Tigers To Play Muncie Central
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Warsaw has played its share of Goliath-like boys basketball programs over the years. Saturday, the Tigers will battle the most storied program in state history.
At 10 a.m. Saturday in the first semifinal game of the Class 4A Marion Regional, Warsaw (11-11), an accomplished program in its own right, will square off with Muncie Central (17-5).
McCutcheon (17-6) and Fort Wayne Snider (16-7) will play in the second semifinal game at approximately noon at Bill Green Athletic Arena. Winners will play at 8 p.m. for a berth in next Saturday's northern semistate, which will be played at either Kokomo or Lafayette Jeff.
"We've played most all the schools in the North Central Conference, but we haven't played Muncie Central, at least not while I've been here," said fourth-year Warsaw coach Doug Ogle, who also spent 15 years as the junior varsity coach. "Our players know of their tradition, but they won't be intimidated by Muncie Central. This is their (Muncie Central's players) first regional as the main players. I know we'll respect Muncie Central, but we won't fear them."
Muncie Central finished the 2004-2005 season with a 27-2 record and lost to Greg Oden and Lawrence North in the state championship game. The Bearcats graduated seven seniors and 60 points per game from last year's team.
Over the years, the Tigers have played every team currently in the North Central Conference - Anderson, Huntington North, Kokomo, Logansport, Marion, New Castle and Richmond - except Muncie Central.
The Tigers have wins against all the aforementioned NCC teams they have played, except Richmond, which Warsaw has played just one time in school history (1969).
Muncie Central, which boasts more state championships (8) and Indiana All-Stars (21) than any school in the state, enters Saturday's regional contest on an eight-game win streak.
The Bearcats advanced by winning the Anderson Sectional, beating Greenfield-Central 79-55 in Friday's semifinal and upsetting No. 3 Anderson 70-52 in Saturday's championship game.
Anderson, which beat Muncie Central 60-58 in overtime Jan. 13, scored 100 and 103 points, respectively, in its previous sectional games.
Warsaw, which won just two of its final eight regular-season games, advanced to the regional by winning the East Noble Sectional.
The Tigers drew the bye and then beat East Noble 58-52 in Friday's semifinal and upended Columbia City 40-32 in the title game.
Despite having the fewest number of wins of any of the 64 sectional winners, the Tigers believe they belong. And they believe they can knock off Muncie Central.
"We've had a lot of talent all year," said 6-foot-7 junior Miles Plumlee. "In the sectional we finally got to show that. We stepped up and did what we've always been able to do. We have talent and we think we can play with anybody."
To be able to play with Muncie Central, statistics show that the Tigers will have to try and slow 6-3 Terry Jenkins and 6-1 Ben Botts.
The Bearcats average nearly 64 points per game, with nearly 32 of those points coming from Jenkins and Botts, who average 17.7 and 14.4 points per game, respectively.
Both started all 22 games for Muncie Central this season.
Jenkins shoots 84 percent from the free throw line and 53 percent (49 of 92) from three-point range, while Botts has hit 57 of 62 (92 percent) free throws and 38 of 98 (39 percent) three-pointers.
As a team, the Bearcats shoot 76 percent from the charity stripe and 43 percent from three-point range.
"They have good shooters," said 6-foot-3 Warsaw junior Tommy Reinholt, the only non-senior in the Tigers' starting lineup. "A big percentage of their shots are three-pointers. We have to step outside and defend them. We can't play as individuals, we have to play as a team and help each other."
Muncie Central has made 142 three-pointers this season, an average of 6.5 treys per game, and made more free throws than its opponents have attempted.
Like the sectional championship victory over Columbia City, a game in which Warsaw used a very stingy 2-3 zone defense, Tiger senior John-Wesley Maierle thinks defense wins Saturday's regional semifinal game.
"They average 1.15 points per possession, which is really good, but they give up 1.13 points per possession," said Maierle. "Anything over .85 is bad defense. The teams they play must not play defense. I think we'll be able to score, but we'll have to play defense."
Senior Colin Clemens leads the Tigers in scoring with an average of 14.8 points per game. He also averages a team-high 5.2 rebounds per game.
Classmate Shaun Cabrera averages 9.6 points, four assists and four rebounds per game.
The Tigers score 55 points per game and give up 52 points per game.
Ogle considers Saturday's regional wide open and believes his Tigers, if they play like they're capable, can win.
"They're solid, but they're a team I feel like we match up pretty well with," Ogle said of the Bearcats, who won their last state title in 1988. "They're not a team that's going to be too, too quick for us. They're not a team that I think will overwhelm us."
Ogle considers the Marion Regional wide open because, on paper, none of the four teams participating were considered favorites to get out of their respective sectionals.
"I think the regional is wide open," said Ogle. "I think people probably thought Columbia City, Huntington North, Marion and Anderson would be in the regional, and none of them made it. We may be 11-11, but I don't think our sectional wins were upsets."
Ogle said after his team won the sectional that "confidence is a funny thing." When a team is playing together and confident, they can become a different team all together.
That is a perfect description of NorthWood High School's football team from this past fall.
After posting a less-than-stellar 3-6 record in the regular season, NorthWood put things together in the state tournament, knocked off the state's No. 1 team in the semistate and went on to win the Class 3A state championship.
To inspire his team, Ogle invited NorthWood football coach Rich Dodson to speak to the Tigers earlier this week.
"We had been talking about NorthWood's season, how they were 3-6 going into the sectional and how they won the state championship," said Ogle. "(Assistant) coach (Aaron) Wolf's father-in-law is a good friend of Coach Dodson's, and with John-Wesley Maierle, Shaun Cabrera and Mitch and Tommy Reinholt being football players here, they knew who he was. He took us through the end the regular season and their state-tournament run. He told us that to play like a champion, you have to think like a champion."
Ogle believes his team is starting to do that.
And while Ogle asked Dodson to speak for 10 minutes, Ogle wasn't going to cut the Panther coach off when he talked for an extra 15 minutes.
What he had to say was worth hearing.
Maybe what the Tigers do Saturday will be worth talking about.
WARSAW TIGERS
(11-11, 2-5 Northern Lakes Conference)
Warsaw 54, Tippecanoe Valley 44
Columbia City 50, Warsaw 44
S.B. Clay 62, Warsaw 59
Warsaw 68, DeKalb 45
Penn 46, Warsaw 39
Wawasee 52, Warsaw 49
Warsaw 60, Elkhart Central 46
Warsaw 70, Rochester 63 OT
Warsaw 61, Whitko 56
Warsaw 56, Northridge 43
F.W. South 64, Warsaw 44
Warsaw 57, Goshen 42
Concord 61, Warsaw 57 2OT
NorthWood 61, Warsaw 46
Elkhart Memorial 65, Warsaw 46
Marion 65, Warsaw 48
Plymouth 44, Warsaw 41
Warsaw 73, F.W. Canterbury 47
Hunt. North 53, Warsaw 45
Warsaw 49, Carroll 47
Warsaw 58, East Noble 52 (sectional)
Warsaw 40, Columbia City 32 (sectional)
(Individual statitistics, per-game averages)
Scoring - Colin Clemens 14.8, Shaun Cabrera 9.6, Steve Lemasters 6.5, J.W. Maierle 5.0, Miles Plumlee 4.5, Mitch Reinholt 4.3, Tommy Reinholt 4.2
Rebounding - Clemens 5.2, T. Reiholt 4.1, Cabrera 3.9, M. Reinholt 2.9, Mi. Plumlee 2.5, Lemasters 2.5
Assists - Cabrera 4.2, Maierle 2.1, Clemens 1.9
Steals - Cabrera 1.9, Maierle 1.5, T. Reinholt 1.0
MUNCIE CENTRAL BEARCATS
(17-5, 5-2 North Central Conference)
Muncie Central 73, Indpls Broad Ripple 61
Muncie Central 47, Yorktown 38
Muncie Central 59, Logansport 49
Muncie Central 78, Greenfield-Central 48
Muncie Central 72, Jay County 48
Muncie Central 62, Delta 47
Muncie Central 95, Indpls Manuel 48
Muncie Central 60, Richmond 39
Indpls Pike 60, Muncie Central 57
Hunt. North 65, Muncie Central 56
Anderson 60, Muncie Central 58 OT
Noblesville 60, Muncie Central 49
Muncie Central 71, Muncie South 35
Indpls N. Central 69, Muncie Central 43
Muncie Central 62, New Castle 56
Muncie Central 59, Anderson Highland 39
Muncie Central 52, Kokomo 49
Muncie Central 70, F.W. Harding 47
Muncie Central 66, Marion 55
Muncie Central 64, Indpls Ben Davis 59
Muncie Central 79, Greenfield-Central 55 (sectional)
Muncie Central 70, Anderson 52 (sectional)
(Individual statistics, per-game averages)
Scoring - Terry Jenkins 17.7, Ben Botts 14.4, Tom Freeman 10.0, Brandon Jenkins 5.8, LaMarqus Coatie 4.1
Rebounding - Freeman 5.1, B. Jenkins 4.5, T. Jenkins 4.1, John Peckinpaugh 3.4
Assists - Botts 4.8, Freeman 2.4, T. Jenkins 2.0, B. Jenkins 1.8
Steals - Botts 1.8, T. Jenkins 1.4, Freeman 0.9 [[In-content Ad]]
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Warsaw has played its share of Goliath-like boys basketball programs over the years. Saturday, the Tigers will battle the most storied program in state history.
At 10 a.m. Saturday in the first semifinal game of the Class 4A Marion Regional, Warsaw (11-11), an accomplished program in its own right, will square off with Muncie Central (17-5).
McCutcheon (17-6) and Fort Wayne Snider (16-7) will play in the second semifinal game at approximately noon at Bill Green Athletic Arena. Winners will play at 8 p.m. for a berth in next Saturday's northern semistate, which will be played at either Kokomo or Lafayette Jeff.
"We've played most all the schools in the North Central Conference, but we haven't played Muncie Central, at least not while I've been here," said fourth-year Warsaw coach Doug Ogle, who also spent 15 years as the junior varsity coach. "Our players know of their tradition, but they won't be intimidated by Muncie Central. This is their (Muncie Central's players) first regional as the main players. I know we'll respect Muncie Central, but we won't fear them."
Muncie Central finished the 2004-2005 season with a 27-2 record and lost to Greg Oden and Lawrence North in the state championship game. The Bearcats graduated seven seniors and 60 points per game from last year's team.
Over the years, the Tigers have played every team currently in the North Central Conference - Anderson, Huntington North, Kokomo, Logansport, Marion, New Castle and Richmond - except Muncie Central.
The Tigers have wins against all the aforementioned NCC teams they have played, except Richmond, which Warsaw has played just one time in school history (1969).
Muncie Central, which boasts more state championships (8) and Indiana All-Stars (21) than any school in the state, enters Saturday's regional contest on an eight-game win streak.
The Bearcats advanced by winning the Anderson Sectional, beating Greenfield-Central 79-55 in Friday's semifinal and upsetting No. 3 Anderson 70-52 in Saturday's championship game.
Anderson, which beat Muncie Central 60-58 in overtime Jan. 13, scored 100 and 103 points, respectively, in its previous sectional games.
Warsaw, which won just two of its final eight regular-season games, advanced to the regional by winning the East Noble Sectional.
The Tigers drew the bye and then beat East Noble 58-52 in Friday's semifinal and upended Columbia City 40-32 in the title game.
Despite having the fewest number of wins of any of the 64 sectional winners, the Tigers believe they belong. And they believe they can knock off Muncie Central.
"We've had a lot of talent all year," said 6-foot-7 junior Miles Plumlee. "In the sectional we finally got to show that. We stepped up and did what we've always been able to do. We have talent and we think we can play with anybody."
To be able to play with Muncie Central, statistics show that the Tigers will have to try and slow 6-3 Terry Jenkins and 6-1 Ben Botts.
The Bearcats average nearly 64 points per game, with nearly 32 of those points coming from Jenkins and Botts, who average 17.7 and 14.4 points per game, respectively.
Both started all 22 games for Muncie Central this season.
Jenkins shoots 84 percent from the free throw line and 53 percent (49 of 92) from three-point range, while Botts has hit 57 of 62 (92 percent) free throws and 38 of 98 (39 percent) three-pointers.
As a team, the Bearcats shoot 76 percent from the charity stripe and 43 percent from three-point range.
"They have good shooters," said 6-foot-3 Warsaw junior Tommy Reinholt, the only non-senior in the Tigers' starting lineup. "A big percentage of their shots are three-pointers. We have to step outside and defend them. We can't play as individuals, we have to play as a team and help each other."
Muncie Central has made 142 three-pointers this season, an average of 6.5 treys per game, and made more free throws than its opponents have attempted.
Like the sectional championship victory over Columbia City, a game in which Warsaw used a very stingy 2-3 zone defense, Tiger senior John-Wesley Maierle thinks defense wins Saturday's regional semifinal game.
"They average 1.15 points per possession, which is really good, but they give up 1.13 points per possession," said Maierle. "Anything over .85 is bad defense. The teams they play must not play defense. I think we'll be able to score, but we'll have to play defense."
Senior Colin Clemens leads the Tigers in scoring with an average of 14.8 points per game. He also averages a team-high 5.2 rebounds per game.
Classmate Shaun Cabrera averages 9.6 points, four assists and four rebounds per game.
The Tigers score 55 points per game and give up 52 points per game.
Ogle considers Saturday's regional wide open and believes his Tigers, if they play like they're capable, can win.
"They're solid, but they're a team I feel like we match up pretty well with," Ogle said of the Bearcats, who won their last state title in 1988. "They're not a team that's going to be too, too quick for us. They're not a team that I think will overwhelm us."
Ogle considers the Marion Regional wide open because, on paper, none of the four teams participating were considered favorites to get out of their respective sectionals.
"I think the regional is wide open," said Ogle. "I think people probably thought Columbia City, Huntington North, Marion and Anderson would be in the regional, and none of them made it. We may be 11-11, but I don't think our sectional wins were upsets."
Ogle said after his team won the sectional that "confidence is a funny thing." When a team is playing together and confident, they can become a different team all together.
That is a perfect description of NorthWood High School's football team from this past fall.
After posting a less-than-stellar 3-6 record in the regular season, NorthWood put things together in the state tournament, knocked off the state's No. 1 team in the semistate and went on to win the Class 3A state championship.
To inspire his team, Ogle invited NorthWood football coach Rich Dodson to speak to the Tigers earlier this week.
"We had been talking about NorthWood's season, how they were 3-6 going into the sectional and how they won the state championship," said Ogle. "(Assistant) coach (Aaron) Wolf's father-in-law is a good friend of Coach Dodson's, and with John-Wesley Maierle, Shaun Cabrera and Mitch and Tommy Reinholt being football players here, they knew who he was. He took us through the end the regular season and their state-tournament run. He told us that to play like a champion, you have to think like a champion."
Ogle believes his team is starting to do that.
And while Ogle asked Dodson to speak for 10 minutes, Ogle wasn't going to cut the Panther coach off when he talked for an extra 15 minutes.
What he had to say was worth hearing.
Maybe what the Tigers do Saturday will be worth talking about.
WARSAW TIGERS
(11-11, 2-5 Northern Lakes Conference)
Warsaw 54, Tippecanoe Valley 44
Columbia City 50, Warsaw 44
S.B. Clay 62, Warsaw 59
Warsaw 68, DeKalb 45
Penn 46, Warsaw 39
Wawasee 52, Warsaw 49
Warsaw 60, Elkhart Central 46
Warsaw 70, Rochester 63 OT
Warsaw 61, Whitko 56
Warsaw 56, Northridge 43
F.W. South 64, Warsaw 44
Warsaw 57, Goshen 42
Concord 61, Warsaw 57 2OT
NorthWood 61, Warsaw 46
Elkhart Memorial 65, Warsaw 46
Marion 65, Warsaw 48
Plymouth 44, Warsaw 41
Warsaw 73, F.W. Canterbury 47
Hunt. North 53, Warsaw 45
Warsaw 49, Carroll 47
Warsaw 58, East Noble 52 (sectional)
Warsaw 40, Columbia City 32 (sectional)
(Individual statitistics, per-game averages)
Scoring - Colin Clemens 14.8, Shaun Cabrera 9.6, Steve Lemasters 6.5, J.W. Maierle 5.0, Miles Plumlee 4.5, Mitch Reinholt 4.3, Tommy Reinholt 4.2
Rebounding - Clemens 5.2, T. Reiholt 4.1, Cabrera 3.9, M. Reinholt 2.9, Mi. Plumlee 2.5, Lemasters 2.5
Assists - Cabrera 4.2, Maierle 2.1, Clemens 1.9
Steals - Cabrera 1.9, Maierle 1.5, T. Reinholt 1.0
MUNCIE CENTRAL BEARCATS
(17-5, 5-2 North Central Conference)
Muncie Central 73, Indpls Broad Ripple 61
Muncie Central 47, Yorktown 38
Muncie Central 59, Logansport 49
Muncie Central 78, Greenfield-Central 48
Muncie Central 72, Jay County 48
Muncie Central 62, Delta 47
Muncie Central 95, Indpls Manuel 48
Muncie Central 60, Richmond 39
Indpls Pike 60, Muncie Central 57
Hunt. North 65, Muncie Central 56
Anderson 60, Muncie Central 58 OT
Noblesville 60, Muncie Central 49
Muncie Central 71, Muncie South 35
Indpls N. Central 69, Muncie Central 43
Muncie Central 62, New Castle 56
Muncie Central 59, Anderson Highland 39
Muncie Central 52, Kokomo 49
Muncie Central 70, F.W. Harding 47
Muncie Central 66, Marion 55
Muncie Central 64, Indpls Ben Davis 59
Muncie Central 79, Greenfield-Central 55 (sectional)
Muncie Central 70, Anderson 52 (sectional)
(Individual statistics, per-game averages)
Scoring - Terry Jenkins 17.7, Ben Botts 14.4, Tom Freeman 10.0, Brandon Jenkins 5.8, LaMarqus Coatie 4.1
Rebounding - Freeman 5.1, B. Jenkins 4.5, T. Jenkins 4.1, John Peckinpaugh 3.4
Assists - Botts 4.8, Freeman 2.4, T. Jenkins 2.0, B. Jenkins 1.8
Steals - Botts 1.8, T. Jenkins 1.4, Freeman 0.9 [[In-content Ad]]