Warsaw Boys Open With Win
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
The 5-foot-8 Moore scored 13 second-half points to finish with a game-high 19 points, as the Tigers beat the host Vikings 58-57 Wednesday night.[[In-content Ad]]Moore finished the game 7 of 13 from the field and also dished out six assists in his first varsity game.
"It was quite a debut for Nic Moore," said Ogle, whose Tigers will play at Columbia City Saturday evening. "People got a glimpse of the type of player he is. Before all is said and done people are going to come from miles around to watch him play."
Warsaw also got 18 points from junior Ryne Robinson, while sophomore Justin Clemens finished with seven points, sophomore Andy Conrad and junior Taylor Long scored six points each and junior Luke Holladay rounded out the Warsaw scoring with two points.
"To come in here with no seniors and pull out a close win over a senior-laden Valley team, that says a lot about the players," said Ogle. "It was an exciting game, it could have gone either way. I'm really proud of our guys."
While it was the visiting Tigers that were the team with limited varsity experience, it was the senior-laden Vikings that built an eight-point lead in the first quarter, only to later trail by 10 points, 49-39, going into the final quarter.
After leading 30-26 at halftime, the Vikings, who were playing without Hoffer because of disciplinary reasons, were outscored 23-9 in the third quarter.
"We just didn't play very hard in the third quarter," said Valley coach Bill Patrick. "We got outhustled. Warsaw played pretty hard. They've got some nice young players. We made too many mental mistakes."
Valley finished the game with 14 turnovers, but to the Vikings' credit they did start the fourth quarter with an 11-1 run that tied the game at 50-all with 4:37 to play when senior Steven Tillman completed a three-point play.
"We got down by 10 and I told the kids 'let's cut the lead in half midway through the quarter and go from there,'" said Patrick. "We were able to do it pretty quickly. Once we scored a couple baskets and got back in the game we had a different mental approach. We were down 10, and I don't know if the kids were preparing themselves for a loss or what."
Warsaw junior Taylor Long, son of 1984 state championship team member Scott Long, countered Tillman's old-fashioned three-point play with a trey of his own, and the teams battled back-and-forth until the end of the game.
"Taylor hit a couple big shots tonight," Ogle said of his nephew, who hit a three-pointer in the first quarter to give the Tigers a 6-2 lead. "We're a young team, and we had some kids step up tonight. I'm really proud of this team."
Moore gave the Tigers a 58-54 lead with 1:06 to play, and then 6-foot-7 Valley senior Shane Salyer hit the first shot on a two free throw opportunity.
Salyer missed the second, but Tillman was there for the tip-in, cutting Warsaw's lead to 58-57, which turned out to be the final score.
Valley had the ball with 31 seconds left, and then called a timeout with 15 seconds left to set up what Patrick and his team hoped would be the winning play.
After not being able to get the ball inbounded, the Vikings called another timout to avoid a five-second call.
When they did get the ball in play, the Vikings turned the ball over and never got the opportunity to take what could have been the winning shot.
"We were going to run Salyer and Tillman down on the blocks," Patrick said when asked about the play his team tried to run in the waning seconds. "We didn't think Warsaw could stop it, and we never got the opportunity. We just made too many mental mistakes."
The Vikings turned the ball over, and when the final horn sounded Warsaw's players celebrated with untamed enthusiasm.
So excited were the Tigers after the win that burly red-headed junior Alex Nulf even let his teammates cut his hair in the lockerroom.
Ogle said Clemens wrote up a contract that said if Warsaw beat Valley Nulf had to shave his head.
The Tigers won, and the rest - like Nulf's hair - is history.
Like Moore did for Warsaw, Salyer scored a game-high 19 points for Valley.
Teammates Tillman and Ryan Scherzer, both senior starters, score 17 points each for the Vikings.
The trio of Salyer, Scherzer and Tillman combined to score 53 of Valley's 57 points.
Senior Darren Beyers and junior Josh Cooper rounded out the Viking scoring with two points each.
If Hoffer had played, the Vikings would have had a four-year varsity player on the floor against the Tigers.
That wasn't the case, and now Patrick and his staff have to go back to the drawing board and get ready for Tuesday's Three Rivers Conference opener at Wabash.
"It was different without him," Patrick said of playing without Hoffer. "He's played point guard for two years. We didn't have much time for anyone else to get used to playing that position. He (Hoffer) could get the ball through Warsaw's press. Without him we're not as quick. We only had two or three days to practice with these kids without him. Now we only have a couple days to get ready for our next game."
The 5-foot-8 Moore scored 13 second-half points to finish with a game-high 19 points, as the Tigers beat the host Vikings 58-57 Wednesday night.[[In-content Ad]]Moore finished the game 7 of 13 from the field and also dished out six assists in his first varsity game.
"It was quite a debut for Nic Moore," said Ogle, whose Tigers will play at Columbia City Saturday evening. "People got a glimpse of the type of player he is. Before all is said and done people are going to come from miles around to watch him play."
Warsaw also got 18 points from junior Ryne Robinson, while sophomore Justin Clemens finished with seven points, sophomore Andy Conrad and junior Taylor Long scored six points each and junior Luke Holladay rounded out the Warsaw scoring with two points.
"To come in here with no seniors and pull out a close win over a senior-laden Valley team, that says a lot about the players," said Ogle. "It was an exciting game, it could have gone either way. I'm really proud of our guys."
While it was the visiting Tigers that were the team with limited varsity experience, it was the senior-laden Vikings that built an eight-point lead in the first quarter, only to later trail by 10 points, 49-39, going into the final quarter.
After leading 30-26 at halftime, the Vikings, who were playing without Hoffer because of disciplinary reasons, were outscored 23-9 in the third quarter.
"We just didn't play very hard in the third quarter," said Valley coach Bill Patrick. "We got outhustled. Warsaw played pretty hard. They've got some nice young players. We made too many mental mistakes."
Valley finished the game with 14 turnovers, but to the Vikings' credit they did start the fourth quarter with an 11-1 run that tied the game at 50-all with 4:37 to play when senior Steven Tillman completed a three-point play.
"We got down by 10 and I told the kids 'let's cut the lead in half midway through the quarter and go from there,'" said Patrick. "We were able to do it pretty quickly. Once we scored a couple baskets and got back in the game we had a different mental approach. We were down 10, and I don't know if the kids were preparing themselves for a loss or what."
Warsaw junior Taylor Long, son of 1984 state championship team member Scott Long, countered Tillman's old-fashioned three-point play with a trey of his own, and the teams battled back-and-forth until the end of the game.
"Taylor hit a couple big shots tonight," Ogle said of his nephew, who hit a three-pointer in the first quarter to give the Tigers a 6-2 lead. "We're a young team, and we had some kids step up tonight. I'm really proud of this team."
Moore gave the Tigers a 58-54 lead with 1:06 to play, and then 6-foot-7 Valley senior Shane Salyer hit the first shot on a two free throw opportunity.
Salyer missed the second, but Tillman was there for the tip-in, cutting Warsaw's lead to 58-57, which turned out to be the final score.
Valley had the ball with 31 seconds left, and then called a timeout with 15 seconds left to set up what Patrick and his team hoped would be the winning play.
After not being able to get the ball inbounded, the Vikings called another timout to avoid a five-second call.
When they did get the ball in play, the Vikings turned the ball over and never got the opportunity to take what could have been the winning shot.
"We were going to run Salyer and Tillman down on the blocks," Patrick said when asked about the play his team tried to run in the waning seconds. "We didn't think Warsaw could stop it, and we never got the opportunity. We just made too many mental mistakes."
The Vikings turned the ball over, and when the final horn sounded Warsaw's players celebrated with untamed enthusiasm.
So excited were the Tigers after the win that burly red-headed junior Alex Nulf even let his teammates cut his hair in the lockerroom.
Ogle said Clemens wrote up a contract that said if Warsaw beat Valley Nulf had to shave his head.
The Tigers won, and the rest - like Nulf's hair - is history.
Like Moore did for Warsaw, Salyer scored a game-high 19 points for Valley.
Teammates Tillman and Ryan Scherzer, both senior starters, score 17 points each for the Vikings.
The trio of Salyer, Scherzer and Tillman combined to score 53 of Valley's 57 points.
Senior Darren Beyers and junior Josh Cooper rounded out the Viking scoring with two points each.
If Hoffer had played, the Vikings would have had a four-year varsity player on the floor against the Tigers.
That wasn't the case, and now Patrick and his staff have to go back to the drawing board and get ready for Tuesday's Three Rivers Conference opener at Wabash.
"It was different without him," Patrick said of playing without Hoffer. "He's played point guard for two years. We didn't have much time for anyone else to get used to playing that position. He (Hoffer) could get the ball through Warsaw's press. Without him we're not as quick. We only had two or three days to practice with these kids without him. Now we only have a couple days to get ready for our next game."
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