For Warsaw coach Al Rhodes, Friday night's postgame festivites are something he said he'd like to see turn into a common occurrence.
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
"We're hoping so," said Rhodes when asked if this was the first of many net-cutting ceremonies to come for his team. "A team cutting down the nets is a good habit to get into."
Warsaw may have cut down the nets after the game, but during the game, the Tigers continued their streak of phenomenal shooting. Again Warsaw shot near 50 percent from the field as it connected on 15 of 32 field goal attempts. The Tigers also shot 75 percent from the free-throw line. The Troopers (7-9) were 17 of 38 (44.7 percent) from the field.
Warsaw's Chris Wiggins led all scorers with 14 points. Steve Siebenmorgen added 11 points to the Tigers' fourth win in five games. Zach Nelson and Ross Kesler tallied eight points each. Ross' brother, Rob, dished out eight assists. The Troopers were led in the scoring column by Roosevelt Ward's 12 points. Leroy Rogers contributed 10 in the losing effort.
Warsaw, honoring its seniors, went with a differnt lineup but didn't seem to miss a beat as Lee Compson, making his first start of the season, put the Tigers on the board with a three-pointer, giving Warsaw a lead it never relinquished. Wirt was able to tie the game but never take the lead.
"Senior Night is always tough," said Rhodes. "It scrambles up our rotation, but Compson hit that big three. You don't ever know how things will go, but that got us to a quick start."
The two teams battled back and forth in the opening quarter before Wiggins hit two three-pointers to push Warsaw's lead from 7-5 to 13-7. Siebenmorgen added a free throw, his first of six, with four seconds remaining to give the Tigers a six-point advantage going into the second stanza.
The Troopers outscored Warsaw 14-12 in the second stanza as the Tigers' two prominent post players, Nelson and Siebenmorgen, connected on only two field goal attempts in the paint.
Warsaw's savior was making 7 of 8 from the free-throw line in the second quarter.
"Gary Wirt clogged up the paint," said Rhodes. "Wiggins got off to a quick start outside and that helped."
Wiggins scored two three-pointers, both in the first quarter.
Wirt went to the locker rooms only facing a five-point deficit.
"Our half-court defense was very good tonight," said Rhodes. "Wirt made their run, but they had to earn their points. We had good composure in the second half and were able to go inside more."
Going inside in the second half meant frequent trips to the free-throw line. The Troopers were whistled for 19 fouls to just eight for the Tigers. Warsaw made good on 18 of 24 free throw attempts for the game, 10 of 13 in the fourth quarter alone.
Warsaw entered the final frame with a little bit larger lead, 40-33, and enjoyed a 10-point cushion most of the fourth quarter. The Troopers were no closer than eight points in the final frame as Warsaw put the game away at the free-throw line, scoring its last eight points at the charity stripe to account for the 14-point win.
Warsaw (16-2) will be at Huntington North next Friday with the junior varsity set to begin at 6:30 p.m.
"Huntington North is very tough," said Rhodes. "We've got our hands full. We have a great schedule to get us ready for the sectional. This whole segment of games will be for us to work on our sectional focus."
WARSAW 53
GARY WIRT 39
Warsaw 14 12 14 13 - 53
Wirt 7 14 12 6 - 39
Warsaw FG FT A S R Pts.
Wiggins 5-8 2-2 0 0 2 14
Siebenmorgen 2-4 6-11 0 0 5 11
Nelson 3-5 2-3 0 2 2 8
Rb. Kesler (G) 1-6 0-0 8 1 1 2
Rs. Kesler 2-3 4-4 2 1 6 8
Donkers (F) 0-2 2-2 1 2 0 2
Seiss 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Barrett (G) 0-1 2-2 0 0 1 2
Rhodes 1-1 0-0 0 1 0 3
Grossnickle (G) 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Compson (G) 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 3
Stogsdill 0-1 0-0 0 0 1 0
Henthorn 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 15-32 18-24 11 7 18 53
Wirt FG FT A S R Pts
Rogers 4-6 0-0 0 0 0 10
Jenkins 0-4 0-0 0 1 1 0
Ward (G) 5-12 2-3 0 1 0 12
Carpenter 1-2 0-0 0 0 1 2
Lillie 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Hardiman 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Ishman 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Gholsan (F) 2-3 0-0 0 1 3 5
Woods (F) 2-5 0-0 0 1 5 4
Bone (C) 3-5 0-0 0 1 8 6
Lee 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Edwards 0-1 0-0 0 0 1 0
Totals 17-38 2-3 0 5 19 39
Three-pointers - Warsaw 5 (Wiggins 2, Siebenmorgen, Rhodes, Compson), Wirt 3 (Rogers 2, Gholsan). Turnovers - Warsaw 11, Wirt 15. Fouls - Warsaw 8, Wirt 19.
JV score - Warsaw 67, Wirt 41
Warsaw scoring (17-1) - Josh Buck 12, Brooks Stogsdill 11, Paul Finnegan 10, Brian Johnson 9, Jared Scrafton 9, David Fawley 7, Brad Seiss 4, DeAndre Forney 3, Jon Dock 2. [[In-content Ad]]
"We're hoping so," said Rhodes when asked if this was the first of many net-cutting ceremonies to come for his team. "A team cutting down the nets is a good habit to get into."
Warsaw may have cut down the nets after the game, but during the game, the Tigers continued their streak of phenomenal shooting. Again Warsaw shot near 50 percent from the field as it connected on 15 of 32 field goal attempts. The Tigers also shot 75 percent from the free-throw line. The Troopers (7-9) were 17 of 38 (44.7 percent) from the field.
Warsaw's Chris Wiggins led all scorers with 14 points. Steve Siebenmorgen added 11 points to the Tigers' fourth win in five games. Zach Nelson and Ross Kesler tallied eight points each. Ross' brother, Rob, dished out eight assists. The Troopers were led in the scoring column by Roosevelt Ward's 12 points. Leroy Rogers contributed 10 in the losing effort.
Warsaw, honoring its seniors, went with a differnt lineup but didn't seem to miss a beat as Lee Compson, making his first start of the season, put the Tigers on the board with a three-pointer, giving Warsaw a lead it never relinquished. Wirt was able to tie the game but never take the lead.
"Senior Night is always tough," said Rhodes. "It scrambles up our rotation, but Compson hit that big three. You don't ever know how things will go, but that got us to a quick start."
The two teams battled back and forth in the opening quarter before Wiggins hit two three-pointers to push Warsaw's lead from 7-5 to 13-7. Siebenmorgen added a free throw, his first of six, with four seconds remaining to give the Tigers a six-point advantage going into the second stanza.
The Troopers outscored Warsaw 14-12 in the second stanza as the Tigers' two prominent post players, Nelson and Siebenmorgen, connected on only two field goal attempts in the paint.
Warsaw's savior was making 7 of 8 from the free-throw line in the second quarter.
"Gary Wirt clogged up the paint," said Rhodes. "Wiggins got off to a quick start outside and that helped."
Wiggins scored two three-pointers, both in the first quarter.
Wirt went to the locker rooms only facing a five-point deficit.
"Our half-court defense was very good tonight," said Rhodes. "Wirt made their run, but they had to earn their points. We had good composure in the second half and were able to go inside more."
Going inside in the second half meant frequent trips to the free-throw line. The Troopers were whistled for 19 fouls to just eight for the Tigers. Warsaw made good on 18 of 24 free throw attempts for the game, 10 of 13 in the fourth quarter alone.
Warsaw entered the final frame with a little bit larger lead, 40-33, and enjoyed a 10-point cushion most of the fourth quarter. The Troopers were no closer than eight points in the final frame as Warsaw put the game away at the free-throw line, scoring its last eight points at the charity stripe to account for the 14-point win.
Warsaw (16-2) will be at Huntington North next Friday with the junior varsity set to begin at 6:30 p.m.
"Huntington North is very tough," said Rhodes. "We've got our hands full. We have a great schedule to get us ready for the sectional. This whole segment of games will be for us to work on our sectional focus."
WARSAW 53
GARY WIRT 39
Warsaw 14 12 14 13 - 53
Wirt 7 14 12 6 - 39
Warsaw FG FT A S R Pts.
Wiggins 5-8 2-2 0 0 2 14
Siebenmorgen 2-4 6-11 0 0 5 11
Nelson 3-5 2-3 0 2 2 8
Rb. Kesler (G) 1-6 0-0 8 1 1 2
Rs. Kesler 2-3 4-4 2 1 6 8
Donkers (F) 0-2 2-2 1 2 0 2
Seiss 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Barrett (G) 0-1 2-2 0 0 1 2
Rhodes 1-1 0-0 0 1 0 3
Grossnickle (G) 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Compson (G) 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 3
Stogsdill 0-1 0-0 0 0 1 0
Henthorn 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 15-32 18-24 11 7 18 53
Wirt FG FT A S R Pts
Rogers 4-6 0-0 0 0 0 10
Jenkins 0-4 0-0 0 1 1 0
Ward (G) 5-12 2-3 0 1 0 12
Carpenter 1-2 0-0 0 0 1 2
Lillie 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Hardiman 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Ishman 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Gholsan (F) 2-3 0-0 0 1 3 5
Woods (F) 2-5 0-0 0 1 5 4
Bone (C) 3-5 0-0 0 1 8 6
Lee 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Edwards 0-1 0-0 0 0 1 0
Totals 17-38 2-3 0 5 19 39
Three-pointers - Warsaw 5 (Wiggins 2, Siebenmorgen, Rhodes, Compson), Wirt 3 (Rogers 2, Gholsan). Turnovers - Warsaw 11, Wirt 15. Fouls - Warsaw 8, Wirt 19.
JV score - Warsaw 67, Wirt 41
Warsaw scoring (17-1) - Josh Buck 12, Brooks Stogsdill 11, Paul Finnegan 10, Brian Johnson 9, Jared Scrafton 9, David Fawley 7, Brad Seiss 4, DeAndre Forney 3, Jon Dock 2. [[In-content Ad]]