Tiger Boys Lose At NorthWood, NLC Title Up For Grabs
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
NAPPANEE - As second-year Warsaw boys basketball coach Doug Ogle put it, Friday night's Northern Lakes Conference battle at NorthWood "falls in to the category that every dark cloud has a silver lining."
While Ogle was certainly disappointed his Tigers fell 56-52 to the host Panthers, losing their second straight conference game and third contest overall, he was overjoyed with the news of victories by rivals Northridge and Wawasee.
With Northridge's win over Plymouth and Wawasee's win over Concord, the Tigers are still tied for first in conference play.
Warsaw, Wawasee, Plymouth, NorthWood and Concord all have 3-2 records in the NLC.
"We've had some bad luck on our side this week, not being able to practice and then not shooting the ball well tonight, but if we go win at Elkhart Memorial and beat Plymouth we're guaranteed a tie," Ogle said. "This falls in to the category that every dark cloud has a silver lining."
Friday's four-point loss dropped the Tigers to 9-6 overall and marked the first time a Warsaw boys basketball team has lost three straight games since the 1987-88 season.
"Anytime you lose it's hard to take, but I'm proud of the team," Ogle said. "NorthWood practiced three times this week, and we're not allowed to practice when school is out. That put us at a disadvantage. I'm not happy that we lost, but I am happy with how we competed. We showed heart and togetherness. We didn't shoot well. Our timing was off a little bit. That certainly was a big factor in the game, our missing good shots in the basket area."
The Tigers trailed 11-8 after the first quarter but outscored the Panthers 13-7 in the second stanza for a three-point lead at halftime despite shooting 7 of 22 (31.8 percent) from the field.
Warsaw took a 27-23 lead in the third quarter when junior Michael Wienhorst, playing his second game back after a knee injury, converted a three-point play with 5:33 on the clock.
NorthWood senior Wes BeMiller cut the lead to one with a three-pointer, and then teammate Josh Sabo's bucket gave the Panthers their first lead since Sabo's bucket gave them an 18-17 lead in the second quarter.
After the teams battled back and forth the remainder of the third quarter, with the teams knotted at 33 and 35, NorthWood took a 37-35 lead in to the fourth when sophomore sensation Ryne Lightfoot converted a pair of free throws with 1:24 left.
Tiger junior point guard Michael Moore sandwiched a pair of field goals around a Lightfoot basket and the teams were knotted at 37 and 39 before a 9-3 run by the Panthers put Warsaw down 48-42 with 2:48 left in the game.
Warsaw cut the lead to three, 53-50, when Moore converted a pair of charity tosses with 17.9 seconds remaining, but the Panthers cashed in on a pair of BeMiller free throws a second later as the Tigers were forced to foul.
A basket by Moore cut the NorthWood lead to 55-52 with 7.5 seconds left, but after the Tigers were forced to foul again, BeMiller hit the second of two free throws with 6.2 seconds on the clock, leaving Warsaw heartbroken on a night when NorthWood High School celebrated its Sweetheart Coronation.
Moore led a trio of Tigers in double figures with 15 points. He also dished out seven assists.
Wiehorst had 14 points and six rebounds, while Todd Braddock had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
"I'm very happy with the way Michael Wienhorst played," Ogle said. "Todd Braddock had 10 rebounds. I'm not happy with the loss, but I'm optimistic because we're still in contention for at least a share of the conference title."
While Ogle was happy that wins by Northridge and Wawasee helped his team out, what he wasn't happy with was the fact that the Tigers shot 19 of 48 (39.6 percent) from the field, 2 of 9 from three-point range, missing a number of shots in the lane.
NorthWood finished the game 18 of 34 (52.9 percent) from the field, 5 of 12 from the arc.
Lightfoot led NorthWood with a game-high 22 points. He also had five rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.
Sabo added 11 points in the win, while Zac Lechlitner and BeMiller scored eight each.
Warsaw is in action again Friday at Elkhart Memorial, and then returns to the Tiger Den Saturday for a matchup with Marion, the first of four home games to end the regular season.
NORTHWOOD 56, WARSAW 52
Warsaw 8 13 14 17 - 52
NorthWood 11 7 19 19 - 56
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Schultz 1-3 0-0 2 1 2
* Wienhorst 4-8 5-6 6 0 14
* Moore 5-13 5-6 1 2 15
* Braddock 5-10 1-2 10 2 11
* Sherman 0-3 0-0 4 0 0
Gensinger 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Griggs 4-7 1-3 4 1 10
Holladay 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Conley 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Allison 0-3 0-0 1 1 0
Totals 19-48 12-17 29 7 52
NorthWood FG FT R S Pts.
* Lechlitner 3-6 1-4 2 1 8
* Lightfoot 7-12 7-10 5 0 22
* BeMiller 2-6 3-4 1 0 8
* Sabo 4-5 2-2 3 3 11
* Mast 1-2 2-4 8 1 4
Lengacher 0-1 0-0 1 2 0
Shields 1-2 0-0 1 0 3
Totals 18-34 15-24 21 7 56
Three-point goals - Warsaw 2-9 (Griggs 1-2, Wienhorst 1-2), NorthWood 5-12 (Lightfoot 1-4, Lechlitner 1-3, BeMiller 1-2, Shields 1-2, Sabo 1-1). Turnovers - Warsaw 10, NorthWood 12. Fouls - Warsaw 17, NorthWood 15. Fouled out - none.
JV - Warsaw 40, NorthWood 36
Warsaw scoring - Reinholt 12, Fuller 8, Cabrera 6, Moore 6, Maierle 4, Buck 3, Evans 1
Warsaw JV record: 13-1 [[In-content Ad]]
NAPPANEE - As second-year Warsaw boys basketball coach Doug Ogle put it, Friday night's Northern Lakes Conference battle at NorthWood "falls in to the category that every dark cloud has a silver lining."
While Ogle was certainly disappointed his Tigers fell 56-52 to the host Panthers, losing their second straight conference game and third contest overall, he was overjoyed with the news of victories by rivals Northridge and Wawasee.
With Northridge's win over Plymouth and Wawasee's win over Concord, the Tigers are still tied for first in conference play.
Warsaw, Wawasee, Plymouth, NorthWood and Concord all have 3-2 records in the NLC.
"We've had some bad luck on our side this week, not being able to practice and then not shooting the ball well tonight, but if we go win at Elkhart Memorial and beat Plymouth we're guaranteed a tie," Ogle said. "This falls in to the category that every dark cloud has a silver lining."
Friday's four-point loss dropped the Tigers to 9-6 overall and marked the first time a Warsaw boys basketball team has lost three straight games since the 1987-88 season.
"Anytime you lose it's hard to take, but I'm proud of the team," Ogle said. "NorthWood practiced three times this week, and we're not allowed to practice when school is out. That put us at a disadvantage. I'm not happy that we lost, but I am happy with how we competed. We showed heart and togetherness. We didn't shoot well. Our timing was off a little bit. That certainly was a big factor in the game, our missing good shots in the basket area."
The Tigers trailed 11-8 after the first quarter but outscored the Panthers 13-7 in the second stanza for a three-point lead at halftime despite shooting 7 of 22 (31.8 percent) from the field.
Warsaw took a 27-23 lead in the third quarter when junior Michael Wienhorst, playing his second game back after a knee injury, converted a three-point play with 5:33 on the clock.
NorthWood senior Wes BeMiller cut the lead to one with a three-pointer, and then teammate Josh Sabo's bucket gave the Panthers their first lead since Sabo's bucket gave them an 18-17 lead in the second quarter.
After the teams battled back and forth the remainder of the third quarter, with the teams knotted at 33 and 35, NorthWood took a 37-35 lead in to the fourth when sophomore sensation Ryne Lightfoot converted a pair of free throws with 1:24 left.
Tiger junior point guard Michael Moore sandwiched a pair of field goals around a Lightfoot basket and the teams were knotted at 37 and 39 before a 9-3 run by the Panthers put Warsaw down 48-42 with 2:48 left in the game.
Warsaw cut the lead to three, 53-50, when Moore converted a pair of charity tosses with 17.9 seconds remaining, but the Panthers cashed in on a pair of BeMiller free throws a second later as the Tigers were forced to foul.
A basket by Moore cut the NorthWood lead to 55-52 with 7.5 seconds left, but after the Tigers were forced to foul again, BeMiller hit the second of two free throws with 6.2 seconds on the clock, leaving Warsaw heartbroken on a night when NorthWood High School celebrated its Sweetheart Coronation.
Moore led a trio of Tigers in double figures with 15 points. He also dished out seven assists.
Wiehorst had 14 points and six rebounds, while Todd Braddock had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
"I'm very happy with the way Michael Wienhorst played," Ogle said. "Todd Braddock had 10 rebounds. I'm not happy with the loss, but I'm optimistic because we're still in contention for at least a share of the conference title."
While Ogle was happy that wins by Northridge and Wawasee helped his team out, what he wasn't happy with was the fact that the Tigers shot 19 of 48 (39.6 percent) from the field, 2 of 9 from three-point range, missing a number of shots in the lane.
NorthWood finished the game 18 of 34 (52.9 percent) from the field, 5 of 12 from the arc.
Lightfoot led NorthWood with a game-high 22 points. He also had five rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.
Sabo added 11 points in the win, while Zac Lechlitner and BeMiller scored eight each.
Warsaw is in action again Friday at Elkhart Memorial, and then returns to the Tiger Den Saturday for a matchup with Marion, the first of four home games to end the regular season.
NORTHWOOD 56, WARSAW 52
Warsaw 8 13 14 17 - 52
NorthWood 11 7 19 19 - 56
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Schultz 1-3 0-0 2 1 2
* Wienhorst 4-8 5-6 6 0 14
* Moore 5-13 5-6 1 2 15
* Braddock 5-10 1-2 10 2 11
* Sherman 0-3 0-0 4 0 0
Gensinger 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Griggs 4-7 1-3 4 1 10
Holladay 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Conley 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Allison 0-3 0-0 1 1 0
Totals 19-48 12-17 29 7 52
NorthWood FG FT R S Pts.
* Lechlitner 3-6 1-4 2 1 8
* Lightfoot 7-12 7-10 5 0 22
* BeMiller 2-6 3-4 1 0 8
* Sabo 4-5 2-2 3 3 11
* Mast 1-2 2-4 8 1 4
Lengacher 0-1 0-0 1 2 0
Shields 1-2 0-0 1 0 3
Totals 18-34 15-24 21 7 56
Three-point goals - Warsaw 2-9 (Griggs 1-2, Wienhorst 1-2), NorthWood 5-12 (Lightfoot 1-4, Lechlitner 1-3, BeMiller 1-2, Shields 1-2, Sabo 1-1). Turnovers - Warsaw 10, NorthWood 12. Fouls - Warsaw 17, NorthWood 15. Fouled out - none.
JV - Warsaw 40, NorthWood 36
Warsaw scoring - Reinholt 12, Fuller 8, Cabrera 6, Moore 6, Maierle 4, Buck 3, Evans 1
Warsaw JV record: 13-1 [[In-content Ad]]