Panthers Avenge Loss Against Tigers
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
After the Warsaw boys basketball team beat NorthWood 50-46 in overtime in the Northern Lakes Conference Tournament, fans from both squads were expecting a catfight in Warsaw Friday night.
However, what the fans saw was far from a catfight as the Panthers made history by downing the Tigers 54-47. It was the first time NorthWood (7-4, 3-2 NLC) has defeated Warsaw (9-5, 3-2 NLC) in the Tiger Den.
The Panthers led from the first basket of the game and never looked back against a Warsaw team struggling with NorthWood's 2-3 zone as well as illness.
Rory Clouse opened the game for the Panthers with a three-point basket, then Ryan Bradley hit two free throws to put the Panthers up 5-0 with 6:16 left in the first frame.
NorthWood continued to attack the Tigers, and by the end of the first stanza, the Panthers held a 13-6 advantage.
NorthWood then outscored the Tigers 15-14 in the second frame to take a 28-20 lead into the halftime break.
However, NorthWood did not become overconfident with that eight-point lead. NorthWood held an 11-point lead at the half last time before Warsaw made a comeback and got the win.
"We talked about that game at halftime," said NorthWood coach Dan Gunn. "We didn't want to let up in the third quarter like last time."
But the Tigers came out to play early in the third quarter as Jerad Shaw and Greg Clay hit the first two baskets of the second half, cutting Panther lead to four, 28-24.
However, NorthWood answered with a run of its own. Robbie Lightfoot hit a deuce and a trey and Clouse hit another trey to give the Panthers six straight points and their biggest lead of the game, 36-24.
Warsaw's Paul Finnegan hit the first basket of the fourth quarter to cut NorthWood's lead back down to six, 40-34, but NorthWood fought back again.
At the 5:45 mark of the fourth frame, NorthWood made a play that had a dramatic effect on the game. Clouse moved the ball down the court and went up for a lay-up under the basket, but Warsaw's Finnegan blocked the shot. However, Willy Will was in the right place at the right time. Will pulled in the ball and made the rebound basket to restore NorthWood's eight-point lead.
"That was a big exchange there," said Gunn. "Had Warsaw gotten the ball and scored, they would have been within four. It may have been a different ball game."
"That play was huge," said Warsaw coach Al Rhodes, shaking his head. "We cut it to six and Will grabs it an puts it back in."
By the 2:38 mark of the last quarter of play, NorthWood was up 47-38 and Warsaw started to foul. Unfortunately for the Tigers, NorthWood hit 7-10 free throws in the fourth quarter, including 5 of 6 from Will, to keep the game out of Warsaw's reach.
Will led all scorers with 19 points, while Clouse added 17. Greg Clay and Josh Buck were the only Tigers in double figures, Clay with 10 and Buck with 11.
Warsaw hosts Fort Wayne North Side Saturday, while NorthWood is off until Tuesday when the Panthers play at West Noble.
NORTHWOOD 54, WARSAW 47
NorthWood (7-4) 13 15 12 14 - 54
Warsaw (9-5) 6 14 12 15 - 47
NorthWood FG FT R S Pts.
Will (C) 6-11 7-8 4 2 19
Lightfoot (G) 4-8 0-1 3 3 9
Reynolds (F) 0-0 0-0 1 1 0
Bradley (G) 0-4 4-4 2 0 4
Clouse (F) 6-9 2-2 9 2 17
Hill 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Clem 2-2 0-2 2 1 5
Totals 18-34 13-17 22 9 54
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
Seiss (G) 0-4 0-0 0 1 0
G. Clay (G) 4-9 0-0 6 0 10
Finnegan (F) 3-5 0-0 5 1 6
Shaw (C) 1-4 0-0 1 0 2
Buck (F) 5-8 1-2 4 0 10
Martin 2-7 0-0 0 1 5
C. Clay 2-3 4-5 0 0 8
Johnson 2-3 0-0 3 0 4
Foster 0-2 1-2 1 0 4
Totals 19-45 6-10 20 3 47
Three-point goals -ÊNorthWood 5-7 (Lightfoot 1-1, Clouse 3-5, Clem 1-1), Warsaw 3-14 (Seiss 0-2, Martin 1-6, G. Clay 2-4, Foster 0-1, Shaw 0-1). Turnovers -ÊNorthWood 11, Warsaw 14. Total fouls - NorthWood 14, Warsaw 19. Fouled out -ÊSeiss.
JV: WARSAW 51, NORTHWOOD 37
Warsaw scoring (13-0) -ÊGoeff Walmer 5, Suraj Datta 13, Erik Fussle 12, Ryan DeGeeter 17, William Knepper 4
NorthWood scoring -ÊBrandon Hall 17, Joel Richard 11, Adam Leeper 9 [[In-content Ad]]
After the Warsaw boys basketball team beat NorthWood 50-46 in overtime in the Northern Lakes Conference Tournament, fans from both squads were expecting a catfight in Warsaw Friday night.
However, what the fans saw was far from a catfight as the Panthers made history by downing the Tigers 54-47. It was the first time NorthWood (7-4, 3-2 NLC) has defeated Warsaw (9-5, 3-2 NLC) in the Tiger Den.
The Panthers led from the first basket of the game and never looked back against a Warsaw team struggling with NorthWood's 2-3 zone as well as illness.
Rory Clouse opened the game for the Panthers with a three-point basket, then Ryan Bradley hit two free throws to put the Panthers up 5-0 with 6:16 left in the first frame.
NorthWood continued to attack the Tigers, and by the end of the first stanza, the Panthers held a 13-6 advantage.
NorthWood then outscored the Tigers 15-14 in the second frame to take a 28-20 lead into the halftime break.
However, NorthWood did not become overconfident with that eight-point lead. NorthWood held an 11-point lead at the half last time before Warsaw made a comeback and got the win.
"We talked about that game at halftime," said NorthWood coach Dan Gunn. "We didn't want to let up in the third quarter like last time."
But the Tigers came out to play early in the third quarter as Jerad Shaw and Greg Clay hit the first two baskets of the second half, cutting Panther lead to four, 28-24.
However, NorthWood answered with a run of its own. Robbie Lightfoot hit a deuce and a trey and Clouse hit another trey to give the Panthers six straight points and their biggest lead of the game, 36-24.
Warsaw's Paul Finnegan hit the first basket of the fourth quarter to cut NorthWood's lead back down to six, 40-34, but NorthWood fought back again.
At the 5:45 mark of the fourth frame, NorthWood made a play that had a dramatic effect on the game. Clouse moved the ball down the court and went up for a lay-up under the basket, but Warsaw's Finnegan blocked the shot. However, Willy Will was in the right place at the right time. Will pulled in the ball and made the rebound basket to restore NorthWood's eight-point lead.
"That was a big exchange there," said Gunn. "Had Warsaw gotten the ball and scored, they would have been within four. It may have been a different ball game."
"That play was huge," said Warsaw coach Al Rhodes, shaking his head. "We cut it to six and Will grabs it an puts it back in."
By the 2:38 mark of the last quarter of play, NorthWood was up 47-38 and Warsaw started to foul. Unfortunately for the Tigers, NorthWood hit 7-10 free throws in the fourth quarter, including 5 of 6 from Will, to keep the game out of Warsaw's reach.
Will led all scorers with 19 points, while Clouse added 17. Greg Clay and Josh Buck were the only Tigers in double figures, Clay with 10 and Buck with 11.
Warsaw hosts Fort Wayne North Side Saturday, while NorthWood is off until Tuesday when the Panthers play at West Noble.
NORTHWOOD 54, WARSAW 47
NorthWood (7-4) 13 15 12 14 - 54
Warsaw (9-5) 6 14 12 15 - 47
NorthWood FG FT R S Pts.
Will (C) 6-11 7-8 4 2 19
Lightfoot (G) 4-8 0-1 3 3 9
Reynolds (F) 0-0 0-0 1 1 0
Bradley (G) 0-4 4-4 2 0 4
Clouse (F) 6-9 2-2 9 2 17
Hill 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Clem 2-2 0-2 2 1 5
Totals 18-34 13-17 22 9 54
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
Seiss (G) 0-4 0-0 0 1 0
G. Clay (G) 4-9 0-0 6 0 10
Finnegan (F) 3-5 0-0 5 1 6
Shaw (C) 1-4 0-0 1 0 2
Buck (F) 5-8 1-2 4 0 10
Martin 2-7 0-0 0 1 5
C. Clay 2-3 4-5 0 0 8
Johnson 2-3 0-0 3 0 4
Foster 0-2 1-2 1 0 4
Totals 19-45 6-10 20 3 47
Three-point goals -ÊNorthWood 5-7 (Lightfoot 1-1, Clouse 3-5, Clem 1-1), Warsaw 3-14 (Seiss 0-2, Martin 1-6, G. Clay 2-4, Foster 0-1, Shaw 0-1). Turnovers -ÊNorthWood 11, Warsaw 14. Total fouls - NorthWood 14, Warsaw 19. Fouled out -ÊSeiss.
JV: WARSAW 51, NORTHWOOD 37
Warsaw scoring (13-0) -ÊGoeff Walmer 5, Suraj Datta 13, Erik Fussle 12, Ryan DeGeeter 17, William Knepper 4
NorthWood scoring -ÊBrandon Hall 17, Joel Richard 11, Adam Leeper 9 [[In-content Ad]]