Fourth-Ranked Eagles Escape Claws Of Tiger Upset Bid
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
COLUMBIA CITY - Two days after families gathered for turkey and trimmings, Warsaw's varsity boys basketball team nearly carved up some birds of its own.
The Tigers gave the fourth-ranked Columbia City Eagles all they could handle Saturday night, but poor shots early and a pair of free throws by senior Trent Shively with 7.3 seconds remaining left Warsaw to stomach a 31-28 loss.
While the defense was there, it was the lack of offensive execution that left a bad taste in second-year Warsaw coach Doug Ogle's mouth.
"We did a good job defending Doug Sheckler, we played him physical," said Ogle. "Our defense was really good. It wasn't our defense tonight it was our offense. We rushed too many passes in the first half and took some bad shots. We should have been building a lead with Sheckler out of the game."
Fresh off a season-opening drubbing of the Gary Wirt Troopers, Warsaw handcuffed Sheckler and the 6-foot-6 Hoosier Basketball Magazine first team All-Stater finished with two points after making just 1 of 8 shots.
The Tigers took it inside Saturday, with 6-5 senior center Adam Griggs and 6-0 senior slasher Todd Braddock combining for 14 of Warsaw's 17 first-half points.
All the physical play underneath left Sheckler on the bench with foul trouble in the first half.
Sheckler managed to get off just one shot in the first half, and didn't score until his final shot of the evening went through the net with 1:34 remaining in the game to give the Eagles their biggest lead at 28-22.
"He was the one that concerned us the most," said Ogle of Sheckler. "If you could have told us we'd hold Sheckler to two points, I'd have thought we won the game. Offensively we just didn't finish enough plays. Credit Columbia City's defense, it was very good."
Warsaw cut the lead to 28-25 with 1:05 left when junior Michael Wienhorst hit a crucial three-pointer, and then after Columbia City's Marcus Moore hit 1 of 2 free throws Tiger point guard Michael Moore assisted teammate Dan Gensinger with a pass in the paint that cut the deficit to 29-27.
Columbia City's Scott Moore missed a charity toss with 19.8 seconds remaining. The Tigers picked up the rebound and then cut the lead to one, 29-28, when Griggs swished the first of two free throws with 10.5 seconds on the clock.
His second attempt looked good, but rattled off the back iron and the Eagles rebounded the ball, forcing Warsaw to foul.
Shively hit two free throws with 7.3 seconds left in regulation, giving host Columbia City a 31-28 lead, and the game ended with Warsaw's Moore knocked to the floor and his three-point attempt no good.
No foul was called on the play, and Ogle wouldn't comment on the officiating after the physical 32-minute battle.
"I had a good feeling coming into the game," Ogle said. "I'm very proud of our guys. We got beat by a very good team in their building. I feel like we can play better offensively. Maybe we'll get to play them again. I think you're gonna have to beat Columbia City to win the sectional, and now we have an opportunity for our players to improve, and if we play them again I think it'll be a darn good one in the sectionals at our place."
No strangers to each other - a pair of schools seperated by a 20-mile stretch of U.S. 30 - the Tigers and Eagles squared off twice last year, both contests played in the Tiger Den.
Columbia City manhandled a depleted Warsaw squad 53-30 in the second game of the season, and then escaped a healthy Warsaw team in the sectional opener with a 45-42 win.
A chance to get back at the team that ended Warsaw's season a year ago, and with the Eagles carrying the Class 4A No. 4 ranking, Saturday evening's game with Columbia City was circled on the calendar, so to speak.
"Absolutely it was circled on the calendar," Ogle said. "We just weren't good enough tonight. Maybe we'll get to play them again."
The narrow win improved Columbia City to 2-0, while Warsaw fell to 1-1.
In its last three trips to Columbia City, Warsaw has lost 31-28 (Saturday) and 47-42 in overtime (2001), and escaped with a 38-37 (1999) win.
Columbia City led 7-4 after the first quarter Saturday, and then 17-14 in the second stanza before Warsaw's Moore tickled the twine and beat the halftime buzzer with an NBA-range trey.
The score tied after two quarters, the teams battled back and forth through the third frame and were knotted at 22 going into the fourth.
Griggs led Warsaw with nine points, while Wienhorst and Braddock added six each, Moore five, and Gensinger two.
Marcus Moore scored a game-high 11 for the Eagles, while Scott Moore and Ryan Briggs chipped in with six each, Hugh Howard four, and Shively and Sheckler two each.
Warsaw is in action again Friday at Fort Wayne South, and then Saturday at South Bend Clay.
NO. 4 (4A) COLUMBIA CITY 31, WARSAW 28
Warsaw (1-1) 4 13 5 6 - 28
Col. City (2-0) 7 10 5 9 - 31
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Schultz 0-1 0-0 2 1 0
* Griggs 3-7 3-4 3 0 9
* Wienhorst 2-4 1-2 2 1 6
* Moore 2-8 0-0 2 0 5
* Braddock 3-4 0-0 3 1 6
Gensinger 1-3 0-0 3 0 2
Sherman 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Allison 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 11-27 4-6 16 3 28
Col. City FG FT R S Pts.
* S. Moore 2-3 2-3 2 0 6
* Briggs 2-2 0-0 0 0 6
* M. Moore 5-11 1-2 4 0 11
* Howard 1-1 2-3 4 1 4
* Sheckler 1-8 0-0 4 2 2
Shively 0-1 2-2 1 0 2
Kauffman 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Rucks 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 11-27 7-10 15 3 31
Three-point goals - Warsaw 2-7 (Wienhorst 1-3, Moore 1-3, Gensinger 0-1), Columbia City 2-6 (Briggs 2-2, M. Moore 0-2, S. Moore 0-1, Shively 0-1). Fouls - Warsaw 15, Columbia City 9. Fouled out - none. Turnovers - Warsaw 9, Columbia City 11.
JV - Columbia City 48, Warsaw 35 OT [[In-content Ad]]
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COLUMBIA CITY - Two days after families gathered for turkey and trimmings, Warsaw's varsity boys basketball team nearly carved up some birds of its own.
The Tigers gave the fourth-ranked Columbia City Eagles all they could handle Saturday night, but poor shots early and a pair of free throws by senior Trent Shively with 7.3 seconds remaining left Warsaw to stomach a 31-28 loss.
While the defense was there, it was the lack of offensive execution that left a bad taste in second-year Warsaw coach Doug Ogle's mouth.
"We did a good job defending Doug Sheckler, we played him physical," said Ogle. "Our defense was really good. It wasn't our defense tonight it was our offense. We rushed too many passes in the first half and took some bad shots. We should have been building a lead with Sheckler out of the game."
Fresh off a season-opening drubbing of the Gary Wirt Troopers, Warsaw handcuffed Sheckler and the 6-foot-6 Hoosier Basketball Magazine first team All-Stater finished with two points after making just 1 of 8 shots.
The Tigers took it inside Saturday, with 6-5 senior center Adam Griggs and 6-0 senior slasher Todd Braddock combining for 14 of Warsaw's 17 first-half points.
All the physical play underneath left Sheckler on the bench with foul trouble in the first half.
Sheckler managed to get off just one shot in the first half, and didn't score until his final shot of the evening went through the net with 1:34 remaining in the game to give the Eagles their biggest lead at 28-22.
"He was the one that concerned us the most," said Ogle of Sheckler. "If you could have told us we'd hold Sheckler to two points, I'd have thought we won the game. Offensively we just didn't finish enough plays. Credit Columbia City's defense, it was very good."
Warsaw cut the lead to 28-25 with 1:05 left when junior Michael Wienhorst hit a crucial three-pointer, and then after Columbia City's Marcus Moore hit 1 of 2 free throws Tiger point guard Michael Moore assisted teammate Dan Gensinger with a pass in the paint that cut the deficit to 29-27.
Columbia City's Scott Moore missed a charity toss with 19.8 seconds remaining. The Tigers picked up the rebound and then cut the lead to one, 29-28, when Griggs swished the first of two free throws with 10.5 seconds on the clock.
His second attempt looked good, but rattled off the back iron and the Eagles rebounded the ball, forcing Warsaw to foul.
Shively hit two free throws with 7.3 seconds left in regulation, giving host Columbia City a 31-28 lead, and the game ended with Warsaw's Moore knocked to the floor and his three-point attempt no good.
No foul was called on the play, and Ogle wouldn't comment on the officiating after the physical 32-minute battle.
"I had a good feeling coming into the game," Ogle said. "I'm very proud of our guys. We got beat by a very good team in their building. I feel like we can play better offensively. Maybe we'll get to play them again. I think you're gonna have to beat Columbia City to win the sectional, and now we have an opportunity for our players to improve, and if we play them again I think it'll be a darn good one in the sectionals at our place."
No strangers to each other - a pair of schools seperated by a 20-mile stretch of U.S. 30 - the Tigers and Eagles squared off twice last year, both contests played in the Tiger Den.
Columbia City manhandled a depleted Warsaw squad 53-30 in the second game of the season, and then escaped a healthy Warsaw team in the sectional opener with a 45-42 win.
A chance to get back at the team that ended Warsaw's season a year ago, and with the Eagles carrying the Class 4A No. 4 ranking, Saturday evening's game with Columbia City was circled on the calendar, so to speak.
"Absolutely it was circled on the calendar," Ogle said. "We just weren't good enough tonight. Maybe we'll get to play them again."
The narrow win improved Columbia City to 2-0, while Warsaw fell to 1-1.
In its last three trips to Columbia City, Warsaw has lost 31-28 (Saturday) and 47-42 in overtime (2001), and escaped with a 38-37 (1999) win.
Columbia City led 7-4 after the first quarter Saturday, and then 17-14 in the second stanza before Warsaw's Moore tickled the twine and beat the halftime buzzer with an NBA-range trey.
The score tied after two quarters, the teams battled back and forth through the third frame and were knotted at 22 going into the fourth.
Griggs led Warsaw with nine points, while Wienhorst and Braddock added six each, Moore five, and Gensinger two.
Marcus Moore scored a game-high 11 for the Eagles, while Scott Moore and Ryan Briggs chipped in with six each, Hugh Howard four, and Shively and Sheckler two each.
Warsaw is in action again Friday at Fort Wayne South, and then Saturday at South Bend Clay.
NO. 4 (4A) COLUMBIA CITY 31, WARSAW 28
Warsaw (1-1) 4 13 5 6 - 28
Col. City (2-0) 7 10 5 9 - 31
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Schultz 0-1 0-0 2 1 0
* Griggs 3-7 3-4 3 0 9
* Wienhorst 2-4 1-2 2 1 6
* Moore 2-8 0-0 2 0 5
* Braddock 3-4 0-0 3 1 6
Gensinger 1-3 0-0 3 0 2
Sherman 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Allison 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 11-27 4-6 16 3 28
Col. City FG FT R S Pts.
* S. Moore 2-3 2-3 2 0 6
* Briggs 2-2 0-0 0 0 6
* M. Moore 5-11 1-2 4 0 11
* Howard 1-1 2-3 4 1 4
* Sheckler 1-8 0-0 4 2 2
Shively 0-1 2-2 1 0 2
Kauffman 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Rucks 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 11-27 7-10 15 3 31
Three-point goals - Warsaw 2-7 (Wienhorst 1-3, Moore 1-3, Gensinger 0-1), Columbia City 2-6 (Briggs 2-2, M. Moore 0-2, S. Moore 0-1, Shively 0-1). Fouls - Warsaw 15, Columbia City 9. Fouled out - none. Turnovers - Warsaw 9, Columbia City 11.
JV - Columbia City 48, Warsaw 35 OT [[In-content Ad]]