Warsaw Boys Alone In First Place
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
And with a 56-34 win over the visiting Goshen Redskins, along with some help from Wawasee, which beat Elkhart Memorial 88-71, the Tigers are currently alone atop the Northern Lakes Conference.[[In-content Ad]]"We're doing a better job of playing at a faster pace in practice," said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle. "We're doing more conditioning, and that's really helping us. I really like the way we're playing right now."
With the 22-point win, a victory that came a week after a 26-point thrashing of Northridge, Warsaw improved to 9-2 overall and 3-0 in the NLC.
Elkhart Memorial, Plymouth and Wawasee are all 2-1 in the NLC, while Concord, Goshen (5-6 overall) and NorthWood are 1-2 and Northridge is 0-3.
In taking another step toward their first conference championship since 2004, the Tigers wasted no time in setting the tone against the Redskins.
Warsaw raced out to a 9-0 lead and later led 32-16 at halftime.
The Tigers didn't appear to have any problems scoring against a Goshen team that was giving up just under 37 points per game, the best defensive average in the state.
"We started the game well," said Ogle. "The combination of Nic Moore and Justin Clemens is powerful. That's a lot for a team to guard. Both Nic and Justin played very well tonight."
Clemens, a 6-foot-3 senior led Warsaw with a game-high 25 points, making good on 11 of 13 field goal attempts and 3 of 3 free throw attempts.
Clemens, who outscored the Redskins 18-16 by himself in the first half, also pulled down a team-high six rebounds.
Moore continued to run the offense in stellar fashion, finishing with 15 points and seven assists while turning the ball over just once. The 5-9 junior point guard also made four steals.
"The combination of those two guys is really strong," Ogle said of Clemens and Moore. "Nic is playing really well right now. I like his leadership. I like his demeanor. We've got a lot of offense. We're a hard team to guard."
Sophomores Lucas Grose and Jordyn Coon scored five points each, while junior Joey Sparkman chipped in with four points and senior Zack Linky rounded out the Tigers' scoring with two points.
Talking about his team's offensive firepower after the game, Ogle pointed out that Moore, Clemens and Grose have all scored at least 28 points in a game this season.
"I wonder if we're the only team in the state that can say that," said Ogle. "We've got three guys who have all scored at least 28 points in a game this year. We've got a lot of offense. If teams are trying to guard us, they've got some choices to make."
While it was Goshen's defense that came in leading the state in fewest points allowed per game, it was Warsaw that handcuffed the opposition.
Goshen senior Taylor Kolbus, a Bethel College signee, led his team with 14 points, but struggled from the field, finishing the game 4 of 13.
"I thought our defense on Kolbus was good," said Ogle. "He had to work hard to catch the ball. Our defense continues to get better every game."
Sophomore Jake Speicher chipped in with five points, while senior Andrew Litwiller, junior Carson Roberts and sophomore Warren Kay added four points each in the loss.
Goshen was just 11 of 31 (36 percent) from the field overall, 2 of 8 from three-point range, and 10 of 17 from the free throw line.
Warsaw, on the other hand, was 23 of 44 (52 percent) from the field overall and 8 of 9 at the charity stripe.
The Tigers' downfall was their three-point shooting, as they made just 2 of 11 shots behind the arc.
Warsaw will be in action again Friday at Concord, while Goshen hosts NorthWood Friday.
WARSAW 56, GOSHEN 34
G 8 8 12 6 - 34
W 13 19 6 18 - 56
Goshen - Warren Kay 2-5 0-0 4, Andrew Litwiller 1-1 1-2 4, Jesse Good 0-0 0-0 0, Louis Kissinger 1-4 1-2 3, Jake Speicher 2-5 0-0 5, Carson Roberts 1-2 2-4 4, Jon Good 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor Kolbus 4-13 6-9 14. Totals 11-31 10-17 34.
Warsaw - Andy Conrad 0-3 0-0 0, Joey Sparkman 2-3 0-0 4, Justin Clemens 11-13 3-3 25, Brock Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Nic Moore 6-15 1-2 15, Christopher O'Hara 0-0 0-0 0, Jordyn Coon 1-4 3-3 5, Zack Linky 1-3 0-0 2, Lucas Grose 2-3 1-1 5, Jalen Roscoe 0-0 0-0 0, Travis Thomas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-44 8-9 56.
Three-point goals - Goshen 2 (Litwiller, Speicher), Warsaw 2 (Moore 2). Rebounds - Goshen 20 (Kolbus 9), Warsaw 28 (Clemens 6). Turnovers - Goshen 15, Warsaw 10. Steals - Goshen 5 (Kay 2), Warsaw 11 (Moore 4). Fouls - Goshen 10, Warsaw 17. Fouled out - Kolbus. Records: Goshen 5-6, 1-2 NLC, Warsaw 9-2, 3-0 NLC.
JV - Warsaw 48, Goshen 35
Warsaw (10-1) - Clay Anderson 16, Travis Thomas 10, Jay Holladay 9, Rhett Kesler 5, Brock Anson 4, Zach Rooney 2, Phil Shepherd 1
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And with a 56-34 win over the visiting Goshen Redskins, along with some help from Wawasee, which beat Elkhart Memorial 88-71, the Tigers are currently alone atop the Northern Lakes Conference.[[In-content Ad]]"We're doing a better job of playing at a faster pace in practice," said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle. "We're doing more conditioning, and that's really helping us. I really like the way we're playing right now."
With the 22-point win, a victory that came a week after a 26-point thrashing of Northridge, Warsaw improved to 9-2 overall and 3-0 in the NLC.
Elkhart Memorial, Plymouth and Wawasee are all 2-1 in the NLC, while Concord, Goshen (5-6 overall) and NorthWood are 1-2 and Northridge is 0-3.
In taking another step toward their first conference championship since 2004, the Tigers wasted no time in setting the tone against the Redskins.
Warsaw raced out to a 9-0 lead and later led 32-16 at halftime.
The Tigers didn't appear to have any problems scoring against a Goshen team that was giving up just under 37 points per game, the best defensive average in the state.
"We started the game well," said Ogle. "The combination of Nic Moore and Justin Clemens is powerful. That's a lot for a team to guard. Both Nic and Justin played very well tonight."
Clemens, a 6-foot-3 senior led Warsaw with a game-high 25 points, making good on 11 of 13 field goal attempts and 3 of 3 free throw attempts.
Clemens, who outscored the Redskins 18-16 by himself in the first half, also pulled down a team-high six rebounds.
Moore continued to run the offense in stellar fashion, finishing with 15 points and seven assists while turning the ball over just once. The 5-9 junior point guard also made four steals.
"The combination of those two guys is really strong," Ogle said of Clemens and Moore. "Nic is playing really well right now. I like his leadership. I like his demeanor. We've got a lot of offense. We're a hard team to guard."
Sophomores Lucas Grose and Jordyn Coon scored five points each, while junior Joey Sparkman chipped in with four points and senior Zack Linky rounded out the Tigers' scoring with two points.
Talking about his team's offensive firepower after the game, Ogle pointed out that Moore, Clemens and Grose have all scored at least 28 points in a game this season.
"I wonder if we're the only team in the state that can say that," said Ogle. "We've got three guys who have all scored at least 28 points in a game this year. We've got a lot of offense. If teams are trying to guard us, they've got some choices to make."
While it was Goshen's defense that came in leading the state in fewest points allowed per game, it was Warsaw that handcuffed the opposition.
Goshen senior Taylor Kolbus, a Bethel College signee, led his team with 14 points, but struggled from the field, finishing the game 4 of 13.
"I thought our defense on Kolbus was good," said Ogle. "He had to work hard to catch the ball. Our defense continues to get better every game."
Sophomore Jake Speicher chipped in with five points, while senior Andrew Litwiller, junior Carson Roberts and sophomore Warren Kay added four points each in the loss.
Goshen was just 11 of 31 (36 percent) from the field overall, 2 of 8 from three-point range, and 10 of 17 from the free throw line.
Warsaw, on the other hand, was 23 of 44 (52 percent) from the field overall and 8 of 9 at the charity stripe.
The Tigers' downfall was their three-point shooting, as they made just 2 of 11 shots behind the arc.
Warsaw will be in action again Friday at Concord, while Goshen hosts NorthWood Friday.
WARSAW 56, GOSHEN 34
G 8 8 12 6 - 34
W 13 19 6 18 - 56
Goshen - Warren Kay 2-5 0-0 4, Andrew Litwiller 1-1 1-2 4, Jesse Good 0-0 0-0 0, Louis Kissinger 1-4 1-2 3, Jake Speicher 2-5 0-0 5, Carson Roberts 1-2 2-4 4, Jon Good 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor Kolbus 4-13 6-9 14. Totals 11-31 10-17 34.
Warsaw - Andy Conrad 0-3 0-0 0, Joey Sparkman 2-3 0-0 4, Justin Clemens 11-13 3-3 25, Brock Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Nic Moore 6-15 1-2 15, Christopher O'Hara 0-0 0-0 0, Jordyn Coon 1-4 3-3 5, Zack Linky 1-3 0-0 2, Lucas Grose 2-3 1-1 5, Jalen Roscoe 0-0 0-0 0, Travis Thomas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-44 8-9 56.
Three-point goals - Goshen 2 (Litwiller, Speicher), Warsaw 2 (Moore 2). Rebounds - Goshen 20 (Kolbus 9), Warsaw 28 (Clemens 6). Turnovers - Goshen 15, Warsaw 10. Steals - Goshen 5 (Kay 2), Warsaw 11 (Moore 4). Fouls - Goshen 10, Warsaw 17. Fouled out - Kolbus. Records: Goshen 5-6, 1-2 NLC, Warsaw 9-2, 3-0 NLC.
JV - Warsaw 48, Goshen 35
Warsaw (10-1) - Clay Anderson 16, Travis Thomas 10, Jay Holladay 9, Rhett Kesler 5, Brock Anson 4, Zach Rooney 2, Phil Shepherd 1
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