DUNLAP - Make no mistake about it, this is an important weekend for Warsaw's boys basketball team.

Warsaw coach Al Rhodes made that known earlier this week when he challenged his players to "decide which way we are going to head." This statement came after Warsaw lost back-to-back games for the first time since 1995, 76-74 to Gary Wallace and 60-57 to NorthWood.

The way, his players decided Friday, was up.

The Tigers beat Concord 67-60. Warsaw improved to 8-4 and 3-2 in the Northern Lakes Conference, while Concord dipped to 4-7 and 0-4 in the NLC.

Yep, this win was important.

"Extremely important," Rhodes said. "We've not really played bad basketball, but we lost two close games. With high school players, that sometimes shakes your confidence. It was nice to see Luke Reed and Andy Plank step forward. Luke with 14 points and eight rebounds, Andy with 22 points."

Rhodes liked this game for two reasons. One, the Tigers avoided a three-game skid. Two was for the number he jabbed his finger at on his stat sheet, 1.24.

Warsaw missed only three field goal attempts the second half, hitting 12 of 15. But the mathematician in Rhodes emerged after this game, and what he liked was 1.24. Tiger fans know Rhodes talks points per possession. Well, the Tigers averaged 1.24 points per possession in the second half, which is good considering the are averaging .90. Rhodes said 1.24 is the best clip his team has played at any time this season.

The Tigers needed that good shooting the second half, because when the first half ended, they led only 31-29.

Concord played a 1-1-3 zone throughout the first half and kept it to start the second half. It is a defense designed to shut down the inside game - four players are in the lane - and force the opposing team to beat you by hitting outside shots.

The difference was, Warsaw - namely Andy Plank -Êstarted making outside shots every trip down the floor the second half. Plank hit two three-pointers and scored Warsaw's first eight points of the third quarter.

Plank's baskets from outside opened up the inside. With the game tied at 41-41 with 3:02 left in the third quarter, Warsaw went on a 10-0 run to take a 51-41 lead early in the fourth.

Concord's 1-1-3 zone, which worked well for 2-1/2 quarters, lost its effectiveness. Once behind, the Minutemen played man-to-man.

"We played as well as Warsaw did," Concord coach Ron Dietz said. "There was one little lapse at the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth where they made a little run. It was like (10) points in a row.

"They run a lot of nice sets, and you try not to let Al control the game with his sets. That's why we played our little matchup. That was the difference. That little run there, where they hit their shots, pulled us out of our defense."

Six-foot-five Warsaw sophomore Zach Nelson, who played limited minutes because of foul trouble, scored five of the 10 points. He arguably made the biggest play in the game, a three-point play where he scored two, drew a foul and hit a free throw in the middle of Warsaw's 10-0 run.

Nelson's five points during the 10-point outburst were his only points in the game.

"Once we had the lead, that forced their hand to come out man for man," Rhodes said. "Then we were really able to get the ball inside to Reed and (Chris) Hill.

"We also had big plays by Nelson and (Steve) Siebenmorgen. When Nelson came back in, he had a big play where he got fouled."

Warsaw is at South Bend Adams this evening.

"It's a relief, kind of, but the row we have to hoe ahead ... at Adams, Marion, Plymouth, North Central," Rhodes said. "We'll have to play a lot better than we did tonight to have a chance in those games.

"We're 8-4 ... good things are ahead for this team." [[In-content Ad]]