turnovers - Columbia City 14, Warsaw 18. Fouled out - Schmitt. Total fouls - Warsaw 21, Columbia City 15.
JV: WARSAW 44, COLUMBIA CITY 24
Warsaw (2-0) scoring - Greg Clay 14, David Fawley 14, Jerad Shaw 8, Brian Johnson 4, Chris Clay 2, Nick Bolesky 2.
Columbia City (1-1) scoring - Bob Dye 7, Ryan Boylan 7, Ian Heuer 6, Andy King 4. [[In-content Ad]]