NORTHRIDGE AT WARSAW

TIPOFF: 8 p.m. Friday at Tiger Den

COACHES: Steve Austin (Northridge), Al Rhodes (Warsaw)

RECORDS: Northridge 4-1, 0-0; Warsaw 6-1, 2-0

LAST GAME: Northridge 96, West Noble 49; Warsaw 72, FW North 65

MATCHUP: ...This will be the first big game in the Northern Lakes Conference this year. The preseason favorites in the NLC, Northridge, meets the team that had a least a share of the NLC crown the past three seasons in Warsaw. Northridge will bring a talented and tall frontline to the court. Todd Janes, a 6-foot-4 senior forward, leads the Raiders with 18.8 points per game, while 6-8 senior center Ryan Thomas averages 16.5 ppg. The Raiders also have a tough point guard in 5-10 senior Jeremy Neeley to spread the ball around. Warsaw, winners of three straight since suffering its only loss of the season to Huntington North, is coming off a seven-point win over Fort Wayne North and probably its best half of basketball in the first half of that game.

GAME TALK:

Austin... "This is probably one of the important games for us. We talked about one of our goals was to win the conference outright this year. I believe that in order to do that, we have to beat Warsaw. It is the big three with us, Warsaw and Plymouth. Any time you can beat one of the big ones, it makes it a little bit easier. We have to handle their different defenses, we have to rebound extremely well, and we have to try to slow them down just a little bit. They are a little more balanced than last year, and sometimes more scary than when you have one or two guys scoring. ... It is more of a difficult season than last year because we have so many inexperienced kids that are playing. We have a good nucleus to work around. We were hoping to be undefeated, and the Penn game was a tough one. The people are excited this year with us. They are expecting a lot of big things and hopefully we can live up to that."

Rhodes... "We are playing against the preseason favorite in the conference. We certainly have our work cut out for us. They have a fine inside-outside game. They are well-coached by Coach Austin, and they have a system that is similar to ours. We have both taken stuff from each other over the years. It is going to be tough going against Janes, but we do have a good match in Tom Krizmanich. They are both about the same size, and Tom is an excellent athlete. To beat Northridge, we will need sustained offensive execution and concentration. If we have a couple of bad spells, we will not win the game. They play top-notch basketball all the way through."

WAWASEE AT VALLEY

TIPOFF: 8 p.m. Friday at Mentone

COACHES: Jerry Davis (Wawasee), Gregg Sciarra (Valley)

RECORDS: Wawasee 2-2, Valley 3-2

LAST GAME: Warsaw 51, Wawasee 48; Valley 66, Whitko 55

MATCHUP:... Senior guard Ryan Mikel leads Wawasee in scoring with 15.8 points per game. Six-foot-five Brody Stipp adds 12 ppg and guard Jay Haugh 11.5 ppg. Guard Jared Mahnensmith scores 8 ppg. Stipp leads the Warriors with 8 rebounds per game. Valley senior forward Jeff Brown is third in the Three Rivers Conference with 18.8 ppg and second with 10 rpg. He leads the conference with 2.6 steals per game. He is shooting 50 percent from the field - 38 of 76. Teammates Eric Love and Nick Stutzman each chip in with 11.6 ppg. Love is second in the TRC in three-point shooting - he has hit 16 of 26 (62 percent). Valley point guard Darren Parker is second in the conference with 7.6 assists per game.

GAME TALK:

Davis... "Valley has very good athletes. Brown does a lot on the floor, and he is the key to their team. He will receive a lot of our attention defensively. They know each other well and are confident in each other. They get the ball up and down the court and shoot well. They have five guys who can score, and anytime you have that, it makes it difficult for you to match up with them defensively. They know the eight players they will play. That (depth) may be their weakness, but those who play know the job they have to do."

Sciarra... "They're a good team. Anytime you change coaches, it takes time. You have new drills, new everything. There seems to be a happy mesh there with his team. Brody Stipp is a concern. Chris Joy (Columbia City) tore us up inside. I would think a huge concern is stopping him on the block. They run a three-guard offense. Mikel and Haugh are their one and two threats. They penetrate well. They seem to get fouled quite a bit. They do their duties well. The guards like to penetrate and create things that way. They will dish off to Stipp and sometimes (Jordan) Bender if they can."

CHURUBUSCO AT WHITKO

TIPOFF: 8 p.m. Friday at South Whitley

COACHES: Ross Hales (Churubusco), Dave Henson (Whitko)

RECORDS: Churubusco 2-5, Whitko 2-3

LAST GAME: Eastside 57, Churubusco 47; Valley 66, Whitko 55

MATCHUP:...Twenty-six year-old Ross Hales - the 6-7 former Indiana University football player who filled in for Bob Knight's injury-depleted basketball squad in 1994 - is enjoying his first year as head coach at Churubusco. Six-three center Josh Kirchner leads Churubusco with 14.4 ppg. Six-foot forward Todd Fleetwood adds 11.0 ppg. Whitko's Zach Henson is second in the TRC with 23.4 ppg and fourth with 6.8 apg. Center Bo Mullins adds 11.2 ppg.

GAME TALK:

Hales... "Their offense revolves around Zach Henson. He's a great shooter and a good player. We need to contain him. But teams like this, where we've worried about stopping one player, have hurt us. When we've shut down the big gun, others have stepped up and scored 10 or 12 above their average. They like to move the ball up and down the court. They are a good screening team. They are very unselfish, and they find the open player ... I think we've been improving. Since I'm a new coach, the players are doing a lot of new things. We can be a good team at the end of the season. We're allowing on average only 45 points per game. We shoot well at times, but we can't put four quarters together. Our offense has been inconsistent, and that bothers me."

Henson... "I'd imagine he (Hales) has gone in there and established more of a hard-nosed attitude where defense is stressed. (Kirchner and Fleetwood) are the two guys we have to worry about. They're post players, and that's where we've been most vulnerable ... We're trying to work on intensity, especially on the defensive end. We need to use our hands more and be more aggressive with our helpside defense. I can see, from the team concept of defense, that we're getting better." [[In-content Ad]]