Strong Fourth Quarter Fuels Tigers To Win
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
PLYMOUTH - Normally Warsaw coach Al Rhodes teaches math class, but in Friday night's 50-47 come-from-behind win over conference nemesis Plymouth that gave the Tigers an outright Northern Lakes Conference championship, his team opened up the history books.
Three years ago in the Warsaw Regional, the Tigers faced a double-digit deficit for much of three quarters before then senior Matt Taylor tipped a rebound to Kevin Ault, whose game-winning shot fell as time expired, giving them a regional championship en route to a final four appearance.
Taylor, in attendance Friday night, was asked if last night's game could compare or if it even crossed the minds of the current Tigers.
"Definitely," said Taylor. "I think it was going through the back of the players' minds. This is a great win for them."
The Tigers, who improve to 14-2 and 6-0 in the Northern Lakes Conference, won in similar fashion last night, led by Ross Kesler's 13 points. Steve Siebenmorgen added 12. Plymouth's Joel Grindle led all scorers with 24. Nick Chaney added 14 points in Plymouth's fourth loss in five games.
Grindle put the Pilgrims on the board early, scoring two of his 11 first-quarter points and the Pilgrims led 18-11 after one quarter of play. Plymouth shot 7 of 12 (58.3 percent) from the field in the first frame to Warsaw's 4 of 12 (33.3 percent) performance. Grindle came back with five points in the second stanza to give the Pilgrims a 31-19 halftime advantage.
"In the first half Grindle was out of control," said Rhodes. "We could not contain him. He was in control of the game on offense and defense. We were down by 12 the other night at Marion. That was a different outcome, but it helped us tonight."
The Tigers connected on just 6 of 18 (33.3 percent) field goal attempts in the first two quarters, three of which came from Kesler, yet went to the locker rooms down by only 12.
"The only reason we were down by 12 at halftime was Ross Kesler," said Rhodes. "We were rattled in the first half. We got our composure back at halftime and came out and played much tougher defense."
Grindle scored the first four points of the third frame to put Plymouth up 35-19. The Tigers responded with a Tom Donkers field goal that sparked a 13-2 Warsaw run that cut the lead to five going into the final frame.
"It's a real shame for a few players who really played their hearts out most of the game to end up this way," said Plymouth coach Jack Edison. "But give Warsaw credit. They're in trouble, and and they play excellent half-court defense and totally take us out of our offense."
An offense that the Tigers outscored 31-16 in the second half.
Much of the reason Plymouth netted only 16 points in the second half was due to stalling and letting the clock run out in hopes of preserving the lead. But it was to no avail as the Tigers pressured the Pilgrims, forcing them into five fourth-quarter turnovers.
"The poise they showed at the end of the game," said Edison. "They were totally in control the whole time."
With 1:45 remaining in the final frame, Grindle scored his 23rd and 24th points of the game on his second dunk to put his team up 47-43. Plymouth didn't score the rest of the way, thanks to Warsaw's tenacious defense.
Chris Wiggins, held scoreless in the first half, cut the Pilgrim lead to one with three of his seven fourth-quarter points at the 1:14 mark.
"Chris started the game poorly," said Rhodes. "It's nice to see him hit some big shots and make some big plays. This team has a lot of basketball talent and is willing to play together. This game went down to the wire, and our players showed a lot of heart."
After Plymouth was called for traveling with 47 seconds remaining, Siebenmorgen connected on a field goal, giving Warsaw its first lead of the game. The Tigers rounded out the evening with three field goals, accounting for the three-point victory.
Warsaw will be at home tonight against Gary Wallace with the junior varsity set to tip off at 6:15 p.m.
WARSAW 50
PLYMOUTH 47
Warsaw (14-2) 11 8 13 18 - 50
Plymouth (12-4) 18 13 6 10 - 47
Warsaw FG FT A S R Pts.
Rs. Kesler (G) 4-5 5-5 1 0 3 13
Siebenmorgen (F) 4-6 4-4 0 1 1 12
Wiggins (G) 4-10 0-0 1 3 3 9
Nelson (C) 3-7 1-1 1 0 3 7
Rb. Kesler (G) 1-4 4-4 0 0 1 7
Donkers 1-1 0-0 0 0 1 2
Seiss 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Rhodes 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Barrett 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Henthorn 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Compson 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Grossnickle 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Stogsdill 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 17-33 13-13 5 4 14 50
Plymouth FG FT A S R Pts.
Grindle (C) 10-11 1-2 1 1 5 24
Chaney (G) 6-9 3-4 3 2 4 14
Pettibone 2-7 1-1 0 1 2 5
Thompson (G) 1-2 0-0 0 1 0 2
Halon (F) 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 2
Schrader (F) 0-5 0-2 0 0 0 0
Haeck 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Stuckmeyer 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Isenbarger 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Schadek 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Houin 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 20-35 4-7 4 5 13 47
Three-point goals - Warsaw 2 (Wiggins, Rb. Kesler), Plymouth 1 (Grindle). Turnovers - Warsaw 8, Plymouth 11. Fouls - Warsaw 16, Plymouth 16.
JV: Warsaw 42, Plymouth 39 [[In-content Ad]]
PLYMOUTH - Normally Warsaw coach Al Rhodes teaches math class, but in Friday night's 50-47 come-from-behind win over conference nemesis Plymouth that gave the Tigers an outright Northern Lakes Conference championship, his team opened up the history books.
Three years ago in the Warsaw Regional, the Tigers faced a double-digit deficit for much of three quarters before then senior Matt Taylor tipped a rebound to Kevin Ault, whose game-winning shot fell as time expired, giving them a regional championship en route to a final four appearance.
Taylor, in attendance Friday night, was asked if last night's game could compare or if it even crossed the minds of the current Tigers.
"Definitely," said Taylor. "I think it was going through the back of the players' minds. This is a great win for them."
The Tigers, who improve to 14-2 and 6-0 in the Northern Lakes Conference, won in similar fashion last night, led by Ross Kesler's 13 points. Steve Siebenmorgen added 12. Plymouth's Joel Grindle led all scorers with 24. Nick Chaney added 14 points in Plymouth's fourth loss in five games.
Grindle put the Pilgrims on the board early, scoring two of his 11 first-quarter points and the Pilgrims led 18-11 after one quarter of play. Plymouth shot 7 of 12 (58.3 percent) from the field in the first frame to Warsaw's 4 of 12 (33.3 percent) performance. Grindle came back with five points in the second stanza to give the Pilgrims a 31-19 halftime advantage.
"In the first half Grindle was out of control," said Rhodes. "We could not contain him. He was in control of the game on offense and defense. We were down by 12 the other night at Marion. That was a different outcome, but it helped us tonight."
The Tigers connected on just 6 of 18 (33.3 percent) field goal attempts in the first two quarters, three of which came from Kesler, yet went to the locker rooms down by only 12.
"The only reason we were down by 12 at halftime was Ross Kesler," said Rhodes. "We were rattled in the first half. We got our composure back at halftime and came out and played much tougher defense."
Grindle scored the first four points of the third frame to put Plymouth up 35-19. The Tigers responded with a Tom Donkers field goal that sparked a 13-2 Warsaw run that cut the lead to five going into the final frame.
"It's a real shame for a few players who really played their hearts out most of the game to end up this way," said Plymouth coach Jack Edison. "But give Warsaw credit. They're in trouble, and and they play excellent half-court defense and totally take us out of our offense."
An offense that the Tigers outscored 31-16 in the second half.
Much of the reason Plymouth netted only 16 points in the second half was due to stalling and letting the clock run out in hopes of preserving the lead. But it was to no avail as the Tigers pressured the Pilgrims, forcing them into five fourth-quarter turnovers.
"The poise they showed at the end of the game," said Edison. "They were totally in control the whole time."
With 1:45 remaining in the final frame, Grindle scored his 23rd and 24th points of the game on his second dunk to put his team up 47-43. Plymouth didn't score the rest of the way, thanks to Warsaw's tenacious defense.
Chris Wiggins, held scoreless in the first half, cut the Pilgrim lead to one with three of his seven fourth-quarter points at the 1:14 mark.
"Chris started the game poorly," said Rhodes. "It's nice to see him hit some big shots and make some big plays. This team has a lot of basketball talent and is willing to play together. This game went down to the wire, and our players showed a lot of heart."
After Plymouth was called for traveling with 47 seconds remaining, Siebenmorgen connected on a field goal, giving Warsaw its first lead of the game. The Tigers rounded out the evening with three field goals, accounting for the three-point victory.
Warsaw will be at home tonight against Gary Wallace with the junior varsity set to tip off at 6:15 p.m.
WARSAW 50
PLYMOUTH 47
Warsaw (14-2) 11 8 13 18 - 50
Plymouth (12-4) 18 13 6 10 - 47
Warsaw FG FT A S R Pts.
Rs. Kesler (G) 4-5 5-5 1 0 3 13
Siebenmorgen (F) 4-6 4-4 0 1 1 12
Wiggins (G) 4-10 0-0 1 3 3 9
Nelson (C) 3-7 1-1 1 0 3 7
Rb. Kesler (G) 1-4 4-4 0 0 1 7
Donkers 1-1 0-0 0 0 1 2
Seiss 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Rhodes 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Barrett 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Henthorn 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Compson 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Grossnickle 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Stogsdill 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 17-33 13-13 5 4 14 50
Plymouth FG FT A S R Pts.
Grindle (C) 10-11 1-2 1 1 5 24
Chaney (G) 6-9 3-4 3 2 4 14
Pettibone 2-7 1-1 0 1 2 5
Thompson (G) 1-2 0-0 0 1 0 2
Halon (F) 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 2
Schrader (F) 0-5 0-2 0 0 0 0
Haeck 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Stuckmeyer 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Isenbarger 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Schadek 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Houin 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 20-35 4-7 4 5 13 47
Three-point goals - Warsaw 2 (Wiggins, Rb. Kesler), Plymouth 1 (Grindle). Turnovers - Warsaw 8, Plymouth 11. Fouls - Warsaw 16, Plymouth 16.
JV: Warsaw 42, Plymouth 39 [[In-content Ad]]