Tigers Split Games At H.O.F. Classic
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
After committing a costly turnover in the latter stages of a 65-62 loss to Class 4A No. 2 Bloomington South, Moore came back to hit the game-winner for his Class 4A No. 3 Warsaw boys basketball team in a 46-44 conquest over Class 3A No. 3 Washington.[[In-content Ad]]"Nic Moore was very good today," Warsaw coach Doug Ogle said. "He was extra special. The way that game ended was kind of a fitting way for this day to end for him."
Having already signed with Illinois State, Moore entered the tournament at Chrysler Fieldhouse as one of six committed Division I players, including Bloomington South's Darwin Davis Jr. (Xavier) and Spencer Turner (Belmont), Center Grove's Andrew Smeathers (Butler) and Johnny Marlin (IPFW) and Washington's Cody Zeller (Indiana). At the end of the day, Moore outshone all of them, scoring 62 points to go with 17 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals and a blocked shot in two games.
"I really needed it for this run at Mr. Basketball," Moore said about his day at the tournament. "I just try to play my game and not try to do too much. Just get the guys pumped up and play as a teammate."
In the consolation game against the Washington Hatchets, Moore scored 28 points on 11-of-29 shooting and was the main storyline, even though 6-foot-11 Mr. Basketball front-runner Cody Zeller was on the floor.
The Indiana University-bound Zeller struggled against Warsaw, scoring just 13 points on 4-of-17 shooting, though he did grab a game-high 15 rebounds.
"We just tried to put a crowd around him - make it difficult for him to turn when he caught it," Ogle said. "We just wanted to have a presence on him. As much as anything, make it look croweded, make the basket-area look like a mucked up mess. The guys did a pretty good job on him."
The tactic worked, as both teams exchange barbs throughout the game, with the much-shorter Tigers having the biggest lead at six (21-15) following a Moore bucket at the 4:11 mark of the second quarter.
The score was knotted seven times, the last being at 44-44 after Washington senior Robert Pittman scored with 2:06 remaining.
Pittman's score was the last until Moore hit a runner with three seconds remaining, helping push the Tigers to the victory.
"We wanted the ball in Nic's hands and we wanted him to make a play," Ogle said about the scheme for the final shot. "It was pretty simple."
It may have been simple in Ogle's mind, but Moore may not have been so confident.
"I didn't think I had enough energy to get it to the rim," he said. "It was a fun game. It feels good to hit that last shot, then hold them the final three seconds."
The win, coupled with a narrow setback to Bloomington South, resulted in an overall good day for Warsaw.
"This proves we're a team that is a legitimate top 10 team," Ogle said.
"We have a lot to work on, but I'm not discouraged about today. We lost to a very good team, then had a short turnaround to play Washington. So, I'm proud of the way our guys competed."
Moore was also pleased with how the day turned out.
"For how short we are, compared to these teams, I think we played really well," he said. "I'm proud of the guys."
SEMIFINAL ROUND
Thursday's second semifinal game featured two top-three teams in Class 4A, and the game lived up to its billing.
Led by Division-I point guards on each side, Xavier-bound Darwin Davis Jr.'s Bloomington South Panthers held on for a 65-62 win over Illinois State-bound Nic Moore's Warsaw Tigers.
"In AAU, we played his team twice out of three games, and we battled back and forth," Moore said about his familiarity with Davis. "I knew it was going to be another fun game like that."
Squaring off against a Panthers team that had won 52-straight regular season games and 70 of its last 71, Warsaw held a four-point lead with three minutes to play, but just couldn't hang on.
"I am extremely disappointed with the outcome, because, I thought we had them a couple of times there in the fourth quarter," Ogle said. "Our ball handling, when we were trying to do too much, rushing, not taking our time got us."
Warsaw turned the ball over 14 times to Bloomington South's two, which, in the end, was the stat of the game.
"You just have to be more patient in certain situations, when you have control of the game," Ogle said. "I think there's a good chance this can make us a better team."
The last turnover of the game proved to be the nail in the coffin for the Tigers.
Trailing 63-60 with under 20 seconds remaining, Moore drove the ball to the baseline, then kicked it out to the three-point line. The only problem was, no one was there and the ball went rolling to the other end of the court for the turnover.
On the ensuing in-bound play, Bloomington South senior Spencer Turner drew Moore's fifth foul, ending his effort with 34 points, eight rebounds, five assists and a steal.
Turner hit his two free throws, giving his Panthers a 65-60 lead with just 13 seconds remaining.
"We played well enough, offensively, to win the game," Ogle said. "I thought, if we got to 60 points, we'd win the game."
Instead of winning the game, the Tigers came across a Panthers team that didn't shake when its cage was rattled.
"They're very steady, they're very patient - they didn't get rattled," Ogle said. "I give them a lot of credit. They're tough."
The toughest of the Panthers was Davis, who scored 27 points, using his quickness to get to the basket.
"We let Dee Davis get to the basket too much," Ogle said of Davis, who was averaing 22 points coming in. "He is lightning quick, but you have to have a little more awareness off the ball than what we had at times to help the guy guarding him."
Davis may have been tough to defend, but Moore was even tougher for the Panthers to deal with.
Moore reached his 34 points on 12-of-19 shooting, connecting on 3 of 5 three-point attempts.
Moore's importance to the team was illustrated in the short span of time in which he caught a breather in the second quarter, as Warsaw was outscored 7-0 in just over a minute of action.
"The stretch when Nic was out of the game, which wasn't very long, we didn't do well," Ogle said about the one-minute span of time, which saw a 15-9 Warsaw lead turn into a 16-15 deficit
WARSAW 46, WASHINGTON 44
(Consolation)
Wash 15 4 19 6 - 44
War 15 11 14 6 - 46
Warsaw - Nic Moore 11-29 2-4 28, Jordyn Coon 2-6 1-2 7, Rhett Kesler 0-0 0-0 0,
Lucas Grose 3-5 0-0 7, Jalen Roscoe 0-3 0-0 0, Brock Anson 0-0 0-0 0, Jared Bloom 0-2 0-0 0, Jay Holladay 0-1 0-0 0, Clay Anderson 2-5 0-0 4, Travis Thomas 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-52 3-6 46.
Washington - Dylan Ervin 1-3 0-0 2, Kurtis Anthony 4-14 0-0 10, Cody Zeller 4-17 5-5 13, Robert Pittman 4-5 5-5 13, Cullen Arnold 4-7 0-2 11, Adam Lane 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-46 5-7 44.
Three-pointers - Warsaw 7-19 (Moore 4, Coon 2, Grose), Washington 5-16
(Arnold 3, Anthony 2); Team Fouls - Warsaw 10, Washington 11; Turnovers - Warsaw 10, Washington 12; Rebounds - Warsaw 29 (Moore 9), Washington 33 (Zeller 15); Assists - Warsaw 6 (Moore 5), Washington 8 (Ervin 3, Anthony 3); Steals - Warsaw 3, Washington 2; Blocks - Warsaw 1, Washington 3 (Pittman 2); Records: Warsaw 7-1, Washington 7-4
BLOOMINGTON SOUTH 65, WARSAW 62
(Semifinal)
B 19 10 14 22 - 65
W 19 11 15 17 - 62
Bloomington - Darwin Davis Jr. 9-16 7-10 27, Ben Stowell 1-5 2-4 4, Spencer Turner 4-10 4-4 15, Joey Forney II 2-6 1-1 5, Desmond Marks 5-5 3-4 14, Michael Bower 0-0 0-0 0, Trae Washington 0-0 0-0 0, Alex Forney 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-42 17-23 65.
Warsaw - Nic Moore 12-19 7-8 34, Jordyn Coon 2-4 2-2 6, Rhett Kesler 0-0 0-0 0,
Lucas Grose 4-6 4-4 12, Jalen Roscoe 3-3 0-2 6, Joey Sparkman 0-1 0-0 0, Jay Holladay 0-0 0-0 0, Clay Anderson 2-3 0-0 4, Travis Thomas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-36 13-16 62.
Three-point goals - Bloomington 6-18 (Turner 3, Davis 2, Marks), Warsaw 3-7 (Moore 3); Team Fouls (fouled out) - Bloomington 18, Warsaw 18 (Moore); Turnovers - Bloomington 2, Warsaw 14; Rebounds - Bloomington 13 (Marks 5),
Warsaw 21 (Moore 8); Assists - Bloomington 4 (Turner 2), Warsaw 10 (Moore 5); Steals - Bloomington 7 (Marks 4), Warsaw 1; Blocks - Bloomington 1, Warsaw 2
After committing a costly turnover in the latter stages of a 65-62 loss to Class 4A No. 2 Bloomington South, Moore came back to hit the game-winner for his Class 4A No. 3 Warsaw boys basketball team in a 46-44 conquest over Class 3A No. 3 Washington.[[In-content Ad]]"Nic Moore was very good today," Warsaw coach Doug Ogle said. "He was extra special. The way that game ended was kind of a fitting way for this day to end for him."
Having already signed with Illinois State, Moore entered the tournament at Chrysler Fieldhouse as one of six committed Division I players, including Bloomington South's Darwin Davis Jr. (Xavier) and Spencer Turner (Belmont), Center Grove's Andrew Smeathers (Butler) and Johnny Marlin (IPFW) and Washington's Cody Zeller (Indiana). At the end of the day, Moore outshone all of them, scoring 62 points to go with 17 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals and a blocked shot in two games.
"I really needed it for this run at Mr. Basketball," Moore said about his day at the tournament. "I just try to play my game and not try to do too much. Just get the guys pumped up and play as a teammate."
In the consolation game against the Washington Hatchets, Moore scored 28 points on 11-of-29 shooting and was the main storyline, even though 6-foot-11 Mr. Basketball front-runner Cody Zeller was on the floor.
The Indiana University-bound Zeller struggled against Warsaw, scoring just 13 points on 4-of-17 shooting, though he did grab a game-high 15 rebounds.
"We just tried to put a crowd around him - make it difficult for him to turn when he caught it," Ogle said. "We just wanted to have a presence on him. As much as anything, make it look croweded, make the basket-area look like a mucked up mess. The guys did a pretty good job on him."
The tactic worked, as both teams exchange barbs throughout the game, with the much-shorter Tigers having the biggest lead at six (21-15) following a Moore bucket at the 4:11 mark of the second quarter.
The score was knotted seven times, the last being at 44-44 after Washington senior Robert Pittman scored with 2:06 remaining.
Pittman's score was the last until Moore hit a runner with three seconds remaining, helping push the Tigers to the victory.
"We wanted the ball in Nic's hands and we wanted him to make a play," Ogle said about the scheme for the final shot. "It was pretty simple."
It may have been simple in Ogle's mind, but Moore may not have been so confident.
"I didn't think I had enough energy to get it to the rim," he said. "It was a fun game. It feels good to hit that last shot, then hold them the final three seconds."
The win, coupled with a narrow setback to Bloomington South, resulted in an overall good day for Warsaw.
"This proves we're a team that is a legitimate top 10 team," Ogle said.
"We have a lot to work on, but I'm not discouraged about today. We lost to a very good team, then had a short turnaround to play Washington. So, I'm proud of the way our guys competed."
Moore was also pleased with how the day turned out.
"For how short we are, compared to these teams, I think we played really well," he said. "I'm proud of the guys."
SEMIFINAL ROUND
Thursday's second semifinal game featured two top-three teams in Class 4A, and the game lived up to its billing.
Led by Division-I point guards on each side, Xavier-bound Darwin Davis Jr.'s Bloomington South Panthers held on for a 65-62 win over Illinois State-bound Nic Moore's Warsaw Tigers.
"In AAU, we played his team twice out of three games, and we battled back and forth," Moore said about his familiarity with Davis. "I knew it was going to be another fun game like that."
Squaring off against a Panthers team that had won 52-straight regular season games and 70 of its last 71, Warsaw held a four-point lead with three minutes to play, but just couldn't hang on.
"I am extremely disappointed with the outcome, because, I thought we had them a couple of times there in the fourth quarter," Ogle said. "Our ball handling, when we were trying to do too much, rushing, not taking our time got us."
Warsaw turned the ball over 14 times to Bloomington South's two, which, in the end, was the stat of the game.
"You just have to be more patient in certain situations, when you have control of the game," Ogle said. "I think there's a good chance this can make us a better team."
The last turnover of the game proved to be the nail in the coffin for the Tigers.
Trailing 63-60 with under 20 seconds remaining, Moore drove the ball to the baseline, then kicked it out to the three-point line. The only problem was, no one was there and the ball went rolling to the other end of the court for the turnover.
On the ensuing in-bound play, Bloomington South senior Spencer Turner drew Moore's fifth foul, ending his effort with 34 points, eight rebounds, five assists and a steal.
Turner hit his two free throws, giving his Panthers a 65-60 lead with just 13 seconds remaining.
"We played well enough, offensively, to win the game," Ogle said. "I thought, if we got to 60 points, we'd win the game."
Instead of winning the game, the Tigers came across a Panthers team that didn't shake when its cage was rattled.
"They're very steady, they're very patient - they didn't get rattled," Ogle said. "I give them a lot of credit. They're tough."
The toughest of the Panthers was Davis, who scored 27 points, using his quickness to get to the basket.
"We let Dee Davis get to the basket too much," Ogle said of Davis, who was averaing 22 points coming in. "He is lightning quick, but you have to have a little more awareness off the ball than what we had at times to help the guy guarding him."
Davis may have been tough to defend, but Moore was even tougher for the Panthers to deal with.
Moore reached his 34 points on 12-of-19 shooting, connecting on 3 of 5 three-point attempts.
Moore's importance to the team was illustrated in the short span of time in which he caught a breather in the second quarter, as Warsaw was outscored 7-0 in just over a minute of action.
"The stretch when Nic was out of the game, which wasn't very long, we didn't do well," Ogle said about the one-minute span of time, which saw a 15-9 Warsaw lead turn into a 16-15 deficit
WARSAW 46, WASHINGTON 44
(Consolation)
Wash 15 4 19 6 - 44
War 15 11 14 6 - 46
Warsaw - Nic Moore 11-29 2-4 28, Jordyn Coon 2-6 1-2 7, Rhett Kesler 0-0 0-0 0,
Lucas Grose 3-5 0-0 7, Jalen Roscoe 0-3 0-0 0, Brock Anson 0-0 0-0 0, Jared Bloom 0-2 0-0 0, Jay Holladay 0-1 0-0 0, Clay Anderson 2-5 0-0 4, Travis Thomas 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-52 3-6 46.
Washington - Dylan Ervin 1-3 0-0 2, Kurtis Anthony 4-14 0-0 10, Cody Zeller 4-17 5-5 13, Robert Pittman 4-5 5-5 13, Cullen Arnold 4-7 0-2 11, Adam Lane 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-46 5-7 44.
Three-pointers - Warsaw 7-19 (Moore 4, Coon 2, Grose), Washington 5-16
(Arnold 3, Anthony 2); Team Fouls - Warsaw 10, Washington 11; Turnovers - Warsaw 10, Washington 12; Rebounds - Warsaw 29 (Moore 9), Washington 33 (Zeller 15); Assists - Warsaw 6 (Moore 5), Washington 8 (Ervin 3, Anthony 3); Steals - Warsaw 3, Washington 2; Blocks - Warsaw 1, Washington 3 (Pittman 2); Records: Warsaw 7-1, Washington 7-4
BLOOMINGTON SOUTH 65, WARSAW 62
(Semifinal)
B 19 10 14 22 - 65
W 19 11 15 17 - 62
Bloomington - Darwin Davis Jr. 9-16 7-10 27, Ben Stowell 1-5 2-4 4, Spencer Turner 4-10 4-4 15, Joey Forney II 2-6 1-1 5, Desmond Marks 5-5 3-4 14, Michael Bower 0-0 0-0 0, Trae Washington 0-0 0-0 0, Alex Forney 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-42 17-23 65.
Warsaw - Nic Moore 12-19 7-8 34, Jordyn Coon 2-4 2-2 6, Rhett Kesler 0-0 0-0 0,
Lucas Grose 4-6 4-4 12, Jalen Roscoe 3-3 0-2 6, Joey Sparkman 0-1 0-0 0, Jay Holladay 0-0 0-0 0, Clay Anderson 2-3 0-0 4, Travis Thomas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-36 13-16 62.
Three-point goals - Bloomington 6-18 (Turner 3, Davis 2, Marks), Warsaw 3-7 (Moore 3); Team Fouls (fouled out) - Bloomington 18, Warsaw 18 (Moore); Turnovers - Bloomington 2, Warsaw 14; Rebounds - Bloomington 13 (Marks 5),
Warsaw 21 (Moore 8); Assists - Bloomington 4 (Turner 2), Warsaw 10 (Moore 5); Steals - Bloomington 7 (Marks 4), Warsaw 1; Blocks - Bloomington 1, Warsaw 2
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