Tigers Take Twin Lakes
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Warsaw rode a hot start straight to a rematch Friday in the first night of their own holiday tournament at the Tiger Den.
The Tigers (6-2) jumped on Twin Lakes (5-1) 28-11 after the first quarter and never looked back in beating the Indians in the second game of the tournament 86-63.
"The very beginning of the game set the tone," Warsaw coach Al Rhodes said. "Our defense was very good and aggressive. We were able to get defensive rebounds, good outlet passes and get behind them."
In the first game, South Bend Washington rallied to beat St. Xavier (Cincinnati) 67-63 in overtime. Warsaw beat Washington in last year's championship game.
Warsaw and Washington will meet in this year's title tilt at 8 tonight, preceded by Twin Lakes and St. Xavier in the consolation game at 6 p.m.
The Tigers led 11-2 against Twin Lakes, from Monticello, and then Warsaw really got hot. The Tigers extended the margin to 16-5 before ending the quarter on a 12-4 run. Andy Plank's nine points and Luke Reed and Zach Nelson's seven points each got the Tigers going.
"We hadn't played in two weeks, and we didn't know what kind of intensity it would take," Twin Lakes coach Kent Adams said. "And we hadn't played anybody as good as them. I am not sure they are 23 points better than we are, but after that first quarter, we struggled to get back into it."
From there, the Indians played Warsaw evenly until the third quarter when Twin Lakes cut the margin to 51-37 when Rusty Roth got six points on one trip down the court. But Warsaw responded with big baskets from Chris Wiggins, Steve Siebenmorgen and Plank to keep the Indians at bay.
"It went back to 15 points, and in a high school game, that is a dangerous distance," Rhodes said. "There is still plenty of time for them to catch up. Andy Plank hit a big basket for us, and that made the fourth quarter a little more comfortable."
It might have been pure coincidence to Warsaw's fast start, but the Tigers had a new starting lineup and seemed to get it done early on. Rob Kesler and Nelson started for the Tigers, marking the first change of such kind this season for the starting lineup.
Nelson had the seven points in the first, and Kesler hit a big three-pointer.
"Everybody played well," Rhodes said. "We tried to change some things around, and how things go, but I didn't notice any drastic difference. We are playing 10 players anyway. There is just a matter of switching some rotations around."
Plank led Warsaw with 24 points, while Reed scored 18 of his 20 points in the first half.
Once again Warsaw used its physical presence inside to beat a team down. The Tigers won the battle of the boards 38-25 and used its advantage in the paint to hit on 33 of 53 (63 percent) from the field.
"They just threw those little lobs up toward the basket, and I have to watch the film to see if we were out of position or what," Adams said.
Despite the pasting, Adams, the former Mishawaka and Caston coach, said he is glad the Indians have made the trip north.
"This is exactly what we needed with this type of gym and this type of atmosphere," he said. "If we are going to do anything in the tourney at the end of the season, these are the type of teams we will have to beat."
The Tigers advance to the championship game of their own holiday tourney for the fourth time in the four-year history of the tournament at Warsaw. The Tigers have played only two different teams in the four years, facing South Bend Clay twice and now South Bend Washington twice.
The Panthers will bring a 6-0 mark, along with talented players like Jamal Henry and Darmetreis Kilgore into the game.
"We rebounded hard," Rhodes said. "You have to be pleased with the effort when you win very easily through hard work. We are still going to need better outside shooting tomorrow (tonight).
"They seem to do a good job of having a good inside-outside attack," he said about Washington. "Their point guard (Henry) is just tremendous. We have to contain him. Their combination of three-point shooting and rebounding is something to be concerned with. They also do a good job in terms of their full-court pressure, we will have to attack that." [[In-content Ad]]
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Warsaw rode a hot start straight to a rematch Friday in the first night of their own holiday tournament at the Tiger Den.
The Tigers (6-2) jumped on Twin Lakes (5-1) 28-11 after the first quarter and never looked back in beating the Indians in the second game of the tournament 86-63.
"The very beginning of the game set the tone," Warsaw coach Al Rhodes said. "Our defense was very good and aggressive. We were able to get defensive rebounds, good outlet passes and get behind them."
In the first game, South Bend Washington rallied to beat St. Xavier (Cincinnati) 67-63 in overtime. Warsaw beat Washington in last year's championship game.
Warsaw and Washington will meet in this year's title tilt at 8 tonight, preceded by Twin Lakes and St. Xavier in the consolation game at 6 p.m.
The Tigers led 11-2 against Twin Lakes, from Monticello, and then Warsaw really got hot. The Tigers extended the margin to 16-5 before ending the quarter on a 12-4 run. Andy Plank's nine points and Luke Reed and Zach Nelson's seven points each got the Tigers going.
"We hadn't played in two weeks, and we didn't know what kind of intensity it would take," Twin Lakes coach Kent Adams said. "And we hadn't played anybody as good as them. I am not sure they are 23 points better than we are, but after that first quarter, we struggled to get back into it."
From there, the Indians played Warsaw evenly until the third quarter when Twin Lakes cut the margin to 51-37 when Rusty Roth got six points on one trip down the court. But Warsaw responded with big baskets from Chris Wiggins, Steve Siebenmorgen and Plank to keep the Indians at bay.
"It went back to 15 points, and in a high school game, that is a dangerous distance," Rhodes said. "There is still plenty of time for them to catch up. Andy Plank hit a big basket for us, and that made the fourth quarter a little more comfortable."
It might have been pure coincidence to Warsaw's fast start, but the Tigers had a new starting lineup and seemed to get it done early on. Rob Kesler and Nelson started for the Tigers, marking the first change of such kind this season for the starting lineup.
Nelson had the seven points in the first, and Kesler hit a big three-pointer.
"Everybody played well," Rhodes said. "We tried to change some things around, and how things go, but I didn't notice any drastic difference. We are playing 10 players anyway. There is just a matter of switching some rotations around."
Plank led Warsaw with 24 points, while Reed scored 18 of his 20 points in the first half.
Once again Warsaw used its physical presence inside to beat a team down. The Tigers won the battle of the boards 38-25 and used its advantage in the paint to hit on 33 of 53 (63 percent) from the field.
"They just threw those little lobs up toward the basket, and I have to watch the film to see if we were out of position or what," Adams said.
Despite the pasting, Adams, the former Mishawaka and Caston coach, said he is glad the Indians have made the trip north.
"This is exactly what we needed with this type of gym and this type of atmosphere," he said. "If we are going to do anything in the tourney at the end of the season, these are the type of teams we will have to beat."
The Tigers advance to the championship game of their own holiday tourney for the fourth time in the four-year history of the tournament at Warsaw. The Tigers have played only two different teams in the four years, facing South Bend Clay twice and now South Bend Washington twice.
The Panthers will bring a 6-0 mark, along with talented players like Jamal Henry and Darmetreis Kilgore into the game.
"We rebounded hard," Rhodes said. "You have to be pleased with the effort when you win very easily through hard work. We are still going to need better outside shooting tomorrow (tonight).
"They seem to do a good job of having a good inside-outside attack," he said about Washington. "Their point guard (Henry) is just tremendous. We have to contain him. Their combination of three-point shooting and rebounding is something to be concerned with. They also do a good job in terms of their full-court pressure, we will have to attack that." [[In-content Ad]]