Tigers Stumble But Walk Away With Win
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
HUNTINGTON - Warsaw's boys basketball team may have taken a step backward Friday evening, but it was a step forward that allowed the Tigers to walk out of Huntington with a win.
Though host Huntington North cut a 17-point lead to two in the fourth quarter, the Tigers came away with a 52-46 victory, thanks in large part to a strong first half from sophomore Michael Moore and a 14-of-18 effort at the charity stripe in the final frame.
Warsaw led 34-17 with 5:17 left in the third, but a critical 17-2 run ignited an othewise dormant Huntington North crowd, cutting the Tigers' advantage to 36-34 with 4:41 remaining in the game.
Warsaw, which let a 14-point third-quarter lead slip away at South Bend Washington Tuesday in a seven-point loss, responded with a pair of Moore free throws and a key baseline jumper from junior Adam Griggs.
The Vikings got within three, 42-39, when junior Thad Frame banked in a three-pointer, but the Tigers again built the lead by hitting free throws.
Warsaw, which made just 3 of 10 field goals in the second half, converted on 10 of 14 charity tosses in the final 2:42 and was 17 of 24 from the line for the game.
"Though we lost part of our lead, we didn't lose it completely," first-year Warsaw coach Doug Ogle said. "We didn't have great control of it, but we got control of it late. That was a step forward for us. We could have wilted when we lost the big lead and then lost the game but we didn't."
The win improves Warsaw to 12-6, while Huntington North falls to 7-11. All seven of the Vikings' wins this season have come at home, where they are now 7-2 with Friday's loss.
"At times we were not poised in the second half, other times we were poised," Ogle said. "Free throw shooting kept us in the game. In the third and fourth quarters we turned the ball over a good number of times. At least we made our free throws."
Ogle called Griggs' jumper from the left baseline a key point in the game, giving Warsaw a 40-34 lead, it turned out to be the Tigers' only made field goal of the fourth quarter.
"Adam Griggs' shot on the baseline was a big shot," Ogle said. "He hit the game-winner at Goshen, but that was a lay-up. Tonight's shot was harder."
Behind the 5-foot-6 Moore, who drilled two long three-pointers and finished the first quarter with 10 points, the Tigers led 18-12 after one quarter of play and 30-17 at halftime.
Moore finished the game with a career-high 21 points, including 15 in the first half, on a 6-of-10 effort from the field. He was also 6 of 8 from the charity stripe, all of which came in the fourth quarter.
Moore was 6 of 8 from the field in the first half, while Warsaw was 13 of 22 as a team.
"I thought we played pretty well in the first half," Ogle said. "And that was with Ryan DeGeeter saddle with two fouls. (Huntington North) just turned up the defensive pressure in the second half, and we turned the ball over. Michael Moore played well in the first half. I think this was a good game for Michael's confidence, playing the way he did."
To go with Moore's team-high 21, the Tigers also got 11 from senior Erik Fussle, eight from Griggs, six from DeGeeter, four from sophomore Michael Wienhorst and two from junior Todd Braddock.
Riddled by injuries all year, Warsaw played its third straight contest without the services of senior William Knepper, who did return for four games after knee surgery. Junior reserve Dan Gensinger sat the bench in street clothes and a brace Friday night after injuring his knee in a physical education class. The 6-1 wing player is scheduled for an MRI Monday.
Scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter to keep his team in the hunt, 6-0 junior guard Thad Frame led Huntington North with a game-high 22 points, finishing 8 of 16 from the field. Freshman Chris Kramer added eight, while senior Jason Rahn chipped in with six.
Warsaw is in action again Tuesday at Kokomo, capping off a five-game road stretch before closing the regular season at home Friday with Carroll.
WARSAW 52, HUNTINGTON NORTH 46
Warsaw (12-6) 18 12 6 16 - 52
H. North (7-11) 12 5 11 18 - 46
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Griggs 3-6 2-4 7 0 8
* Moore 6-10 6-8 2 3 21
* Braddock 0-2 2-2 6 0 2
* Fussle 4-7 3-5 5 0 11
* DeGeeter 1-3 4-4 4 0 6
Schultz 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Burnley 0-0 0-0 2 0 0
Wienhorst 2-4 0-1 4 0 4
Totals 16-32 17-24 30 4 52
H. North FG FT R S Pts.
* Hall 0-2 3-4 2 1 3
* Scheiber 1-3 0-0 2 1 3
* Frame 8-16 2-4 4 2 22
* Rahn 2-6 2-4 4 1 6
* Ryan 1-2 0-0 0 0 2
Kline 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Turner 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Wall 1-3 0-0 1 0 2
Kramer 3-9 2-2 3 3 8
Totals 16-42 9-14 16 8 46
Three-point goals - Warsaw 3-8 (Moore 3-6, Griggs 0-1, DeGeeter 0-1), H. North 4-16 (Frame 4-11, Kramer 0-2, Scheiber 0-1, Ryan 0-1, Wall 0-1). Fouls - Warsaw 16, H. North 19. Fouled out - none.
JV - Huntington North 57, Warsaw 34 [[In-content Ad]]
HUNTINGTON - Warsaw's boys basketball team may have taken a step backward Friday evening, but it was a step forward that allowed the Tigers to walk out of Huntington with a win.
Though host Huntington North cut a 17-point lead to two in the fourth quarter, the Tigers came away with a 52-46 victory, thanks in large part to a strong first half from sophomore Michael Moore and a 14-of-18 effort at the charity stripe in the final frame.
Warsaw led 34-17 with 5:17 left in the third, but a critical 17-2 run ignited an othewise dormant Huntington North crowd, cutting the Tigers' advantage to 36-34 with 4:41 remaining in the game.
Warsaw, which let a 14-point third-quarter lead slip away at South Bend Washington Tuesday in a seven-point loss, responded with a pair of Moore free throws and a key baseline jumper from junior Adam Griggs.
The Vikings got within three, 42-39, when junior Thad Frame banked in a three-pointer, but the Tigers again built the lead by hitting free throws.
Warsaw, which made just 3 of 10 field goals in the second half, converted on 10 of 14 charity tosses in the final 2:42 and was 17 of 24 from the line for the game.
"Though we lost part of our lead, we didn't lose it completely," first-year Warsaw coach Doug Ogle said. "We didn't have great control of it, but we got control of it late. That was a step forward for us. We could have wilted when we lost the big lead and then lost the game but we didn't."
The win improves Warsaw to 12-6, while Huntington North falls to 7-11. All seven of the Vikings' wins this season have come at home, where they are now 7-2 with Friday's loss.
"At times we were not poised in the second half, other times we were poised," Ogle said. "Free throw shooting kept us in the game. In the third and fourth quarters we turned the ball over a good number of times. At least we made our free throws."
Ogle called Griggs' jumper from the left baseline a key point in the game, giving Warsaw a 40-34 lead, it turned out to be the Tigers' only made field goal of the fourth quarter.
"Adam Griggs' shot on the baseline was a big shot," Ogle said. "He hit the game-winner at Goshen, but that was a lay-up. Tonight's shot was harder."
Behind the 5-foot-6 Moore, who drilled two long three-pointers and finished the first quarter with 10 points, the Tigers led 18-12 after one quarter of play and 30-17 at halftime.
Moore finished the game with a career-high 21 points, including 15 in the first half, on a 6-of-10 effort from the field. He was also 6 of 8 from the charity stripe, all of which came in the fourth quarter.
Moore was 6 of 8 from the field in the first half, while Warsaw was 13 of 22 as a team.
"I thought we played pretty well in the first half," Ogle said. "And that was with Ryan DeGeeter saddle with two fouls. (Huntington North) just turned up the defensive pressure in the second half, and we turned the ball over. Michael Moore played well in the first half. I think this was a good game for Michael's confidence, playing the way he did."
To go with Moore's team-high 21, the Tigers also got 11 from senior Erik Fussle, eight from Griggs, six from DeGeeter, four from sophomore Michael Wienhorst and two from junior Todd Braddock.
Riddled by injuries all year, Warsaw played its third straight contest without the services of senior William Knepper, who did return for four games after knee surgery. Junior reserve Dan Gensinger sat the bench in street clothes and a brace Friday night after injuring his knee in a physical education class. The 6-1 wing player is scheduled for an MRI Monday.
Scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter to keep his team in the hunt, 6-0 junior guard Thad Frame led Huntington North with a game-high 22 points, finishing 8 of 16 from the field. Freshman Chris Kramer added eight, while senior Jason Rahn chipped in with six.
Warsaw is in action again Tuesday at Kokomo, capping off a five-game road stretch before closing the regular season at home Friday with Carroll.
WARSAW 52, HUNTINGTON NORTH 46
Warsaw (12-6) 18 12 6 16 - 52
H. North (7-11) 12 5 11 18 - 46
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Griggs 3-6 2-4 7 0 8
* Moore 6-10 6-8 2 3 21
* Braddock 0-2 2-2 6 0 2
* Fussle 4-7 3-5 5 0 11
* DeGeeter 1-3 4-4 4 0 6
Schultz 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Burnley 0-0 0-0 2 0 0
Wienhorst 2-4 0-1 4 0 4
Totals 16-32 17-24 30 4 52
H. North FG FT R S Pts.
* Hall 0-2 3-4 2 1 3
* Scheiber 1-3 0-0 2 1 3
* Frame 8-16 2-4 4 2 22
* Rahn 2-6 2-4 4 1 6
* Ryan 1-2 0-0 0 0 2
Kline 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Turner 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Wall 1-3 0-0 1 0 2
Kramer 3-9 2-2 3 3 8
Totals 16-42 9-14 16 8 46
Three-point goals - Warsaw 3-8 (Moore 3-6, Griggs 0-1, DeGeeter 0-1), H. North 4-16 (Frame 4-11, Kramer 0-2, Scheiber 0-1, Ryan 0-1, Wall 0-1). Fouls - Warsaw 16, H. North 19. Fouled out - none.
JV - Huntington North 57, Warsaw 34 [[In-content Ad]]