Tigers Survive 3-Point Barrage
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
It was certainly a battle of different styles Saturday in the championship game of the Warsaw Holiday Tourney at the Tiger Den.
The challengers from South Bend Washington were dropping three-pointers on the outside like scud missiles, while the host Warsaw team took the inside route, pounding the ball in the paint and making frequent trips to the charity stripe.
The frees won over the threes.
Warsaw's 28-6 advantage at the free-throw line helped offset the Panthers' 15 treys as the Tigers won their fourth straight holiday tourney title, their second straight over the Panthers, 86-77.
It was just a matter of the two teams preferring different lines. Warsaw liked the one 15 feet away, while the Panthers went 4 feet (or even further) back. The Tigers went to the free-throw line 36 times compared to just 10 for the Panthers, but Washington kept pace by hitting 15 of 28 from beyond the arc.
"We missed some easy shots, and you combine that with all the threes they made, it made for quite a game," Warsaw coach Al Rhodes said. "Some of them were NBA threes. You are just not used to going out that far to guard someone. They did it consistently."
Washington's James Townsend did most of the damage off the Panthers' bench with 6 of 8 three-pointers and 20 points.
Townsend almost single-handedly brought the Panthers back in the third quarter when he nailed three treys as Washington cut a 47-38 Warsaw advantage to one, 47-46, with 3:29 left. The Tigers pushed the lead back to 53-46 with the help of five points from Chris Hill, but two three-pointers from Townsend helped the margin to 55-54 heading into the fourth quarter. Townsend had 14 points in the quarter, including 4 of 4 three-pointers.
That was when tournament MVP Andy Plank took over for the Tigers.
Plank scored 14 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, including 8 of 8 from the free throw line, as Warsaw was able to pull away as the Panthers also went cold from the arc, hitting "only" 4 of 8 from three-point land. Plank ended up 14 of 14 from the free-throw line.
"That is the greatest amount of three-point shots that I have ever seen fall," Plank said. "We knew they would be shooting a lot of those. Last night (against St. Xavier) in the first half, they kind of shot themselves out of it, and tonight they shot themselves into it. We had the tempo and were in control, but that definitely brought them back.
"We kind of got caught up running and playing their game," he said. "We slowed it down and got our composure, that helped us. Those threes can be a moral buster, but we got it back."
In a revenge mode from last year's loss to the Tigers, Washington jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter and held an 18-15 after the first quarter.
"They started the game very quickly," Rhodes said. "We didn't lose our composure. I felt like their press sped us up in the first quarter. We had six or seven turnovers that were just us rushing. We have a young team, and it is natural that with a championship game, they will be a little nervous."
Washington led 23-20 when the Tigers went on a 15-4 run led by five points from Luke Reed, who ended up with 16 points after a 20-point outing against Twin Lakes a day earlier. The Tigers led 35-27 at halftime.
Warsaw has now won all four tournaments played at the Tiger Den, two over South Bend Clay and two over Washington.
"This is one that when we started the year with a young team and with all the intangibles, we really didn't know how good Twin Lakes or St. Xavier were, I didn't know how we would do," Rhodes said.
"It was really key for these young guys, and it is good experience for them to get one under their belts," Plank said.
Warsaw (7-2) gets back in action Jan. 9 when it hosts Gary Wallace. [[In-content Ad]]
It was certainly a battle of different styles Saturday in the championship game of the Warsaw Holiday Tourney at the Tiger Den.
The challengers from South Bend Washington were dropping three-pointers on the outside like scud missiles, while the host Warsaw team took the inside route, pounding the ball in the paint and making frequent trips to the charity stripe.
The frees won over the threes.
Warsaw's 28-6 advantage at the free-throw line helped offset the Panthers' 15 treys as the Tigers won their fourth straight holiday tourney title, their second straight over the Panthers, 86-77.
It was just a matter of the two teams preferring different lines. Warsaw liked the one 15 feet away, while the Panthers went 4 feet (or even further) back. The Tigers went to the free-throw line 36 times compared to just 10 for the Panthers, but Washington kept pace by hitting 15 of 28 from beyond the arc.
"We missed some easy shots, and you combine that with all the threes they made, it made for quite a game," Warsaw coach Al Rhodes said. "Some of them were NBA threes. You are just not used to going out that far to guard someone. They did it consistently."
Washington's James Townsend did most of the damage off the Panthers' bench with 6 of 8 three-pointers and 20 points.
Townsend almost single-handedly brought the Panthers back in the third quarter when he nailed three treys as Washington cut a 47-38 Warsaw advantage to one, 47-46, with 3:29 left. The Tigers pushed the lead back to 53-46 with the help of five points from Chris Hill, but two three-pointers from Townsend helped the margin to 55-54 heading into the fourth quarter. Townsend had 14 points in the quarter, including 4 of 4 three-pointers.
That was when tournament MVP Andy Plank took over for the Tigers.
Plank scored 14 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, including 8 of 8 from the free throw line, as Warsaw was able to pull away as the Panthers also went cold from the arc, hitting "only" 4 of 8 from three-point land. Plank ended up 14 of 14 from the free-throw line.
"That is the greatest amount of three-point shots that I have ever seen fall," Plank said. "We knew they would be shooting a lot of those. Last night (against St. Xavier) in the first half, they kind of shot themselves out of it, and tonight they shot themselves into it. We had the tempo and were in control, but that definitely brought them back.
"We kind of got caught up running and playing their game," he said. "We slowed it down and got our composure, that helped us. Those threes can be a moral buster, but we got it back."
In a revenge mode from last year's loss to the Tigers, Washington jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter and held an 18-15 after the first quarter.
"They started the game very quickly," Rhodes said. "We didn't lose our composure. I felt like their press sped us up in the first quarter. We had six or seven turnovers that were just us rushing. We have a young team, and it is natural that with a championship game, they will be a little nervous."
Washington led 23-20 when the Tigers went on a 15-4 run led by five points from Luke Reed, who ended up with 16 points after a 20-point outing against Twin Lakes a day earlier. The Tigers led 35-27 at halftime.
Warsaw has now won all four tournaments played at the Tiger Den, two over South Bend Clay and two over Washington.
"This is one that when we started the year with a young team and with all the intangibles, we really didn't know how good Twin Lakes or St. Xavier were, I didn't know how we would do," Rhodes said.
"It was really key for these young guys, and it is good experience for them to get one under their belts," Plank said.
Warsaw (7-2) gets back in action Jan. 9 when it hosts Gary Wallace. [[In-content Ad]]