Tigers Brace Underdog Role
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
The sixth-year coach said he doesn't mind.
"We don't have any seniors, we have the worst record of the teams there," said Ogle, whose team takes a 14-8 mark into its 11 a.m. semifinal (Warsaw time) game with South Bend Riley (20-5). We're definitely the underdog, but I think we've played our best basketball when we were in an underdog type of situation."[[In-content Ad]]The Tigers, a team with a freshman, a sophomore and three juniors in the starting lineup, won the program's second sectional championship in the past three years Saturday when junior Ryne Robionson hit a shot in the lane with two seconds left, lifting Warsaw to a 57-56 win over host Elkhart Central at North Side Gym.
If the Tigers beat South Bend Riley, a team with four seniors in the starting lineup and two more on the bench, they will play either Crown Point (17-6) or No. 6 East Chicago Central (19-3), the defending Class 4A state champion, in Saturday's 8:30 p.m. (Warsaw time) regional championship game.
"Once we got our confidence back, we started rolling with it," said Ogle. "We have confidence right now, and we're playing pretty well."
Warsaw enters regional play on a four-game win streak, closing out the regular season with impressive wins over Class 3A No. 9 Plymouth and Carroll.
The Tigers then beat Elkhart Memorial 74-53 in Friday's sectional semifinal game, avenging a 14-point loss on Feb. 4.
"When we're looked at as the underdog, when we're not expected to win, we play pretty well," said Ogle. "We beat Marion, and that game got us some of our confidence back. Then we almost beat Fort Wayne Luers. And then we finish up the regular season with wins over Plymouth and Carroll. We're playing well right now. We're playing with confidence. We have the worst record of the four teams in the regional, so people aren't going to be talking about us. We're the underdog, but I don't mind that with this group."
The last time a Warsaw boys basketball team played in the regional, the Tigers lost 56-42 to Muncie Central in the morning game of the Marion Regional.
A win over South Bend Riley would put Warsaw in the Elite Eight of Class 4A. A regional championship Saturday would put the Tigers in the semistate for the first time since 2000.
"We have some skilled players," said Ogle. "You look at guys like Nic Moore and Ryne Robinson, they're tough matchups for the other team."
They certainly were in the sectional, where Moore, a freshman, scored 29 points against Elkhart Memorial in his first career postseason game.
The following night, Moore scored 15 points in the first half against Elkhart Central, but Robinson took over and scored 22 points in the second half, including the game-winner in the final seconds, on his way to a game-high 28.
Through 22 games, leads the Tigers in scoring at 16.8 points per game. He also pulls down 4.5 rebounds and dishes out 4.4 assists per game.
Robinson is second in scoring at 16.1 points per contest and averages 4.4 boards per game.
Sophomores Andy Conrad and Justin Clemens average 7.6 and 7.5 points per game, respectively, while junior Taylor Long averages 5.2 points per contest.
Warsaw and South Bend Riley haven't squared off in a boys basketball game since an 83-60 win by the Tigers on Dec. 22, 1995.
What concerns Ogle with this year's Riley team, which has won 10 of its last 12 games, is the Wildcats' length and athleticsm.
"They have a lot of length," said Ogle. "They're quite a bit bigger than we are."
Riley's starting five includes 5-9 senior Justin Breveard, 6-0 senior Lee Ross, 6-6 senior Taulor Williams, 6-3 senior Zachary Cook and 6-2 junior Larry King.
King is the nephew of Jimmy King, a member of the Fab 5 at the University of Michigan with Jalen Rose, Chris Webber, Juwan Howard and Ray Jackson.
Ogle described King as an "eye-popping athlete" and said Breveard, the Wildcats' point guard, is the "straw that stirs the drink."
Off the bench, Riley gets key contributions from 6-8 junior Cody Henson.
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The sixth-year coach said he doesn't mind.
"We don't have any seniors, we have the worst record of the teams there," said Ogle, whose team takes a 14-8 mark into its 11 a.m. semifinal (Warsaw time) game with South Bend Riley (20-5). We're definitely the underdog, but I think we've played our best basketball when we were in an underdog type of situation."[[In-content Ad]]The Tigers, a team with a freshman, a sophomore and three juniors in the starting lineup, won the program's second sectional championship in the past three years Saturday when junior Ryne Robionson hit a shot in the lane with two seconds left, lifting Warsaw to a 57-56 win over host Elkhart Central at North Side Gym.
If the Tigers beat South Bend Riley, a team with four seniors in the starting lineup and two more on the bench, they will play either Crown Point (17-6) or No. 6 East Chicago Central (19-3), the defending Class 4A state champion, in Saturday's 8:30 p.m. (Warsaw time) regional championship game.
"Once we got our confidence back, we started rolling with it," said Ogle. "We have confidence right now, and we're playing pretty well."
Warsaw enters regional play on a four-game win streak, closing out the regular season with impressive wins over Class 3A No. 9 Plymouth and Carroll.
The Tigers then beat Elkhart Memorial 74-53 in Friday's sectional semifinal game, avenging a 14-point loss on Feb. 4.
"When we're looked at as the underdog, when we're not expected to win, we play pretty well," said Ogle. "We beat Marion, and that game got us some of our confidence back. Then we almost beat Fort Wayne Luers. And then we finish up the regular season with wins over Plymouth and Carroll. We're playing well right now. We're playing with confidence. We have the worst record of the four teams in the regional, so people aren't going to be talking about us. We're the underdog, but I don't mind that with this group."
The last time a Warsaw boys basketball team played in the regional, the Tigers lost 56-42 to Muncie Central in the morning game of the Marion Regional.
A win over South Bend Riley would put Warsaw in the Elite Eight of Class 4A. A regional championship Saturday would put the Tigers in the semistate for the first time since 2000.
"We have some skilled players," said Ogle. "You look at guys like Nic Moore and Ryne Robinson, they're tough matchups for the other team."
They certainly were in the sectional, where Moore, a freshman, scored 29 points against Elkhart Memorial in his first career postseason game.
The following night, Moore scored 15 points in the first half against Elkhart Central, but Robinson took over and scored 22 points in the second half, including the game-winner in the final seconds, on his way to a game-high 28.
Through 22 games, leads the Tigers in scoring at 16.8 points per game. He also pulls down 4.5 rebounds and dishes out 4.4 assists per game.
Robinson is second in scoring at 16.1 points per contest and averages 4.4 boards per game.
Sophomores Andy Conrad and Justin Clemens average 7.6 and 7.5 points per game, respectively, while junior Taylor Long averages 5.2 points per contest.
Warsaw and South Bend Riley haven't squared off in a boys basketball game since an 83-60 win by the Tigers on Dec. 22, 1995.
What concerns Ogle with this year's Riley team, which has won 10 of its last 12 games, is the Wildcats' length and athleticsm.
"They have a lot of length," said Ogle. "They're quite a bit bigger than we are."
Riley's starting five includes 5-9 senior Justin Breveard, 6-0 senior Lee Ross, 6-6 senior Taulor Williams, 6-3 senior Zachary Cook and 6-2 junior Larry King.
King is the nephew of Jimmy King, a member of the Fab 5 at the University of Michigan with Jalen Rose, Chris Webber, Juwan Howard and Ray Jackson.
Ogle described King as an "eye-popping athlete" and said Breveard, the Wildcats' point guard, is the "straw that stirs the drink."
Off the bench, Riley gets key contributions from 6-8 junior Cody Henson.
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