WARSAW AT ELKHART CENTRAL

Tip-off: 6:15 p.m. Saturday in Elkhart

Coaches: Al Rhodes (Warsaw), Mike Drews (Elkhart Central)

Records: Warsaw 2-2, Elkhart Central 4-1

Last Game: Warsaw 84, G. Wallace 69; Mich.City 64, Elkhart Central 59

Last Year: Warsaw 56, Elkhart Central 40

Matchup: Warsaw will enter this game after Friday's game with bitter Northern Lakes Conference and Kosciusko rival Wawasee, while the Blue Blazers are coming off their only loss of the season. Mike Drew's Elkhart Central team had a chance to tie last week's home game with Michigan City with 10 seconds remaining, but fell by five. Six-foot-6 senior center Justin VanDyke leads the Blue Blazers with 16.5 points and 11 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Jerimy Robinson adds 14 points, while senior guard Brad Pompey chips in with 11. Six-foot-4 senior Josh Buck leads the Warsaw offensive attack with 19.3 points per game, while junior Greg Clay adds 12.8 points per game.

Rhodes: "I've been impressed with Van Dyke, their big kid. Central is a team that has excellent defensive pressure at the guard position backed up by Van Dyke in the middle. They beat South Bend LaSalle in overtime on a night (Hoosier Basketball magazine All-State player Brandon McKnight) had something like 41 points against them."

Drews: "(Warsaw) will execute its offense well. They play good defense and they will be fundamentally sound. Our biggest concern is denfending their offensive sets. With four games under their belts, they'll run their offense well. We have to play good defense, it starts with defense and rebounding. Whoever controls the boards will have the best chance to be successful."

NORTHWOOD AT PLYMOUTH (NLC)

Tip-off: 6:15 p.m. Saturday in Plymouth

Coaches: Dan Gunn (NorthWood), Jack Edison (Plymouth)

Records: NorthWood 3-0, Plymouth 3-0

Last Game: NorthWood 76, Jimtown 48; Plymouth 66, Peru 62

Last Year: Plymouth 52, NorthWood 49

Matchup: NorthWood begins defense of its first outright Norhtern Lakes Conference championship in school history with this game. The lone loss the Panthers suffered in the conference a year ago came to, yes - Jack Edison's Plymouth Pilgrims. In NorthWood's last game, a 28-point thrashing of Elkhart County rival Jimtown, junior Rory Clouse led the Panthers with 24 points and was 6 of 8 from the three-point line. Willy Will added nine points in the win, while Robbie Lightfoot and Ryan Bradley added eight points each. Plymouth, which overcame a 14-point halftime deficit to top visiting Tippecanoe Valley by two and then topped Peru by four in its last game, is led by 6-4 senior frontliner Brent Houin's 15 points and eight rebounds per game. Senior Kevin Stuckmeyer, a 6-0 guard, adds 12 points per game.

Gunn: "(Plymouth) has a lot of experience back. They're kind of a typical Jack Edison team, they play soundly in all phases of the game. They have nice size, and all their players seem to pass well. All those things make for a pretty tough opponent. We have to handle Plymouth's switching man-to-man defense, then we have to stay with their outside shooters, yet defend Houin inside."

Edison: "(NorthWood) is a great offensive rebounding team, and they play a very intense defense that takes you out of the things you want to do offensively. Eventhough they have two key players back from last year in Willy Will and Rory Clouse, you have to feel like any of the other three starters could be the leading scorer in any game. (Robbie) Lightfoot and (Ryan) Bradley shoot the three so well and they both drive. (Eric) Reynolds can do it all, he's the type of player that every time you watch him you see his value more and more. We felt they were very balanced last year, it's much of the same of the same this year. There's no let up." [[In-content Ad]]