Tigers Suffer First Loss
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
After a 52-47 win in a battle of unbeatens Friday night, the Northridge Raiders look like the team to beat this season.[[In-content Ad]]Improving to 9-0 overall and 2-0 in the NLC, the defensive-minded Raiders came into the Tiger Den and held Class 4A No. 10 Warsaw 24 points below its season scoring average.
"For the longest time, Warsaw was the measuring stick in the NLC," said Ridge. "I think we passed our first big test tonight. There's a lot of other tests, but we played a big game when we needed a big game."
The host Tigers fell to 8-1 overall and 1-1 in the NLC.
Warsaw, which leads the overall series with Northridge 19-5, trailed 49-39 with a minute remaining in the game and cut the deficit to three.
Senior Elliot Smith insured the win for Northridge, though, with a pair of free throws with 11 seconds to play.
"Northridge is a very good defensive basketball team," said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle. "We were too impatient pretty much from the start. It's harder to defend a team when you pass seven or eight times, but we were only passing one or two times. We were just too impatient."
Though loaded with talent and capable shooters, Warsaw was just 16 of 40 (40 percent) from the field, including a 6-of-18 effort from three-point range.
"I'm proud of how we came back and got it within three," said Ogle. "That part was good. This game points out to us we have a lot of different things to work on. We're still a good team. I wouldn't trade our players for anybody's players. We're going to turn this game into a positive. I told the team if we want to win the sectional championship, it's very likely we will have to play Northridge again. The next time we tee it up with those guys, I hope we do better."
The Raiders, who have won just three times in Warsaw, have won their last two games in the Tiger Den.
Smith played a big role in Northridge's win Friday, scoring a game-high 25 points.
The 6-foot-1 senior guard connected on four three-pointers and was 9 of 11 at the free throw line.
"Elliot is playing with more and more confidence," said Ridge. "When the game got shaky, he wanted the ball in his hands. Having played in some close games this season, the guys knew where we wanted to go, and Elliot demanded the ball and played well."
Of Northridge's nine wins this season, five have come in games decided by five points or less.
Jordan Hoffman added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Raiders, while Lucas Carpenter scored six points before fouling out.
The Tigers trailed 12-8 after the first quarter and then found themselves down 23-20 at halftime.
A three-pointer by Ryne Robinson gave Warsaw a 30-26 lead with 3:39 to play in the third quarter, but the Raiders came right back with a trey of their own and eventually led 33-30 heading into the fourth quarter.
Northridge clung to a 38-36 lead midway through the fourth quarter, and then the Raiders got back-to-back three-pointers from Smith and Carpenter, pushing their advantage to eight points with 2:00 to play.
"We wanted to stay close to them," Ogle said of trying to defend Northridge's three-point shooters. "We did not execute the defensive game plan. We were not supposed to leave them. They made big shots, and every time we got ready to break through, they made a big play."
Senior Chase Byerly cut the Tigers' deficit to seven, 49-42, with a three-pointer, and then after a Northridge turnover, senior Ryne Robinson hit the first of a two free-throw opportunity.
Junior Andy Conrad rebounded Robinson's miss and scored two easy points in the paint, bringing the Tigers within four at 49-45.
After the Raiders got a free throw from Carpenter, Warsaw's Taylor Long hit a bucket with 14 seconds left, making it a three-point game.
"We knew Warsaw wasn't going to go away at home," Ridge said of the Tigers' late-game rally. "It was hard to get in a situation where we could make them foul us and they made some big shots."
The Tigers just didn't make enough shots, and shots that Warsaw routinely makes didn't fall Friday night.
Robinson led Warsaw with 18 points, while sophomore Nic Moore added 13 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Byerly added six points and six rebounds, while Conrad scored five points and Long scored four points.
Junior Justin Clemens, who had been on a tear of 20-point games, scored just one point against the Raiders.
The Tigers are in action again tonight, hosting Fort Wayne South.
NORTHRIDGE 52, WARSAW 47
N 12 11 10 21 - 52
W 8 12 19 17 - 47
Northridge - Carpenter 2 1-2 6, Smith 6 9-11 25, Miller 1 1-3 4, Hoffsommer 0 0-0 0, Hoffman 5 3-4 13, Davis 1 0-0 2, Yoder 1 0-2 2. Totals 16 14-22 52.
Warsaw - Conrad 1 3-4 5, Clemens 0 1-2 1, Moore 4 4-7 13, Linky 0 0-0 0, Robinson 7 1-2 18, Long 2 0-0 4, Byerly 2 0-0 6. Totals 16 9-15 47.
Three-point goals - Northridge 6 (Smith 4, Carpenter, Miller), Warsaw 6 (Robinson 3, Byerly 2, Moore 1). Rebounds - Northridge 24 (Hoffman 7), Warsaw 27 (Clemens 6, Moore 6, Byerly 6). Turnovers - Northridge 9, Warsaw 9. Fouls (fouled out) - Northridge 17 (Carpenter), Warsaw 16 (none). Records: Northridge 9-0, 2-0 NLC, Warsaw 8-1, 1-1 NLC.
JV - Warsaw 41, Northridge 30
Warsaw scoring - Roscoe 15, Bragg 6, Grose 6, Coon 6, West 2, Davis 2, Abbitt 2, Simpson 2
Warsaw JV record: 8-1
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After a 52-47 win in a battle of unbeatens Friday night, the Northridge Raiders look like the team to beat this season.[[In-content Ad]]Improving to 9-0 overall and 2-0 in the NLC, the defensive-minded Raiders came into the Tiger Den and held Class 4A No. 10 Warsaw 24 points below its season scoring average.
"For the longest time, Warsaw was the measuring stick in the NLC," said Ridge. "I think we passed our first big test tonight. There's a lot of other tests, but we played a big game when we needed a big game."
The host Tigers fell to 8-1 overall and 1-1 in the NLC.
Warsaw, which leads the overall series with Northridge 19-5, trailed 49-39 with a minute remaining in the game and cut the deficit to three.
Senior Elliot Smith insured the win for Northridge, though, with a pair of free throws with 11 seconds to play.
"Northridge is a very good defensive basketball team," said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle. "We were too impatient pretty much from the start. It's harder to defend a team when you pass seven or eight times, but we were only passing one or two times. We were just too impatient."
Though loaded with talent and capable shooters, Warsaw was just 16 of 40 (40 percent) from the field, including a 6-of-18 effort from three-point range.
"I'm proud of how we came back and got it within three," said Ogle. "That part was good. This game points out to us we have a lot of different things to work on. We're still a good team. I wouldn't trade our players for anybody's players. We're going to turn this game into a positive. I told the team if we want to win the sectional championship, it's very likely we will have to play Northridge again. The next time we tee it up with those guys, I hope we do better."
The Raiders, who have won just three times in Warsaw, have won their last two games in the Tiger Den.
Smith played a big role in Northridge's win Friday, scoring a game-high 25 points.
The 6-foot-1 senior guard connected on four three-pointers and was 9 of 11 at the free throw line.
"Elliot is playing with more and more confidence," said Ridge. "When the game got shaky, he wanted the ball in his hands. Having played in some close games this season, the guys knew where we wanted to go, and Elliot demanded the ball and played well."
Of Northridge's nine wins this season, five have come in games decided by five points or less.
Jordan Hoffman added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Raiders, while Lucas Carpenter scored six points before fouling out.
The Tigers trailed 12-8 after the first quarter and then found themselves down 23-20 at halftime.
A three-pointer by Ryne Robinson gave Warsaw a 30-26 lead with 3:39 to play in the third quarter, but the Raiders came right back with a trey of their own and eventually led 33-30 heading into the fourth quarter.
Northridge clung to a 38-36 lead midway through the fourth quarter, and then the Raiders got back-to-back three-pointers from Smith and Carpenter, pushing their advantage to eight points with 2:00 to play.
"We wanted to stay close to them," Ogle said of trying to defend Northridge's three-point shooters. "We did not execute the defensive game plan. We were not supposed to leave them. They made big shots, and every time we got ready to break through, they made a big play."
Senior Chase Byerly cut the Tigers' deficit to seven, 49-42, with a three-pointer, and then after a Northridge turnover, senior Ryne Robinson hit the first of a two free-throw opportunity.
Junior Andy Conrad rebounded Robinson's miss and scored two easy points in the paint, bringing the Tigers within four at 49-45.
After the Raiders got a free throw from Carpenter, Warsaw's Taylor Long hit a bucket with 14 seconds left, making it a three-point game.
"We knew Warsaw wasn't going to go away at home," Ridge said of the Tigers' late-game rally. "It was hard to get in a situation where we could make them foul us and they made some big shots."
The Tigers just didn't make enough shots, and shots that Warsaw routinely makes didn't fall Friday night.
Robinson led Warsaw with 18 points, while sophomore Nic Moore added 13 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Byerly added six points and six rebounds, while Conrad scored five points and Long scored four points.
Junior Justin Clemens, who had been on a tear of 20-point games, scored just one point against the Raiders.
The Tigers are in action again tonight, hosting Fort Wayne South.
NORTHRIDGE 52, WARSAW 47
N 12 11 10 21 - 52
W 8 12 19 17 - 47
Northridge - Carpenter 2 1-2 6, Smith 6 9-11 25, Miller 1 1-3 4, Hoffsommer 0 0-0 0, Hoffman 5 3-4 13, Davis 1 0-0 2, Yoder 1 0-2 2. Totals 16 14-22 52.
Warsaw - Conrad 1 3-4 5, Clemens 0 1-2 1, Moore 4 4-7 13, Linky 0 0-0 0, Robinson 7 1-2 18, Long 2 0-0 4, Byerly 2 0-0 6. Totals 16 9-15 47.
Three-point goals - Northridge 6 (Smith 4, Carpenter, Miller), Warsaw 6 (Robinson 3, Byerly 2, Moore 1). Rebounds - Northridge 24 (Hoffman 7), Warsaw 27 (Clemens 6, Moore 6, Byerly 6). Turnovers - Northridge 9, Warsaw 9. Fouls (fouled out) - Northridge 17 (Carpenter), Warsaw 16 (none). Records: Northridge 9-0, 2-0 NLC, Warsaw 8-1, 1-1 NLC.
JV - Warsaw 41, Northridge 30
Warsaw scoring - Roscoe 15, Bragg 6, Grose 6, Coon 6, West 2, Davis 2, Abbitt 2, Simpson 2
Warsaw JV record: 8-1
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