Warsaw Boys Advance To Title Game
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
KENDALLVILLE - Playing in Class 4A Sectional 5, Warsaw's varsity boys basketball team got a clutch performance from the senior wearing jersey No. 5.
Fueled by Shaun Cabrera's 19 points, eight assists, five rebounds and two steals, Warsaw rallied to defeat host East Noble 58-52 in the first of two semifinal games Friday.
Columbia City defeated conference rival DeKalb, the defending sectional champion, 48-39 in the second semifinal game.
Warsaw and Columbia City will meet in the championship game tonight at 7:30 p.m. for the right to play in next Saturday's Marion Regional against the winner of the Anderson Sectional.
"Number five was big time tonight," fourth-year Warsaw coach Doug Ogle said of Cabrera, who hit 10 of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter. "We play in Sectional No. 5 and our No. 5 was big time. Shaun Cabrera, Colin Clemens and John-Wesley Maierle were really great leaders in this game."
Trailing 42-40 with 4:55 remaining in the game, junior Tommy Reinholt scored on an assist from Cabrera. Reinholt's basket started an 8-0 run, a run that also included a critical three-pointer from Maierle and a big field goal from junior Miles Plumlee.
The Knights later cut the Tiger lead to two, 50-48, with a three-pointer from senior Kyle Johnson with 50 seconds remaining; to 52-50 when junior Matt Dove converted two free throws with 33 seconds left; and to 54-52 when freshman Kevin Bloom scored a basket with 21 seconds remaining.
Warsaw pushed the advantage back to four with a pair of free throws in all three situations.
Cabrera, Clemens and Maierle, all senior starters, combined to score 21 of Warsaw's 25 points in the fourth quarter. Their effort kept theirs and their teammates' season alive and advanced the Tigers to the sectional championship game for the first time since 2002.
Warsaw is seeking its first sectional championship since 2000.
"We've talked throughout the season about winning the sectional, about how we can do it," said Ogle, whose team improved to 10-11 on the season. "We were fortunate that we didn't have to play Tuesday, and tonight we beat a good East Noble team on their home floor. Our confidence was up after Carroll, it's way up now. We'll be ready to play for the sectional championship."
The Knights, who fell 70-55 to the Tigers in last year's sectional opener, ended their season with a 12-10 record.
Johnson hit five three-pointers and led East Noble with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Steve Oesch and Dove added 13 points each, while Bloom scored five points and Adam Kurtz and Austin Blomeke scored two points each.
Clemens scored 14 points and pulled down five rebounds for Warsaw, while Tommy Reinholt scored 11 points and grabbed four boards.
Maierle scored seven points for the Tigers, while freshman Mason Plumlee scored three and Miles Plumlee and senior Mitch Reinholt scored two points each.
The two teams were knotted at 11 after the first quarter and East Noble led 26-20 at the break.
"I'm happy with our toughness in that game," said Ogle. "East Noble, in the first half, shot the lights out. I challenged them to be more physical in the second half. We gave up three three-pointers and three and-ones in the first half. We needed to be more physical. They outrebounded us in the first half. The second half may be the best half of basketball we've played."
The Tigers turned the ball over just one time in the second half and 9 of 16 from the field and 18 of 19 from the free throw line.
Warsaw trailed the Knights 35-33 heading into the fourth quarter and outscored East Noble 18-10 in the final five minutes of the game.
Tonight's sectional championship game will be a rematch of the second game of the regular season, a game Columbia City hosted and won 50-44. The Eagles have won six of the last 10 meetings against Warsaw.
WARSAW 58, EAST NOBLE 52
Warsaw 11 9 13 25 - 58
E. Noble 11 15 9 17 - 52
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Cabrera 3-7 12-13 5 2 19
* T. Reinholt 4-5 2-2 4 4 11
* Maierle 3-4 0-0 0 0 7
* M. Reinholt 1-3 0-0 1 1 2
* Clemens 4-7 6-8 5 0 14
Mi. Plumlee 1-1 0-0 1 0 2
Lemasters 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Ma. Plumlee 1-4 1-1 0 0 3
Totals 17-31 21-24 16 7 58
E. Noble FG FT R S Pts.
* Blomeke 1-2 0-0 0 0 2
* Johnson 6-8 0-0 2 0 17
* Dove 4-7 5-5 5 0 13
* Kurtz 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
* Risedorph 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Bloom 2-4 0-0 1 0 5
Edmonds 0-1 0-0 1 1 0
Oesch 6-11 3-4 4 1 13
Totals 19-34 8-9 13 2 52
Three-point goals - Warsaw 3-6 (Cabrera 1-2, Maierle 1-2, T. Reinholt 1-1, Clemens 0-1), East Noble 6-13 (Johnson 5-7, Bloom 1-3, Blomeke 0-1, Dove 0-1, Oesch 0-1). Turnovers - Warsaw 6, East Noble 10. Fouls - Warsaw 17, East Noble 23. Fouled out - none.
Other semfinal: Columbia City 48, DeKalb 39 [[In-content Ad]]
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KENDALLVILLE - Playing in Class 4A Sectional 5, Warsaw's varsity boys basketball team got a clutch performance from the senior wearing jersey No. 5.
Fueled by Shaun Cabrera's 19 points, eight assists, five rebounds and two steals, Warsaw rallied to defeat host East Noble 58-52 in the first of two semifinal games Friday.
Columbia City defeated conference rival DeKalb, the defending sectional champion, 48-39 in the second semifinal game.
Warsaw and Columbia City will meet in the championship game tonight at 7:30 p.m. for the right to play in next Saturday's Marion Regional against the winner of the Anderson Sectional.
"Number five was big time tonight," fourth-year Warsaw coach Doug Ogle said of Cabrera, who hit 10 of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter. "We play in Sectional No. 5 and our No. 5 was big time. Shaun Cabrera, Colin Clemens and John-Wesley Maierle were really great leaders in this game."
Trailing 42-40 with 4:55 remaining in the game, junior Tommy Reinholt scored on an assist from Cabrera. Reinholt's basket started an 8-0 run, a run that also included a critical three-pointer from Maierle and a big field goal from junior Miles Plumlee.
The Knights later cut the Tiger lead to two, 50-48, with a three-pointer from senior Kyle Johnson with 50 seconds remaining; to 52-50 when junior Matt Dove converted two free throws with 33 seconds left; and to 54-52 when freshman Kevin Bloom scored a basket with 21 seconds remaining.
Warsaw pushed the advantage back to four with a pair of free throws in all three situations.
Cabrera, Clemens and Maierle, all senior starters, combined to score 21 of Warsaw's 25 points in the fourth quarter. Their effort kept theirs and their teammates' season alive and advanced the Tigers to the sectional championship game for the first time since 2002.
Warsaw is seeking its first sectional championship since 2000.
"We've talked throughout the season about winning the sectional, about how we can do it," said Ogle, whose team improved to 10-11 on the season. "We were fortunate that we didn't have to play Tuesday, and tonight we beat a good East Noble team on their home floor. Our confidence was up after Carroll, it's way up now. We'll be ready to play for the sectional championship."
The Knights, who fell 70-55 to the Tigers in last year's sectional opener, ended their season with a 12-10 record.
Johnson hit five three-pointers and led East Noble with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Steve Oesch and Dove added 13 points each, while Bloom scored five points and Adam Kurtz and Austin Blomeke scored two points each.
Clemens scored 14 points and pulled down five rebounds for Warsaw, while Tommy Reinholt scored 11 points and grabbed four boards.
Maierle scored seven points for the Tigers, while freshman Mason Plumlee scored three and Miles Plumlee and senior Mitch Reinholt scored two points each.
The two teams were knotted at 11 after the first quarter and East Noble led 26-20 at the break.
"I'm happy with our toughness in that game," said Ogle. "East Noble, in the first half, shot the lights out. I challenged them to be more physical in the second half. We gave up three three-pointers and three and-ones in the first half. We needed to be more physical. They outrebounded us in the first half. The second half may be the best half of basketball we've played."
The Tigers turned the ball over just one time in the second half and 9 of 16 from the field and 18 of 19 from the free throw line.
Warsaw trailed the Knights 35-33 heading into the fourth quarter and outscored East Noble 18-10 in the final five minutes of the game.
Tonight's sectional championship game will be a rematch of the second game of the regular season, a game Columbia City hosted and won 50-44. The Eagles have won six of the last 10 meetings against Warsaw.
WARSAW 58, EAST NOBLE 52
Warsaw 11 9 13 25 - 58
E. Noble 11 15 9 17 - 52
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Cabrera 3-7 12-13 5 2 19
* T. Reinholt 4-5 2-2 4 4 11
* Maierle 3-4 0-0 0 0 7
* M. Reinholt 1-3 0-0 1 1 2
* Clemens 4-7 6-8 5 0 14
Mi. Plumlee 1-1 0-0 1 0 2
Lemasters 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Ma. Plumlee 1-4 1-1 0 0 3
Totals 17-31 21-24 16 7 58
E. Noble FG FT R S Pts.
* Blomeke 1-2 0-0 0 0 2
* Johnson 6-8 0-0 2 0 17
* Dove 4-7 5-5 5 0 13
* Kurtz 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
* Risedorph 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Bloom 2-4 0-0 1 0 5
Edmonds 0-1 0-0 1 1 0
Oesch 6-11 3-4 4 1 13
Totals 19-34 8-9 13 2 52
Three-point goals - Warsaw 3-6 (Cabrera 1-2, Maierle 1-2, T. Reinholt 1-1, Clemens 0-1), East Noble 6-13 (Johnson 5-7, Bloom 1-3, Blomeke 0-1, Dove 0-1, Oesch 0-1). Turnovers - Warsaw 6, East Noble 10. Fouls - Warsaw 17, East Noble 23. Fouled out - none.
Other semfinal: Columbia City 48, DeKalb 39 [[In-content Ad]]