Tigers On Short End Of Giants
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
MARION - Though not a new mascot, it was certainly fitting Saturday evening that Marion's mascot was the Giants.
In a matchup of storied high school boys basketball programs, Marion was certainly a giant against the visting Warsaw Tigers, who were playing their 2,000th career game.
The Giants were bigger, taller, passed and shot the ball better and came away with a convincing 70-47 win at Bill Green Arena, a gymnasim decorated with seven state championship banners, as well as eight others that denote Marion being a state finalist.
The Tigers scored the first two points of the game, a field goal five seconds in by senior guard Michael Wienhorst, but after Tiger senior Andrew Holladay gave Warsaw a 7-6 lead, Marion responded with an 11-0 first-quarter run and led by nine going into the second quarter and 14, 37-23, at halftime.
If ever there was a 9-7 team that had a deceiving record, it was Marion Saturday night.
Of Marion's seven losses, four came to teams that have a record of 13-3 or better. None of their losses have come to teams with losing records.
"Their schedule is brutal," said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle of the Giants, who are now 10-7, while the Tigers fell to 9-6. "They're a very talented team. That's a top-five team next year. They were ready to go tonight. They were fresh and energetic and shot the ball well."
Ogle didn't say that having played Friday night while Marion was off was a big factor in Saturday's outcome, but did say, "It certainly didn't help us. We played last night and they didn't."
What hurt the Tigers was the ability of Marion's big men to pass the ball and finish plays.
The Giants' starting frontline of 6-foot-7 junior Billy Pettiford and 6-6 junior T.J. Jones combined for 32 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. Together they shot 11 of 14 from the field.
"Pettiford and Jones are very good passers," said Ogle, whose Tigers did shoot nearly 50 percent from the floor but were never really in contention in the second half, other than a stint in the third quarter when Wienhorst tried to put the team on his back, bringing Warsaw within six, 41-35. "When we tried to trap them, they just passed over us. They found people around the basket. Their height makes them difficult to defend."
After the Tigers cut the lead to six, Marion closed the third quarter with a 13-1 run.
Warsaw, which shot 16 of 36 (44.4 percent) never got closer than 17 in the fourth quarter.
"I was happy with the way we started the second half," said Ogle. "After that, things just didn't go very good for us. Offensively, we struggled. We had too many turnovers in the first half. That's what got us in the hole in the first place."
The Tigers turned the ball over 19 times in the game, leading to 24 Marion points. The Giants turned the ball over 13 times, leading to just nine points for Warsaw.
Junior Colin Clemens, who at 6-4 is the tallest player on Warsaw's roster, led the Tigers in scoring with 16 points, while Wienhorst added 14 points. Nelson Conley and Mitch Reinholt scored four points each, while Shaun Cabrera scored three.
The Giants, who out-rebounded the Tigers 25-15, got a game-high 22 points from Derrick Freshwater. Pettiford and Jones scored 16 each for Marion, which will pay a visit to Al Rhodes and the Logansport Berries Thursday.
Warsaw is in action again Thursday at Northern Lakes Conference rival Plymouth, which boasts the state's leading scorer in senior sharp shooter Kyle Benge.
MARION 70, WARSAW 47
Warsaw 14 9 14 10 - 47
Marion 23 14 17 16 - 70
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Cabrera 1-3 0-0 3 1 3
* Holladay 3-5 0-0 3 1 6
* Maierle 0-3 0-0 0 0 0
* W'horst 6-12 2-3 3 2 14
* Clemens 5-9 4-4 1 0 16
Kleinhans 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Junker 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Conley 1-2 1-2 1 1 4
Fuller 0-1 0-0 2 0 0
Reinholt 0-1 4-4 0 0 4
Wood 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Truman 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Team 0-0 0-0 2 0 0
Totals 16-36 11-13 15 5 47
Marion FG FT R S Pts.
* Mays 2-5 0-0 3 2 4
* Jc. Bragg 2-5 0-0 1 3 6
*Frshwtr 9-12 4-5 6 1 22
* Pettiford 7-9 2-3 4 3 16
* T. Jones 4-5 8-11 9 0 16
Williams 0-1 0-0 0 1 0
E. Jones 0-1 0-0 1 2 0
Igwe 1-2 0-0 0 0 3
Jr. Bragg 1-1 0-0 0 0 3
Team 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Totals 26-41 14-19 25 12 70
Three-point goals - Warsaw 4-14 (Clemens 2-4, Cabrera 1-3, Conley 1-2, Wienhorst 0-4, Holladay 0-1), Marion 4-12 (Jc. Bragg 2-4, Igwe 1-2, Jr. Bragg 1-1, Mays 0-2, E. Jones 0-1, Freshwater 0-1, Pettiford 0-1). Turnovers - Warsaw 19, Marion 13. Fouls - Warsaw 15, Marion 14. Fouled out - none.
JV - Marion 39, NorthWood 31
Warsaw scoring - Steve Lemasters 13, Chas Simpson 7, Ben Truman 5, Scott Harman 4, Eric Blanton 2 [[In-content Ad]]
MARION - Though not a new mascot, it was certainly fitting Saturday evening that Marion's mascot was the Giants.
In a matchup of storied high school boys basketball programs, Marion was certainly a giant against the visting Warsaw Tigers, who were playing their 2,000th career game.
The Giants were bigger, taller, passed and shot the ball better and came away with a convincing 70-47 win at Bill Green Arena, a gymnasim decorated with seven state championship banners, as well as eight others that denote Marion being a state finalist.
The Tigers scored the first two points of the game, a field goal five seconds in by senior guard Michael Wienhorst, but after Tiger senior Andrew Holladay gave Warsaw a 7-6 lead, Marion responded with an 11-0 first-quarter run and led by nine going into the second quarter and 14, 37-23, at halftime.
If ever there was a 9-7 team that had a deceiving record, it was Marion Saturday night.
Of Marion's seven losses, four came to teams that have a record of 13-3 or better. None of their losses have come to teams with losing records.
"Their schedule is brutal," said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle of the Giants, who are now 10-7, while the Tigers fell to 9-6. "They're a very talented team. That's a top-five team next year. They were ready to go tonight. They were fresh and energetic and shot the ball well."
Ogle didn't say that having played Friday night while Marion was off was a big factor in Saturday's outcome, but did say, "It certainly didn't help us. We played last night and they didn't."
What hurt the Tigers was the ability of Marion's big men to pass the ball and finish plays.
The Giants' starting frontline of 6-foot-7 junior Billy Pettiford and 6-6 junior T.J. Jones combined for 32 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. Together they shot 11 of 14 from the field.
"Pettiford and Jones are very good passers," said Ogle, whose Tigers did shoot nearly 50 percent from the floor but were never really in contention in the second half, other than a stint in the third quarter when Wienhorst tried to put the team on his back, bringing Warsaw within six, 41-35. "When we tried to trap them, they just passed over us. They found people around the basket. Their height makes them difficult to defend."
After the Tigers cut the lead to six, Marion closed the third quarter with a 13-1 run.
Warsaw, which shot 16 of 36 (44.4 percent) never got closer than 17 in the fourth quarter.
"I was happy with the way we started the second half," said Ogle. "After that, things just didn't go very good for us. Offensively, we struggled. We had too many turnovers in the first half. That's what got us in the hole in the first place."
The Tigers turned the ball over 19 times in the game, leading to 24 Marion points. The Giants turned the ball over 13 times, leading to just nine points for Warsaw.
Junior Colin Clemens, who at 6-4 is the tallest player on Warsaw's roster, led the Tigers in scoring with 16 points, while Wienhorst added 14 points. Nelson Conley and Mitch Reinholt scored four points each, while Shaun Cabrera scored three.
The Giants, who out-rebounded the Tigers 25-15, got a game-high 22 points from Derrick Freshwater. Pettiford and Jones scored 16 each for Marion, which will pay a visit to Al Rhodes and the Logansport Berries Thursday.
Warsaw is in action again Thursday at Northern Lakes Conference rival Plymouth, which boasts the state's leading scorer in senior sharp shooter Kyle Benge.
MARION 70, WARSAW 47
Warsaw 14 9 14 10 - 47
Marion 23 14 17 16 - 70
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Cabrera 1-3 0-0 3 1 3
* Holladay 3-5 0-0 3 1 6
* Maierle 0-3 0-0 0 0 0
* W'horst 6-12 2-3 3 2 14
* Clemens 5-9 4-4 1 0 16
Kleinhans 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Junker 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Conley 1-2 1-2 1 1 4
Fuller 0-1 0-0 2 0 0
Reinholt 0-1 4-4 0 0 4
Wood 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Truman 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Team 0-0 0-0 2 0 0
Totals 16-36 11-13 15 5 47
Marion FG FT R S Pts.
* Mays 2-5 0-0 3 2 4
* Jc. Bragg 2-5 0-0 1 3 6
*Frshwtr 9-12 4-5 6 1 22
* Pettiford 7-9 2-3 4 3 16
* T. Jones 4-5 8-11 9 0 16
Williams 0-1 0-0 0 1 0
E. Jones 0-1 0-0 1 2 0
Igwe 1-2 0-0 0 0 3
Jr. Bragg 1-1 0-0 0 0 3
Team 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Totals 26-41 14-19 25 12 70
Three-point goals - Warsaw 4-14 (Clemens 2-4, Cabrera 1-3, Conley 1-2, Wienhorst 0-4, Holladay 0-1), Marion 4-12 (Jc. Bragg 2-4, Igwe 1-2, Jr. Bragg 1-1, Mays 0-2, E. Jones 0-1, Freshwater 0-1, Pettiford 0-1). Turnovers - Warsaw 19, Marion 13. Fouls - Warsaw 15, Marion 14. Fouled out - none.
JV - Marion 39, NorthWood 31
Warsaw scoring - Steve Lemasters 13, Chas Simpson 7, Ben Truman 5, Scott Harman 4, Eric Blanton 2 [[In-content Ad]]