Warsaw coach Al Rhodes got a taste of what the boys basketball season will be like after facing off against Kokomo in a scrimmage Thursday night.

The scrimmage consisted of three 15-minute quarters followed by six pairs of game situations. Warsaw came out on top in two of the three quarters and five of the 12 situations. The Tigers tied the Wildkats in three other situations while Kokomo came out on top in four.

In the first two quarters, fullcourt defense was not allowed, with teams playing half-court man-to-man defense only in the 15 minutes. In the second quarter, the teams were allowed to play half-court zones and switching defenses. In the final quarter of the scrimmage, the teams were allowed to play a full-court defense.

"I think we competed well in the scrimmage," said Rhodes. "Defensively, our man-for-man is in good shape for this point in the season. We played a lot of combinations offensively, and our offense suffered at times.

"Our rebounding effort was strong, and I thought our defensive boards were outstanding. We limited them to one shot most of the time."

In the first quarter, the Tigers topped the Wildkats 11-7. Steve Siebenmorgen dominated the Kokomo man-to-man defense and led Warsaw with six points, one rebound and a blocked shot.

"In the first quarter, our man-to-man defense helped us build confidence," said Rhodes.

Kokomo slipped by the Tigers in the second quarter, 12-11. Brad Seiss was perfect in the period, going 2-for-2 with four points, a steal, and a rebound.

Warsaw stepped back up in the third quarter of the scrimmage, outscoring Kokomo 11-6. Chris Rhodes, Chris Wiggins and Siebenmorgen accounted for all of Warsaw's scoring.

The final session of the scrimmage consisted of six end-of-game situations. Each team had the opportunity to be the team with the advantage in each of the situations.

"This was a nice learning experience," said Rhodes. "We won five of the situations, tied three and lost four.

"We learned from each of the situations. This was definitely a confidence builder for us. It gave us a good chance to work on last-second plays. Also we have a lot of team depth, and that will help us later in the season. Having fresh players on the floor will be to our advantage."

Overall Rhodes is pleased with his team's performance in the scrimmage.

"I feel good about tonight's performance," said Rhodes. "The only asterisk is the absence of Ross Kesler and Jason Henthorn. Losing Ross is tough because he provides strong senior leadership. Obviously we want those two gentleman back as soon as possible."

Siebenmorgen led all scorers with 16 points. He also added six rebounds for the Tigers. Chris Wiggins had 10 points, three assists and three steals. Zach Nelson added two points and five rebounds.

"Our rebounding is strong," said Rhodes. "Our ability to pass the basketball is a strength. Our size is good, and it will help in terms of rebounding aspects. Team execution is a matter of timing and getting in the right position. That will come."

The Tigers open the regular season Wednesday against Tippecanoe Valley at 6:15 p.m.

WARSAW SCRIMMAGE

Warsaw 11 11 11

Kokomo 7 12 6

Warsaw -ÊBrad Seiss 4-5 1-4 11; Chris Wiggins 4-10 0-0 10, Chris Rhodes 3-3 0-0 7, Steve Siebenmorgen 6-12 4-4 16, Zach Nelson 1-3 0-0 2, Paul Finnegan 1-2 0-0 2, Greg Seiss 0-1 0-1 0, Trent Martin 1-4 2-3 5, Josh Buck 0-2 0-0 0, Jon Walmer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals -Ê14-47 7-12.

Kokomo -ÊGordon Morgan 1-2 0-0 4, Blair Crawford 4-11 3-6 14, Cory Brodnax 2-3 0-0 4, Joe Thatcher 5-17 3-5 15, Kris Abney 2-3 0-2 4, Matt Croddy 0-0 0-0 0, Kyle Fortson 0-0 0-0 0, Sean Gould 0-0 0-0 0, Kevin Roe 1-1 3-7 5, Kenny Ferguson 2-5 0-0 4, Matt Bell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals -Ê17-46 9-24. [[In-content Ad]]