Tiger Boys Win Sectional Opener
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
WATERLOO - A team short on sectional experience, Warsaw's varsity boys basketball team cashed in at the charity stripe Wednesday evening and now has its longest winning streak of the season.
Only senior Michael Wienhorst had any major postseason experience prior to last night, but the Tigers used clutch free throw shooting in the fourth quarter and downed East Noble 70-55 in the opening round of the Class 4A DeKalb Sectional.
Warsaw hit 18 of 22 free throws in the fourth quarter and finished the game 25 of 33 at the stripe.
"We've been a pretty good free throw shooting team," said third-year Warsaw coach Doug Ogle. "We were 5 of 9 at one point. To finish at the free throw line like we did is pretty good."
Junior Colin Clemens was 10 of 10 at the charity stripe, all of which came in the fourth quarter, while Wienhorst was 7 of 9 from the line.
Wienhorst, a 6-foot-2 senior, was 6 of 6 from the stripe in the fourth quarter and led Warsaw with a game-high 20 points. Clemens added 17, while senior Andrew Holladay added a career-high 15.
"This win was very important for us for our confidence," said Ogle. "In a sectional game there's a whole other level of pressure. We got off to a great start and that was big."
The win was the fifth straight for the Tigers, whose longest winning streak this season was their 4-0 start and the four wins to close out the regular season.
The 15-point win was also the first sectional victory for Ogle, whose Tigers lost to Columbia City by a combined five points the past two years in the tournament opener.
The Tigers, now 14-7, play host DeKalb (8-12) in Friday's second semifinal game. Columbia City (14-6) and Carroll (6-14) open semifinal play Friday at 6 p.m. Friday's winners play Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the championship game.
Warsaw led 16-11 after the first quarter and held the Knights to one field goal in the second stanza.
The Tigers outscored East Noble 16-6 in the second and led 32-17 at the break.
After scoring just six points in the second quarter, the third frame was a different story for East Noble.
Against Warsaw's zone defense, the Knights hit five three-pointers in the third quarter, cutting the lead to eight at one point.
Junior Kyle Johnson, son of head coach Marty Johnson, hit four treys in the third quarter and six for the game, tying Wienhorst with a game-high 20 points.
"They shot us out of our zone," said Ogle. "That's the first team since we went to the zone that has shot us out of our zone. When we went man-to-man, that did the job."
After their third-quarter three-point barrage, the Knights made just one trey in the fourth quarter and finished the game 7 of 22 behind the arc.
A bucket by junior Austin Blomeke cut Warsaw's advantage to six, 56-50, with 2:37 to play, but a pair of Wienhorst free throws 10 seconds later put the lead back to eight and East Noble followed with a turnover on its next possession.
"Those were big free throws by Michael Wienhorst," said Ogle. "To take it (the lead) from six to eight was huge mentally."
The Tigers hit 8 of 10 free throws in the final 1:43 of the game en route to the 15-point win, which ended East Noble's season at 6-16 with a four-game losing streak.
The Tigers finished the game 20 of 32 from the field overall (62.5 percent) and made 5 of 11 three-pointers.
East Noble, on the other hand, was 17 of 41 (41.5 percent) from the field and four starters foul out.
Juniors John-Wesley Maierle and Mitchell Reinholt added six points each for the Tigers, while senior Nelson Conley scored four and Shaun Cabrera two.
Cabrera turned his ankle and left the game with 2:05 remaining in third but should be available for Friday's game.
To go with Johnson's 20 points, East Noble got 17 points from Mat Dove and 10 from Blomeke. Keanan Edwards and A.J. Risedorph rounded out the scoring with four points each.
WARSAW 70, EAST NOBLE 55
E. Noble 11 6 18 20 - 55
Warsaw 16 16 12 26 - 70
E. Noble FG FT R S Pts.
* Blomeke 4-9 1-2 2 1 10
* Johnson 7-22 0-0 4 0 20
* Dove 5-6 7-7 4 2 17
* Kurtz 0-0 0-2 0 1 2
*Edmonds 0-2 0-0 1 1 0
McDonald 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Edwards 0-1 4-4 4 0 4
Chapman 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Risedorph 1-1 2-2 2 0 4
Gillian 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Team 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Totals 17-41 14-17 19 12 55
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Cabrera 1-4 0-0 3 0 2
* Holladay 6-7 3-6 1 1 15
* Maierle 3-4 0-2 0 2 6
*Wnhrst 5-9 7-9 4 0 20
* Clemens 3-5 10-10 6 1 17
Kleinhans 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Junker 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Conley 1-2 1-2 1 0 4
Fuller 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Reinholt 1-1 4-4 2 1 6
Wood 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Team 0-0 0-0 5 0 0
Totals 20-32 25-33 23 5 70
Three-point goals - E. Noble 7-22 (Johnson 6-17, Blomeke 1-3, Edmonds 0-2), Warsaw 5-11 (Wienhorst 3-6, Clemens 1-2, Conley 1-2, Cabrera 0-1). Turnovers - E. Noble 12, Warsaw 11. Fouls - E. Noble 24, Warsaw 17. Fouled out - Johnson, Dove, Kurtz, Risedorph. [[In-content Ad]]
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WATERLOO - A team short on sectional experience, Warsaw's varsity boys basketball team cashed in at the charity stripe Wednesday evening and now has its longest winning streak of the season.
Only senior Michael Wienhorst had any major postseason experience prior to last night, but the Tigers used clutch free throw shooting in the fourth quarter and downed East Noble 70-55 in the opening round of the Class 4A DeKalb Sectional.
Warsaw hit 18 of 22 free throws in the fourth quarter and finished the game 25 of 33 at the stripe.
"We've been a pretty good free throw shooting team," said third-year Warsaw coach Doug Ogle. "We were 5 of 9 at one point. To finish at the free throw line like we did is pretty good."
Junior Colin Clemens was 10 of 10 at the charity stripe, all of which came in the fourth quarter, while Wienhorst was 7 of 9 from the line.
Wienhorst, a 6-foot-2 senior, was 6 of 6 from the stripe in the fourth quarter and led Warsaw with a game-high 20 points. Clemens added 17, while senior Andrew Holladay added a career-high 15.
"This win was very important for us for our confidence," said Ogle. "In a sectional game there's a whole other level of pressure. We got off to a great start and that was big."
The win was the fifth straight for the Tigers, whose longest winning streak this season was their 4-0 start and the four wins to close out the regular season.
The 15-point win was also the first sectional victory for Ogle, whose Tigers lost to Columbia City by a combined five points the past two years in the tournament opener.
The Tigers, now 14-7, play host DeKalb (8-12) in Friday's second semifinal game. Columbia City (14-6) and Carroll (6-14) open semifinal play Friday at 6 p.m. Friday's winners play Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the championship game.
Warsaw led 16-11 after the first quarter and held the Knights to one field goal in the second stanza.
The Tigers outscored East Noble 16-6 in the second and led 32-17 at the break.
After scoring just six points in the second quarter, the third frame was a different story for East Noble.
Against Warsaw's zone defense, the Knights hit five three-pointers in the third quarter, cutting the lead to eight at one point.
Junior Kyle Johnson, son of head coach Marty Johnson, hit four treys in the third quarter and six for the game, tying Wienhorst with a game-high 20 points.
"They shot us out of our zone," said Ogle. "That's the first team since we went to the zone that has shot us out of our zone. When we went man-to-man, that did the job."
After their third-quarter three-point barrage, the Knights made just one trey in the fourth quarter and finished the game 7 of 22 behind the arc.
A bucket by junior Austin Blomeke cut Warsaw's advantage to six, 56-50, with 2:37 to play, but a pair of Wienhorst free throws 10 seconds later put the lead back to eight and East Noble followed with a turnover on its next possession.
"Those were big free throws by Michael Wienhorst," said Ogle. "To take it (the lead) from six to eight was huge mentally."
The Tigers hit 8 of 10 free throws in the final 1:43 of the game en route to the 15-point win, which ended East Noble's season at 6-16 with a four-game losing streak.
The Tigers finished the game 20 of 32 from the field overall (62.5 percent) and made 5 of 11 three-pointers.
East Noble, on the other hand, was 17 of 41 (41.5 percent) from the field and four starters foul out.
Juniors John-Wesley Maierle and Mitchell Reinholt added six points each for the Tigers, while senior Nelson Conley scored four and Shaun Cabrera two.
Cabrera turned his ankle and left the game with 2:05 remaining in third but should be available for Friday's game.
To go with Johnson's 20 points, East Noble got 17 points from Mat Dove and 10 from Blomeke. Keanan Edwards and A.J. Risedorph rounded out the scoring with four points each.
WARSAW 70, EAST NOBLE 55
E. Noble 11 6 18 20 - 55
Warsaw 16 16 12 26 - 70
E. Noble FG FT R S Pts.
* Blomeke 4-9 1-2 2 1 10
* Johnson 7-22 0-0 4 0 20
* Dove 5-6 7-7 4 2 17
* Kurtz 0-0 0-2 0 1 2
*Edmonds 0-2 0-0 1 1 0
McDonald 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Edwards 0-1 4-4 4 0 4
Chapman 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Risedorph 1-1 2-2 2 0 4
Gillian 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Team 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Totals 17-41 14-17 19 12 55
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Cabrera 1-4 0-0 3 0 2
* Holladay 6-7 3-6 1 1 15
* Maierle 3-4 0-2 0 2 6
*Wnhrst 5-9 7-9 4 0 20
* Clemens 3-5 10-10 6 1 17
Kleinhans 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Junker 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Conley 1-2 1-2 1 0 4
Fuller 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Reinholt 1-1 4-4 2 1 6
Wood 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Team 0-0 0-0 5 0 0
Totals 20-32 25-33 23 5 70
Three-point goals - E. Noble 7-22 (Johnson 6-17, Blomeke 1-3, Edmonds 0-2), Warsaw 5-11 (Wienhorst 3-6, Clemens 1-2, Conley 1-2, Cabrera 0-1). Turnovers - E. Noble 12, Warsaw 11. Fouls - E. Noble 24, Warsaw 17. Fouled out - Johnson, Dove, Kurtz, Risedorph. [[In-content Ad]]