Tigers Pierce Archers, Win Regional
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
FORT WAYNE - In the end, all the talk of moving the Fort Wayne South Side 4A Regional to a bigger gym in Fort Wayne was just that, talk.
The reason for the talk, a gym that some from Warsaw felt that at 2,100 capacity was too small for a 4A regional, still had empty seats. And Warsaw, making the road trip, marched into Fort Wayne South Side and upset the No. 10 Archers 45-44 in their house in Tuesday's boys basketball regional. The Tigers beat a South Side team that played eight players, all seniors.
The Archers end the season 20-4, while 19-4 Warsaw survives and advances. The Tigers play No. 4 Merrillville (21-2) in Saturday's Lafayette Semistate. Merrillville moved on with a 73-56 Tuesday win over Munster (18-5) in the Merrillville 4A Regional.
Warsaw's players did not dump Gatorade or water on coach Al Rhodes after this regional win, but it looked like they could have. In a loud gym where the stands hug the floor, Rhodes prowled the sidelines and matched his players step for step - so much so, his assistant coaches often had to reel him in - and had the sweat dripping down his face and hair plastered to his forehead to prove it.
He, like his players, worked for this one. And how sweet the taste of victory was.
"I've been coaching these guys since they were 10 years old and in AAU," he said. "They got tougher as the season went on. The injuries we had earlier were a blessing in disguise, because they really helped develop our bench players."
The injuries Rhodes refers to were Steve Siebenmorgen's concussion, Ross Kesler's back and Chris Wiggins' ankle. All three are senior starters, and when the regular season had ended, Warsaw's starting five had started together in nine of 20 games.
Now the Tigers are healthy, and they are showing what they can do.
They can carry out gameplans to near perfection.
Senior Zach Nelson, Siebenmorgen and Wiggins scored 11 each to lead Warsaw. Sophomore point guard Brad Seiss added six points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and Kesler had six points and four rebounds.
Six-foot-5 center Brandon McLemore scored 10 to lead the Archers. Jason Barnes, the Archers' top scorer at 13 points per game, settled for nine on 3-of-11 shooting.
Rhodes saw three keys to the game: controlling the boards, handling the pressure by South Side point guard Kenny Tolbert and dictating the tempo.
Warsaw played well in each phase.
South Side thrived on grabbing offensive rebounds for putbacks, and Rhodes estimated the Archers scored 60 percent of their points this way in their sectional championship win. The Archers outrebounded opponents by more than 10 rebounds per game this season, and they averaged 11 offensive rebounds per game.
Warsaw outrebounded South Side 28-18 and allowed the Archers six offensive rebounds.
"We knew the key to beating this team," Siebenmorgen said, "was to rebound well."
"I thought we were big, but those two (6'6' Nelson, 6'6' Siebenmorgen) are horses inside," South Side coach Gregg Taylor said. "They have a lot of beef to shove around, and they can shoot. They were very physical with us. Brandon is not husky, and he was getting knocked around inside."
Tolbert is an aggressive defensive dynamo, but when the game ended, he had three points and three steals, while Seiss turned in arguably his best game of the year with his team-leading nine rebounds and eight assists.
"(Rhodes) said our post men would have to concentrate on keeping their guys off the boards, so our guards would have to rebound," Seiss said. "I guess I was in the right place at the right time for some rebounds.
"He said (Tolbert) would be one of the best point guards we had seen this year. A lot of it was him versus me, and I treated it as a challenge."
And the tempo? Fast-breaks were few and far between for South Side, and when the Tigers got the Archers into half-court sets, their suffocating half-court defense - sometimes zone, sometimes man-to-man -Êthat carried them through the sectional again stood tall.
"We usually score around 70," Taylor said. "Look where we were tonight."
Said Rhodes: "They could not get the ball down to Barnes and to their post men. Zach and Steve probably ran faster down the court than they ever have. We made South Side earn the vast majority of their points."
The Archers, who entered the game shooting 50 percent from the field, hit just 40 percent (17 of 43) against Warsaw. The lane was shut down, preventing any dribble penetration by the Archers.
"We had too much one on one, instead of ball reversal and setting screens," Taylor said. "Warsaw denies the passing lanes really well, and they help well on the weak side, so when somebody goes to penetrate, they always have somebody there to stop them."
South Side's defense is based on denying the ball, and Warsaw found a few openings with backdoor plays. The Tigers finished 17 of 36 from the field, and 13 of the 17 makes came under the basket.
"Our defense got burned a few times," Taylor said. "We're so intense at denying the ball, the guy goes backdoor on us, and they score. That's how we played all year, with hard denial. It caught up with us."
The Tigers, while winning by one, entered the fourth quarter with a 34-30 lead and never allowed South Side to go in front in the final eight minutes.
Holding a 43-42 lead, Warsaw claimed a 45-42 lead when Nelson rebounded Wiggins' missed shot and scored with 46 seconds left. Barnes cut the lead to 45-44 with a basket with 24 seconds left.
With 17 seconds left, South Side fouled Seiss, Warsaw's worst free throw shooter (59 percent) among its starters. Seiss missed the front end of the one-and-one, and McLemore grabbed the rebound. Barnes missed a shot with 2.8 seconds left, and the rebound went off the Archers and out of bounds, giving Warsaw the ball.
South Side fouled Nelson before any time ticked off the clock. He missed the front end of his one-and-one. The Archers rebounded the basketball, but their half-court desperation toss missed, sending the Tigers on to semistate.
The Archers shot just 60 percent from the foul line this season, and their free-throw shooting didn't help them again. They hit 9 of 17, 53 percent, against Warsaw. The Tigers didn't fare much better, hitting 7 of 12, 58 percent.
The Tigers made the bus trip.
They made the bus trip to South Side's gym.
And they won.
"You have to hand it to them," Taylor said. "They made the bus trip to a floor they never played on and won the game."
WARSAW 45
No. 10 FW SOUTH 44
Warsaw (19-4) 9 9 16 11 - 45
FW South (20-4) 5 14 11 14 - 44
Warsaw FG FT A S R Pts.
Siebenmorgen (F) 4-9 2-2 0 0 6 11
Nelson (C) 5-6 1-3 0 1 5 11
Wiggins (G) 4-7 0-0 0 1 1 11
B. Seiss (G) 2-4 2-3 8 1 9 6
Kesler (G) 2-5 2-3 2 1 4 6
Henthorn 0-5 0-0 0 1 2 0
Buck 0-0 0-1 1 2 1 0
Rhodes 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Martin 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Finnegan 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
G. Seiss 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 17-36 7-12 11 7 28 45
FW South FG FT A S R Pts.
McLemore (C) 4-7 2-2 3 2 6 10
Barnes (G) 3-11 3-4 0 1 1 9
Phillips (F) 3-10 0-3 1 3 5 6
McDavid (F) 2-4 2-4 1 0 2 6
Tolbert (G) 1-3 1-2 0 3 1 3
Smith 2-3 0-0 0 0 0 5
Waller 2-3 0-0 0 1 2 4
Taylor 0-2 1-2 0 0 1 1
Totals 17-43 9-17 5 10 18 44
Three-point goals - Warsaw 4-9 (Wiggins 3-5, Siebenmorgen 1-1, Henthorn 0-2, B. Seiss 0-1), FW South 1-7 (Smith 1-2, Taylor 0-1, Barnes 0-2, Phillips 0-2). Turnovers - Warsaw 15, FW South 8. Fouled out -ÊNone. Total fouls -ÊWarsaw 17, FW South 19. [[In-content Ad]]
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FORT WAYNE - In the end, all the talk of moving the Fort Wayne South Side 4A Regional to a bigger gym in Fort Wayne was just that, talk.
The reason for the talk, a gym that some from Warsaw felt that at 2,100 capacity was too small for a 4A regional, still had empty seats. And Warsaw, making the road trip, marched into Fort Wayne South Side and upset the No. 10 Archers 45-44 in their house in Tuesday's boys basketball regional. The Tigers beat a South Side team that played eight players, all seniors.
The Archers end the season 20-4, while 19-4 Warsaw survives and advances. The Tigers play No. 4 Merrillville (21-2) in Saturday's Lafayette Semistate. Merrillville moved on with a 73-56 Tuesday win over Munster (18-5) in the Merrillville 4A Regional.
Warsaw's players did not dump Gatorade or water on coach Al Rhodes after this regional win, but it looked like they could have. In a loud gym where the stands hug the floor, Rhodes prowled the sidelines and matched his players step for step - so much so, his assistant coaches often had to reel him in - and had the sweat dripping down his face and hair plastered to his forehead to prove it.
He, like his players, worked for this one. And how sweet the taste of victory was.
"I've been coaching these guys since they were 10 years old and in AAU," he said. "They got tougher as the season went on. The injuries we had earlier were a blessing in disguise, because they really helped develop our bench players."
The injuries Rhodes refers to were Steve Siebenmorgen's concussion, Ross Kesler's back and Chris Wiggins' ankle. All three are senior starters, and when the regular season had ended, Warsaw's starting five had started together in nine of 20 games.
Now the Tigers are healthy, and they are showing what they can do.
They can carry out gameplans to near perfection.
Senior Zach Nelson, Siebenmorgen and Wiggins scored 11 each to lead Warsaw. Sophomore point guard Brad Seiss added six points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and Kesler had six points and four rebounds.
Six-foot-5 center Brandon McLemore scored 10 to lead the Archers. Jason Barnes, the Archers' top scorer at 13 points per game, settled for nine on 3-of-11 shooting.
Rhodes saw three keys to the game: controlling the boards, handling the pressure by South Side point guard Kenny Tolbert and dictating the tempo.
Warsaw played well in each phase.
South Side thrived on grabbing offensive rebounds for putbacks, and Rhodes estimated the Archers scored 60 percent of their points this way in their sectional championship win. The Archers outrebounded opponents by more than 10 rebounds per game this season, and they averaged 11 offensive rebounds per game.
Warsaw outrebounded South Side 28-18 and allowed the Archers six offensive rebounds.
"We knew the key to beating this team," Siebenmorgen said, "was to rebound well."
"I thought we were big, but those two (6'6' Nelson, 6'6' Siebenmorgen) are horses inside," South Side coach Gregg Taylor said. "They have a lot of beef to shove around, and they can shoot. They were very physical with us. Brandon is not husky, and he was getting knocked around inside."
Tolbert is an aggressive defensive dynamo, but when the game ended, he had three points and three steals, while Seiss turned in arguably his best game of the year with his team-leading nine rebounds and eight assists.
"(Rhodes) said our post men would have to concentrate on keeping their guys off the boards, so our guards would have to rebound," Seiss said. "I guess I was in the right place at the right time for some rebounds.
"He said (Tolbert) would be one of the best point guards we had seen this year. A lot of it was him versus me, and I treated it as a challenge."
And the tempo? Fast-breaks were few and far between for South Side, and when the Tigers got the Archers into half-court sets, their suffocating half-court defense - sometimes zone, sometimes man-to-man -Êthat carried them through the sectional again stood tall.
"We usually score around 70," Taylor said. "Look where we were tonight."
Said Rhodes: "They could not get the ball down to Barnes and to their post men. Zach and Steve probably ran faster down the court than they ever have. We made South Side earn the vast majority of their points."
The Archers, who entered the game shooting 50 percent from the field, hit just 40 percent (17 of 43) against Warsaw. The lane was shut down, preventing any dribble penetration by the Archers.
"We had too much one on one, instead of ball reversal and setting screens," Taylor said. "Warsaw denies the passing lanes really well, and they help well on the weak side, so when somebody goes to penetrate, they always have somebody there to stop them."
South Side's defense is based on denying the ball, and Warsaw found a few openings with backdoor plays. The Tigers finished 17 of 36 from the field, and 13 of the 17 makes came under the basket.
"Our defense got burned a few times," Taylor said. "We're so intense at denying the ball, the guy goes backdoor on us, and they score. That's how we played all year, with hard denial. It caught up with us."
The Tigers, while winning by one, entered the fourth quarter with a 34-30 lead and never allowed South Side to go in front in the final eight minutes.
Holding a 43-42 lead, Warsaw claimed a 45-42 lead when Nelson rebounded Wiggins' missed shot and scored with 46 seconds left. Barnes cut the lead to 45-44 with a basket with 24 seconds left.
With 17 seconds left, South Side fouled Seiss, Warsaw's worst free throw shooter (59 percent) among its starters. Seiss missed the front end of the one-and-one, and McLemore grabbed the rebound. Barnes missed a shot with 2.8 seconds left, and the rebound went off the Archers and out of bounds, giving Warsaw the ball.
South Side fouled Nelson before any time ticked off the clock. He missed the front end of his one-and-one. The Archers rebounded the basketball, but their half-court desperation toss missed, sending the Tigers on to semistate.
The Archers shot just 60 percent from the foul line this season, and their free-throw shooting didn't help them again. They hit 9 of 17, 53 percent, against Warsaw. The Tigers didn't fare much better, hitting 7 of 12, 58 percent.
The Tigers made the bus trip.
They made the bus trip to South Side's gym.
And they won.
"You have to hand it to them," Taylor said. "They made the bus trip to a floor they never played on and won the game."
WARSAW 45
No. 10 FW SOUTH 44
Warsaw (19-4) 9 9 16 11 - 45
FW South (20-4) 5 14 11 14 - 44
Warsaw FG FT A S R Pts.
Siebenmorgen (F) 4-9 2-2 0 0 6 11
Nelson (C) 5-6 1-3 0 1 5 11
Wiggins (G) 4-7 0-0 0 1 1 11
B. Seiss (G) 2-4 2-3 8 1 9 6
Kesler (G) 2-5 2-3 2 1 4 6
Henthorn 0-5 0-0 0 1 2 0
Buck 0-0 0-1 1 2 1 0
Rhodes 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Martin 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Finnegan 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
G. Seiss 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 17-36 7-12 11 7 28 45
FW South FG FT A S R Pts.
McLemore (C) 4-7 2-2 3 2 6 10
Barnes (G) 3-11 3-4 0 1 1 9
Phillips (F) 3-10 0-3 1 3 5 6
McDavid (F) 2-4 2-4 1 0 2 6
Tolbert (G) 1-3 1-2 0 3 1 3
Smith 2-3 0-0 0 0 0 5
Waller 2-3 0-0 0 1 2 4
Taylor 0-2 1-2 0 0 1 1
Totals 17-43 9-17 5 10 18 44
Three-point goals - Warsaw 4-9 (Wiggins 3-5, Siebenmorgen 1-1, Henthorn 0-2, B. Seiss 0-1), FW South 1-7 (Smith 1-2, Taylor 0-1, Barnes 0-2, Phillips 0-2). Turnovers - Warsaw 15, FW South 8. Fouled out -ÊNone. Total fouls -ÊWarsaw 17, FW South 19. [[In-content Ad]]