ELKHART - Playing at the end of the regular season, Warsaw and Elkhart Central usually learn a lot about their own teams heading into the tournament after matching up against each other.

Even though the game was moved to the start of the season this year, both teams still were able to learn a lot about each other. This time, though, it will help for the rest of the campaign.

And both teams will have plenty to work on in practice after combining for 53 turnovers in the Tigers' 63-59 overtime win over the Blue Blazers Saturday.

"It is a great learning experience for us," Warsaw coach Al Rhodes said. "What we can take from this game is tremendous. You usually can't take as much from wins."

Warsaw won despite committing 29 turnovers, including 6 in the overtime session.

"We don't usually see the kind of defense they play until later in the year until we would play them," Rhodes said. "It was difficult for us to get anything going offensively. The pressure on the ball was excellent and caused us a lot of problems."

The early season cliche was especially true in this one as both defenses appeared way ahead of the offenses. A saving grace for two teams that, without a lot of returning experience, are searching for their identities.

It didn't help either squad with the game making for an earlier starting date for the regular season for both teams. With the NCAA Final Four in the RCA Dome this year, the high school season will end sooner and most teams just moved their traditional last games to the start of the season.

"This was probably the least prepared we have been for an opening game in the four years that I have been here," Elkhart Central coach Dean Foster said. "It probably it isn't the time you want to play a game. We just didn't get all the things in we needed. If we would have returned four guys who had experience, we probably would have gotten more in."

Foster was a little perplexed about how his team could lose a game after causing almost 30 turnovers, until he realized his team coughed the ball up 24 times itself.

"If you create those kind of turnovers, what was happening at the other end that we couldn't convert out of those more than what we did," Foster said. "They show you enough different things that make your kids respond to what they are doing. It is a good game, but I was disappointed in our play at times."

After allowing Central to shoot 7 of 12 in the first quarter, the Tiger defense stiffened up and forced the Blue Blazers into 15 of 42 in the final three quarters and extra session. A little switch also put the squeeze on Jarvis Bloch, who scored 10 first-quarter points, but only eight after that.

"They started to go to the zone and trapping, and we weren't patient enough to let the ball get into his (Bloch) hands," Foster said. "They were mixing things up there."

Warsaw held a 51-43 lead in the fourth quarter when Elkhart Central made its move behind 5 points from center Rich Gawthorp and guard Athony Kyle to make it 51-48. The lead was 2, 54-52, when Bloch took it upon himself to tie the score with a jumper with three seconds left, and the game went into overtime.

Warsaw took a 59-56 lead in the overtime session on a three-pointer by Andy Plank, but Elkhart Central came back to tie the score at 59.

The Tigers retook the lead when Chris Hill made a big steal and pass to Tyler Charlton for the layup and a 61-59 advantage. Tom Krizmanich sealed the game with an offensive rebound and a basket for the 63-59 lead with 10 seconds left.

"The thing that I liked most was the our kids never quit," Rhodes said. "When you have as many turnovers as we did it would be easy to hang your head. By the same token, we worked very hard defensively too. We had a lot of situations where we had big plays. Our scrap and desire were excellent.

"We have a lot of things to fix on offense," he said. "Maybe we should play Elkhart Central first every year because they will show you everything that is wrong with your team."

Elkhart Central stretched a 16-14 first-quarter advantage into a 25-17 margin midway through the second quarter, causing two Warsaw timeouts in a 1-minute span. The Tigers righted themselves and cut the lead to 25-22 on a three-pointer from Plank and a jumper from Luke Reed.

Warsaw eventually tied the score at 29, and it was nip-and-tuck into the fourth quarter when Warsaw opened up a 46-41 lead as Krizmanich scored the first 5 points of the period.

Warsaw knew that it would need balanced scoring in the post-Kevin Ault era, and it got it, placing three players in double figures. Krizmanich led the way with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 4 steals. Charlton added 14 points, 6 assists and 6 steals. Plank chipped in with 11 points.

"It was really like everybody's first game," Rhodes said. "P.J. (Wiley) had never been a starting point guard and the major minutes that go with it, and Tom and Tyler never have had the main responsibility of scoring."

Warsaw (1-0) hosts Tippecanoe Valley Wednesday.

JV; Warsaw 40, Elkhart Central 33

The Tiger JV team opened up the season with the 7-point win over the Blue Blazers.

Warsaw was led by Chris Wiggins' 14 points. Also for the Tigers, Jason Barrett had 7, Zach Nelson 6, Adam Moore and Tom Donkers 4 each, Andrew Warner 3, and Louie Vogt 2.

The Tigers are 1-0.

vs. Valley

"What we want to do in the Valley game is show improvement in our offensive execution. As we move forward, we must play better as a five-man unit. We have to have better screens and better ball movement." [[In-content Ad]]