Trip To Maple City Sweet For Tiger Boys
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
GOSHEN - A team that hasn't been playing at full strength, first-year coach Doug Ogle said his Warsaw boys basketball team got just what the doctor ordered Friday night.
In the return of 5-foot-6 sophomore point guard Michael Moore, out the first 10 games of the season after shoulder surgery, the Tigers played more like the team Ogle said they could be, downing host Northern Lakes Conference foe Goshen 50-48 in dramatic fashion.
Capping off his impressive season debut, the silky smooth ball-handling Moore found a wide open Adam Griggs for the winning layup with two seconds left, halting Goshen's three-game win streak and giving the Redskins their first conference loss of the season.
Goshen inbounded the ball with one second remaining, a bomb down court to senior Andrew Hershberger, whose three-pointer at the buzzer was blocked by Griggs.
"I thought our toughness played a big role," Ogle said. "We battled. We had foul trouble with Ryan DeGeeter, and we played through that. When (Jeff) Swartz hit that three to tie it, we just decided to go ahead and go for it (rather than calling time out). Michael Moore showed great poise, and found Adam Griggs right in front of the basket."
After Tiger senior Erik Fussle gave Warsaw a 48-45 advantage, Goshen called a full time out, and then responded with a Swartz three-pointer with 19 seconds remaining.
Rather than calling a time out to set up a play, Moore dribbled down court, started driving the lane and then dished off to Griggs for the game-winner, sending the Tiger bench and stands into a frenzied celebration.
"We were finally able to win a close game," Ogle said. "It feels good. I thought we had a chance tonight. I knew Goshen might overlook us with their two big NLC wins and us being 0-2 and not doing much. I know Coach Bechtel was aware of the situation, but sometimes it's hard to get kids to focus."
The two-point win, which came a year after Jared Shaw led Warsaw on a fourth-quarter comeback for a one-point victory, improved the Tigers to 6-5 overall and 1-2 in the NLC. Goshen, which last week blasted undefeated Concord by 28, fell to 6-4 and 2-1.
In his first career varsity start, Moore scored seven points, picked up five rebounds and dished out 13 assists.
The 13 assists, rivaled by just one turnover, is what had Ogle talking after the game, as Warsaw's offense ran smooth with Moore at the wheel.
"Michael Moore was just what the doctor ordered," Ogle said. "To go with that, we're real excited about the return of William Knepper next week."
Knepper, a 6-3 senior would-be starter, tore his ACL in the football sectional semifinal. He is expected to return for Friday's home game with NLC foe Concord.
A game that went back and forth for 32 minutes, the visiting Tigers found themselves trailing by one after the first (11-10), second (22-21) and third (34-33) quarters.
Goshen took a 44-40 advantage with 4:14 remaining in the game when 6-7 senior Andrew Hershberger made good on a pair of free throw attempts, but the Tigers tied the game when Moore and junior Ryan Schultz each hit a pair of charity tosses.
Hershberger scored a game-high 23 points for Goshen, as well as pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds. The 6-7 frontliner was 6 of 11 from the field and 11 of 14 from the free throw line.
Senior Matt Lewallen, who averaged 23 points per outing over Goshen's three-game win streak, added 11, while Nick McCloughen scored eight and Swartz six.
Warsaw, which shot 46 percent from the field for the game, was led in scoring by Fussle with 14. DeGeeter, who fouled out with 1:08 left in the game, finished with 10, while Schultz added nine, Moore seven, Griggs and Todd Braddock four each, and Michael Wienhorst two.
The Tigers are in action again Friday as they host conference opponent Concord. With no undefeated teams remaining in the conference, the Tigers are still alive in their quest for an NLC title, as NorthWood, Wawasee, Goshen, Concord and Northridge all have 2-1 records.
"The NLC is wide open," Ogle said. "Here we come up here and shock Goshen. The conference champion may have two losses."
WARSAW 50, GOSHEN 48
Warsaw (6-5, 1-2) 10 11 12 17 - 50
Goshen (6-4, 2-1) 11 11 12 14 - 48
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Griggs 2-4 0-0 2 1 4
* Moore 2-7 3-4 5 0 7
* Braddock 1-4 2-3 6 2 14
* Fussle 6-6 2-3 5 0 14
* DeGeeter 5-10 0-0 4 - 10
Schultz 3-7 2-2 4 1 9
Gensinger 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Wienhorst 0-2 2-2 0 0 2
Allison 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 19-41 11-14 26 4 50
Goshen FG FT R S Pts.
* McCloughen 3-4 0-0 2 2 8
* Swartz 2-8 0-0 0 0 6
* Landis 0-3 0-0 2 1 0
* Lewallen 4-8 1-3 1 0 11
* Hershberger 6-11 11-14 11 1 23
Sheeley 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Bartley 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Koronkiewicz 0-2 0-0 2 0 0
Totals 15-36 12-17 18 4 48
Three-point goals - Warsaw 1-12 (Schultz 1-3, Moore 0-3, DeGeeter 0-3, Griggs 0-1, Gensinger 0-1, Wienhorst 0-1), Goshen 6-17 (Swartz 2-7, Lewallen 2-4, McCloughen 2-3, Landis 0-3). Fouls - Warsaw 14, Goshen 12. Fouled out - DeGeeter.
JV - Goshen 28, Warsaw 26 [[In-content Ad]]
GOSHEN - A team that hasn't been playing at full strength, first-year coach Doug Ogle said his Warsaw boys basketball team got just what the doctor ordered Friday night.
In the return of 5-foot-6 sophomore point guard Michael Moore, out the first 10 games of the season after shoulder surgery, the Tigers played more like the team Ogle said they could be, downing host Northern Lakes Conference foe Goshen 50-48 in dramatic fashion.
Capping off his impressive season debut, the silky smooth ball-handling Moore found a wide open Adam Griggs for the winning layup with two seconds left, halting Goshen's three-game win streak and giving the Redskins their first conference loss of the season.
Goshen inbounded the ball with one second remaining, a bomb down court to senior Andrew Hershberger, whose three-pointer at the buzzer was blocked by Griggs.
"I thought our toughness played a big role," Ogle said. "We battled. We had foul trouble with Ryan DeGeeter, and we played through that. When (Jeff) Swartz hit that three to tie it, we just decided to go ahead and go for it (rather than calling time out). Michael Moore showed great poise, and found Adam Griggs right in front of the basket."
After Tiger senior Erik Fussle gave Warsaw a 48-45 advantage, Goshen called a full time out, and then responded with a Swartz three-pointer with 19 seconds remaining.
Rather than calling a time out to set up a play, Moore dribbled down court, started driving the lane and then dished off to Griggs for the game-winner, sending the Tiger bench and stands into a frenzied celebration.
"We were finally able to win a close game," Ogle said. "It feels good. I thought we had a chance tonight. I knew Goshen might overlook us with their two big NLC wins and us being 0-2 and not doing much. I know Coach Bechtel was aware of the situation, but sometimes it's hard to get kids to focus."
The two-point win, which came a year after Jared Shaw led Warsaw on a fourth-quarter comeback for a one-point victory, improved the Tigers to 6-5 overall and 1-2 in the NLC. Goshen, which last week blasted undefeated Concord by 28, fell to 6-4 and 2-1.
In his first career varsity start, Moore scored seven points, picked up five rebounds and dished out 13 assists.
The 13 assists, rivaled by just one turnover, is what had Ogle talking after the game, as Warsaw's offense ran smooth with Moore at the wheel.
"Michael Moore was just what the doctor ordered," Ogle said. "To go with that, we're real excited about the return of William Knepper next week."
Knepper, a 6-3 senior would-be starter, tore his ACL in the football sectional semifinal. He is expected to return for Friday's home game with NLC foe Concord.
A game that went back and forth for 32 minutes, the visiting Tigers found themselves trailing by one after the first (11-10), second (22-21) and third (34-33) quarters.
Goshen took a 44-40 advantage with 4:14 remaining in the game when 6-7 senior Andrew Hershberger made good on a pair of free throw attempts, but the Tigers tied the game when Moore and junior Ryan Schultz each hit a pair of charity tosses.
Hershberger scored a game-high 23 points for Goshen, as well as pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds. The 6-7 frontliner was 6 of 11 from the field and 11 of 14 from the free throw line.
Senior Matt Lewallen, who averaged 23 points per outing over Goshen's three-game win streak, added 11, while Nick McCloughen scored eight and Swartz six.
Warsaw, which shot 46 percent from the field for the game, was led in scoring by Fussle with 14. DeGeeter, who fouled out with 1:08 left in the game, finished with 10, while Schultz added nine, Moore seven, Griggs and Todd Braddock four each, and Michael Wienhorst two.
The Tigers are in action again Friday as they host conference opponent Concord. With no undefeated teams remaining in the conference, the Tigers are still alive in their quest for an NLC title, as NorthWood, Wawasee, Goshen, Concord and Northridge all have 2-1 records.
"The NLC is wide open," Ogle said. "Here we come up here and shock Goshen. The conference champion may have two losses."
WARSAW 50, GOSHEN 48
Warsaw (6-5, 1-2) 10 11 12 17 - 50
Goshen (6-4, 2-1) 11 11 12 14 - 48
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Griggs 2-4 0-0 2 1 4
* Moore 2-7 3-4 5 0 7
* Braddock 1-4 2-3 6 2 14
* Fussle 6-6 2-3 5 0 14
* DeGeeter 5-10 0-0 4 - 10
Schultz 3-7 2-2 4 1 9
Gensinger 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Wienhorst 0-2 2-2 0 0 2
Allison 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 19-41 11-14 26 4 50
Goshen FG FT R S Pts.
* McCloughen 3-4 0-0 2 2 8
* Swartz 2-8 0-0 0 0 6
* Landis 0-3 0-0 2 1 0
* Lewallen 4-8 1-3 1 0 11
* Hershberger 6-11 11-14 11 1 23
Sheeley 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Bartley 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Koronkiewicz 0-2 0-0 2 0 0
Totals 15-36 12-17 18 4 48
Three-point goals - Warsaw 1-12 (Schultz 1-3, Moore 0-3, DeGeeter 0-3, Griggs 0-1, Gensinger 0-1, Wienhorst 0-1), Goshen 6-17 (Swartz 2-7, Lewallen 2-4, McCloughen 2-3, Landis 0-3). Fouls - Warsaw 14, Goshen 12. Fouled out - DeGeeter.
JV - Goshen 28, Warsaw 26 [[In-content Ad]]