Warrior Boys Down Rival Warsaw
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SYRACUSE - An ace on the golf course, Wawasee senior Stephen Conrad certainly found his stroke at the right time Friday night, lifting the Warrior boys basketball team to a win over rival Warsaw.
A game that was nip and tuck for four quarters, with a six-point Warsaw lead being the biggest advantage of the game, 6-foot-2 Conrad broke a 43-all tie with a wide-open three-pointer from the left corner with 1:47 remaining.
Wawasee then iced the game with free throws, halting a 10-game losing streak to rival Warsaw with a 51-46 victory.
The Warriors, now 7-2 overall and 1-0 in Northern Lakes Conference play, last defeated the Tigers in the 1995 sectional. Warsaw, which owns a 44-11 all-time record against Wawasee, falls to 5-4 and 0-1.
"We responded to the runs they made and we executed when we had the ball," third-year Warrior coach Phil Mishler said. "We had three turnovers in the first half and two in the second half. By not turning the ball over, we didn't give Warsaw as many chances. We did a good job handling the ball."
To go with handling it, Wawasee also shot the ball well - namely drilling five wide open three-pointers.
Asked the single biggest difference in the five-point loss, it was the four open threes in the first quarter and the one late by Conrad that first-year Tiger coach Doug Ogle pointed to.
"We gave them five unchallenged threes," Ogle said. "They made all of them. I felt if we could take those shots away in the second half we'd be in good shape."
Indeed the Tigers were in good shape, taking a 43-42 lead when junior Todd Braddock converted two free throw attempts with 2:40 remaining in the game, but after Warrior sophomore Kory Lantz hit a charity toss to knot the game at 43, Conrad's three seemed to take the wind out of Warsaw's sails.
With Warsaw forced to foul, host Wawasee put the game away by hitting 5 of 6 charity tosses over the final 51 seconds, 16 of 19 (84.2 percent) for the game.
"I'm disappointed we lost, but give Wawasee credit," Ogle said. "They're a better team than us right now. Maybe by sectional time we'll catch up and pass them. They deserved to win. I'm disappointed we lost, but when we get Michael Moore and William Knepper back we're gonna be a different team."
Moore and Knepper, both would-be starters, have been sidelined the entire season - Moore after shoulder surgery and Knepper after knee surgery. Both are rumored to be returning in the next few weeks.
An always-talked-about rivalry game, fans that attended Friday's Warsaw/Wawasee game got their money's worth.
Warsaw played its typical disciplined game, taking just 12 shots from the field in the first half but making eight of them. For the game, the Tigers were 17 of 28 (60.7 percent) from the field and 12 of 14 (85.7 percent) from the charity stripe. Warsaw turned the ball over just 11 times.
Long on experience, returning last year's entire varsity roster, Wawasee was short on mistakes Friday night. To go with just five turnovers, the Warriors shot 15 of 32 (46.9 percent) from the field, 5 of 10 from the arc, and 16 of 19 from the free throw arc.
As well as the stat line says both teams played, Conrad's clutch three-pointer sticks out like a sore thumb.
"We work on situations like that in practice, down three, down two," Mishler said. "One of our goals is to win 75 percent of the situations we're in. Conrad just happened to be the guy that was open. All of our shooters had the green light, it doesn't matter who gets it, they can put it in the hole."
All of Wawasee's 12 first-quarter points came from the arc, as brothers Kyle and Kory Lantz each hit a pair of treys.
The teams were knotted at 12 after one quarter of play, then Wawasee led 21-20 at the break. After a see-saw third quarter, the host Warriors led 32-31, then outscore the Tigers 19-15 in the final frame en route to the win.
Conrad scored all seven of his points in the fourth quarter, none bigger than the three he hit from the left corner, arguably the shot that propelled Wawasee to just its fourth victory over Warsaw in 20 years.
Kory Lantz and senior Clint Custer led Wawasee in scoring with 12 points each, while Kyle Lantz added 11 and senior Ben Knisely nine.
The spark plug for Warsaw thus far, Todd Braddock led Warsaw with a game-high 16 points, most of them coming on slashing drives to the basket. Braddock, a 5-11 junior, finished the game 6 of 8 from the field and 4 of 5 from the stripe before fouling out late.
Senior Erik Fussled chipped in with 11, while classmate Ryan DeGeeter added eight and junior Adam Griggs five.
Warsaw hosts NLC for Northridge Friday, while Wawasee hosts Whitko Thursday.
WAWASEE 51, WARSAW 46
Warsaw 12 8 11 15 - 46
Wawasee 12 9 11 19 - 51
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Schultz 1-1 0-0 5 0 2
* Griggs 2-4 1-2 1 0 5
* Braddock 6-8 4-5 0 0 16
* Fussle 4-4 3-3 1 1 11
* DeGeeter 3-6 2-2 4 0 8
Gensinger 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
Wienhorst 0-4 2-2 4 0 2
Miller 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 17-28 12-14 15 1 46
Wawasee FG FT R S Pts.
* Ko. Lantz 3-8 4-5 2 1 12
* Conrad 1-4 4-4 2 2 7
* Ky. Lantz 4-5 1-1 0 1 11
* Custer 5-7 2-3 2 2 12
* Knisely 2-5 5-6 2 0 9
Stichter 0-3 0-0 2 0 0
Kauchak 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Kaiser 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Gingerich 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 15-32 16-19 11 6 51
Three-point goals - Warsaw 0-3 (Wienhorst 0-2, DeGeeter 0-1), Wawasee 5-10 (Ko. Lantz 2-3, Ky. Lantz 2-2, Conrad 1-4, Stichter 0-1). Turnovers - Warsaw 11, Wawasee 5. Fouls - Warsaw 19, Wawasee 16. Fouled out - Braddock, Griggs.
JV - Wawasee 52, Warsaw 39 [[In-content Ad]]
Latest News
E-Editions
SYRACUSE - An ace on the golf course, Wawasee senior Stephen Conrad certainly found his stroke at the right time Friday night, lifting the Warrior boys basketball team to a win over rival Warsaw.
A game that was nip and tuck for four quarters, with a six-point Warsaw lead being the biggest advantage of the game, 6-foot-2 Conrad broke a 43-all tie with a wide-open three-pointer from the left corner with 1:47 remaining.
Wawasee then iced the game with free throws, halting a 10-game losing streak to rival Warsaw with a 51-46 victory.
The Warriors, now 7-2 overall and 1-0 in Northern Lakes Conference play, last defeated the Tigers in the 1995 sectional. Warsaw, which owns a 44-11 all-time record against Wawasee, falls to 5-4 and 0-1.
"We responded to the runs they made and we executed when we had the ball," third-year Warrior coach Phil Mishler said. "We had three turnovers in the first half and two in the second half. By not turning the ball over, we didn't give Warsaw as many chances. We did a good job handling the ball."
To go with handling it, Wawasee also shot the ball well - namely drilling five wide open three-pointers.
Asked the single biggest difference in the five-point loss, it was the four open threes in the first quarter and the one late by Conrad that first-year Tiger coach Doug Ogle pointed to.
"We gave them five unchallenged threes," Ogle said. "They made all of them. I felt if we could take those shots away in the second half we'd be in good shape."
Indeed the Tigers were in good shape, taking a 43-42 lead when junior Todd Braddock converted two free throw attempts with 2:40 remaining in the game, but after Warrior sophomore Kory Lantz hit a charity toss to knot the game at 43, Conrad's three seemed to take the wind out of Warsaw's sails.
With Warsaw forced to foul, host Wawasee put the game away by hitting 5 of 6 charity tosses over the final 51 seconds, 16 of 19 (84.2 percent) for the game.
"I'm disappointed we lost, but give Wawasee credit," Ogle said. "They're a better team than us right now. Maybe by sectional time we'll catch up and pass them. They deserved to win. I'm disappointed we lost, but when we get Michael Moore and William Knepper back we're gonna be a different team."
Moore and Knepper, both would-be starters, have been sidelined the entire season - Moore after shoulder surgery and Knepper after knee surgery. Both are rumored to be returning in the next few weeks.
An always-talked-about rivalry game, fans that attended Friday's Warsaw/Wawasee game got their money's worth.
Warsaw played its typical disciplined game, taking just 12 shots from the field in the first half but making eight of them. For the game, the Tigers were 17 of 28 (60.7 percent) from the field and 12 of 14 (85.7 percent) from the charity stripe. Warsaw turned the ball over just 11 times.
Long on experience, returning last year's entire varsity roster, Wawasee was short on mistakes Friday night. To go with just five turnovers, the Warriors shot 15 of 32 (46.9 percent) from the field, 5 of 10 from the arc, and 16 of 19 from the free throw arc.
As well as the stat line says both teams played, Conrad's clutch three-pointer sticks out like a sore thumb.
"We work on situations like that in practice, down three, down two," Mishler said. "One of our goals is to win 75 percent of the situations we're in. Conrad just happened to be the guy that was open. All of our shooters had the green light, it doesn't matter who gets it, they can put it in the hole."
All of Wawasee's 12 first-quarter points came from the arc, as brothers Kyle and Kory Lantz each hit a pair of treys.
The teams were knotted at 12 after one quarter of play, then Wawasee led 21-20 at the break. After a see-saw third quarter, the host Warriors led 32-31, then outscore the Tigers 19-15 in the final frame en route to the win.
Conrad scored all seven of his points in the fourth quarter, none bigger than the three he hit from the left corner, arguably the shot that propelled Wawasee to just its fourth victory over Warsaw in 20 years.
Kory Lantz and senior Clint Custer led Wawasee in scoring with 12 points each, while Kyle Lantz added 11 and senior Ben Knisely nine.
The spark plug for Warsaw thus far, Todd Braddock led Warsaw with a game-high 16 points, most of them coming on slashing drives to the basket. Braddock, a 5-11 junior, finished the game 6 of 8 from the field and 4 of 5 from the stripe before fouling out late.
Senior Erik Fussled chipped in with 11, while classmate Ryan DeGeeter added eight and junior Adam Griggs five.
Warsaw hosts NLC for Northridge Friday, while Wawasee hosts Whitko Thursday.
WAWASEE 51, WARSAW 46
Warsaw 12 8 11 15 - 46
Wawasee 12 9 11 19 - 51
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Schultz 1-1 0-0 5 0 2
* Griggs 2-4 1-2 1 0 5
* Braddock 6-8 4-5 0 0 16
* Fussle 4-4 3-3 1 1 11
* DeGeeter 3-6 2-2 4 0 8
Gensinger 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
Wienhorst 0-4 2-2 4 0 2
Miller 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 17-28 12-14 15 1 46
Wawasee FG FT R S Pts.
* Ko. Lantz 3-8 4-5 2 1 12
* Conrad 1-4 4-4 2 2 7
* Ky. Lantz 4-5 1-1 0 1 11
* Custer 5-7 2-3 2 2 12
* Knisely 2-5 5-6 2 0 9
Stichter 0-3 0-0 2 0 0
Kauchak 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Kaiser 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Gingerich 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 15-32 16-19 11 6 51
Three-point goals - Warsaw 0-3 (Wienhorst 0-2, DeGeeter 0-1), Wawasee 5-10 (Ko. Lantz 2-3, Ky. Lantz 2-2, Conrad 1-4, Stichter 0-1). Turnovers - Warsaw 11, Wawasee 5. Fouls - Warsaw 19, Wawasee 16. Fouled out - Braddock, Griggs.
JV - Wawasee 52, Warsaw 39 [[In-content Ad]]