KOKOMO - The color of the bleachers in Kokomo's Memorial Gym, Warsaw's varsity boys basketball team left the Wildkat players blue as well Tuesday night.

After trailing the host Wilkats by nine at halftime - a half that could be described as black and blue - the Tigers used an effective inside game with frontliners Ryan DeGeeter, Erik Fussle and Adam Griggs and got two free throws from guard Michael Moore with 15 seconds remaining to pick up a thrilling 60-59 win.

"What a gutty win," Warsaw coach Doug Ogle said. "This is a big step forward. It was very physical in the first half, and we set a goal going into the fourth to cut the lead to five. We got it to four, that was key."

After Wildkat Donald Huntsman - who was 1 of 10 seniors honored before the game - put Kokomo up six to start the fourth, the 6-foot-4 Fussle countered for Warsaw with a three-point play.

DeGeeter scored for Warsaw with 5:00 remaining in the game, and the Tigers were within 52-50. Griggs hit a shot with 27 seconds left to play, cutting the Wildkat lead to one at 59-58, and then Moore put the Tigers ahead for good with his two crucial free throws.

Kokomo called a series of time outs to set up a play for the winning shot, including a stoppage in play when the buzzer sounded, though the officials allowed a second to be put back on the clock.

The Wildkats inbounded the ball again, though the buzzer had sounded and Warsaw's players had rushed the court, but missed a wide open lay-up.

"There's no way there should have been a second put back on the clock, but the good Lord was looking over us when that kid blew the wide open lay-up."

The win improved Warsaw to 13-6, as the Tigers won for the eighth time in their last nine games. Kokomo lost for the third straight game and sits at 13-6 on the season as well.

While Kokomo looked more like a one-man show with senior guard Matt Bell, Warsaw used a balanced attack in the thrilling victory.

Moore, Fussle and DeGeeter all scored 14, while Griggs added 10. Michael Wienhorst and Todd Braddock rounded out the Warsaw scoring with six and two points, respectively.

The 6-2 Bell, whom many believe is a sure-bet for the Indiana All-Star team, scored 20 points in the first half and finished with a game-high 31.

"Bell got loose in the first half, but we did a little better job on him in the second half," Ogle said. "We went to the 1-2-2 zone and that had them bamboozled a little bit. Moore, DeGeeter, Fussle and Griggs really stepped up offensively tonight. It's been a tough couple days with my dad's stroke, but I really appreciate how the players kept battling."

After a five-game road stretch, Warsaw now returns to the Tiger Den for senior night Friday against Carroll, then hosts next week's sectional.

To go with Bell's 31, Huntsman scored 10 for Kokomo, while Darrin Smith and Deshawn Hawkins added four each, Filip Belocia and Adam Martin three each, and Jacob Guest and Stacey Pollard two each.

WARSAW 60, KOKOMO 59

Warsaw (13-6) 15 13 16 16 - 60

Kokomo (13-6) 20 17 11 11 - 59

Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.

* Griggs 4-8 1-2 5 0 10

* Moore 4-8 5-6 3 3 14

* Braddock 1-4 0-0 2 1 2

* Fussle 5-9 4-5 8 1 14

* DeGeeter 6-13 2-2 4 0 14

Schultz 0-0 0-0 1 0 0

Wienhorst 2-3 0-0 3 1 6

Knepper 0-2 0-0 3 0 0

Totals 22-47 12-15 29 6 60

Kokomo FG FT R S Pts.

* Adams 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

* Bell 11-21 7-9 3 2 31

* Hawkins 1-5 2-4 3 1 4

* Guest 1-3 0-0 3 0 2

* Martin 1-3 0-0 4 1 3

Pollard 1-1 0-1 1 1 2

Story 0-5 0-0 0 0 0

Belocia 1-3 0-0 2 1 3

Huntsman 5-5 0-0 7 2 10

Smith 2-2 0-0 1 0 4

Totals 23-48 9-14 24 8 59

Three-point goals - Warsaw 4-12 (Wienhorst 2-2, Moore 1-5, Griggs 1-3, DeGeeter 0-2), Kokomo 4-10 (Bell 2-5, Belocia 1-2, Martin 1-1, Story 0-1, Hawkins 0-1). Fouls - Warsaw 11, Kokomo 16. Fouled out - none.

JV - Kokomo 53, Warsaw 46 [[In-content Ad]]