Warsaw Goes Deep In Win Over Northridge

July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.

By Jen Gibson, Times-Union Sports Writer-

Warsaw's strong bench helped lead the Tigers to a 64-55 win over the Northridge Raiders.

The game started off slowly as the Raiders passed the ball around the court for more than two minutes.

Before Northridge took a shot, Warsaw stole the ball, moved it down the court, and scored two points on a Chris Wiggins layup.

Justin Anderson answered with two points of his own for the Raiders to tie the score at two.

With four minutes to play in the first frame, Zach Nelson was fouled as he shot a layup, and after he netted the ensuing free throw, the Tigers were up 8-4.

By the end of the first, Warsaw held an 18-12 lead over Northridge.

Just over two minutes into Continued from Page 1B

the second quarter, Nelson hit another two-point basket to give Warsaw its first double-figure lead, 22-12.

Northridge chipped away at Warsaw's lead, and with three minutes left in the half, the Raiders had pulled to within three points of the Tigers, 27-24.

Warsaw then scored 10 unanswered points in the final minutes of the half and went into the locker room with a 37-24 lead.

"We were beating ourselves in the first half," said Northridge coach Steve Austin.

In the first half, the Tigers utilized their depth and subbed in five players.

"We got some good play out of our bench," said Warsaw coach Al Rhodes. "The five guys we had from the bench played very well.

"Because we had those guys off the bench, we were able get into the second half before (Steve) Siebenmorgen or (Zach) Nelson got into any foul trouble."

"If you look at depth, theirs is outstanding and ours is nonexistent," said Austin.

Northridge came out in the third frame ready for action as the Raiders started off with a three-pointer by Todd Pletcher just 20 seconds into the quarter.

Ross Kesler answered with a two-point basket for the Tigers to make the score 39-27.

Aaron Thomas then went on a scoring binge for Northridge, nailing six points in a row to put the Raiders within three points of the Tigers, 39-36.

After Wiggins scored another basket for the Tigers, Northridge went on another six-point run to make the score 43-42 with 18 second to play in the third.

Tom Donkers sank a layup at the buzzer to give Warsaw a 45-42 lead heading into the final frame.

In the third frame, Northridge scored 18 points while holding Warsaw to only eight total points in the quarter.

"We played our best quarter of the year in the third," said Austin. "We played good defense - something we didn't do in the first half and part of the fourth quarter.

"When we play good defense, our offense clicks as well, and we handle things better."

"We knew Northridge would come back," said Rhodes. "Steve Austin's teams always fight back.

"We set up too close to the basket and let them back into the basketball game. At that time we were playing a rushed offense and had four or five possessions where we failed to score."

Warsaw answered Northridge's third-quarter wake-up call by outscoring Northridge 7-0 in the first 1:21 of the fourth frame.

At the six-minute mark, Pletcher hit a two-point goal for the Raiders to make the score 52-44, but Ross Kesler moved the ball down the court and dished it to Nelson for a quick two points to restore Warsaw's 10-point lead.

Northridge's big gun, Thomas, fouled out with 3:09 to play as Wiggins increased the Tiger lead to 60-47 as he hit one of two from the charity stripe.

In the final three minutes of play Northridge outscored Warsaw 8-4, but the run was too little, too late as the Tigers took the 64-55 victory.

"We made mistakes tonight," said Austin. "And when you play a good team like Warsaw, they will capitalize on those mistakes. We just had too many holes to fill."

"We showed great composure tonight," said Rhodes. "We let them get to within two or three, but we never lost the lead."

"We also had three players in double figures. Its good to know we have a strong three-pronged attack."

Siebenmorgen and Wiggins combined for 31 of Warsaw's 64 points while Chris Bennett and Tom Donkers came off the bench to add four points each.

Warsaw, now 6-1 overall and 3-0 NLC, travels to Elkhart Central tonight to take on the Blue Blazers at 6:15 p.m.

Warsaw 64

Northridge 55

Warsaw 18 19 8 19 - 64

Northridge 12 12 18 13 - 55

Warsaw FG FT R A S Pts.

Siebenmorgen 4-6 7-8 6 1 0 15

Wiggins 7-11 1-4 1 3 1 16

Rb. Kesler 2-3 0-0 0 4 1 4

Rs. Kesler 2-3 5-8 2 3 1 9

Nelson 5-6 2-3 4 0 2 12

Barrett 2-2 0-0 1 0 1 4

Grossnickle 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Donkers 2-2 0-0 4 0 0 4

Rhodes 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Seiss 0-1 0-0 0 1 0 0

Compson 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Henthorn 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Stogsdill 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

TOTALS 24-34 15-23 18 12 6 64

Northridge FG FT R A S Pts.

Anderson 6-9 4-8 4 2 1 17

Thomas 7-7 1-4 1 0 0 15

Wierich 4-7 0-0 1 1 1 11

Pletcher 4-9 0-0 2 0 1 10

Fazi 1-3 0-0 3 0 0 2

Weldy 0-2 0-1 0 0 0 0

TOTALS 22-37 5-13 11 3 3 55

Three-point goals -ÊWarsaw 1-3 (Wiggins 1-2, Seiss 0-1), Northridge 6-12 (Anderson 1-1, Wierich 3-5, Pletcher 2-5, Fazi 0-1). Turnovers - Warsaw 12, Northridge 11. Fouls - Warsaw 14, Northridge 18. Fouled out -ÊThomas.

JV Score -ÊWarsaw 54, Northridge 31 [[In-content Ad]]

Warsaw's strong bench helped lead the Tigers to a 64-55 win over the Northridge Raiders.

The game started off slowly as the Raiders passed the ball around the court for more than two minutes.

Before Northridge took a shot, Warsaw stole the ball, moved it down the court, and scored two points on a Chris Wiggins layup.

Justin Anderson answered with two points of his own for the Raiders to tie the score at two.

With four minutes to play in the first frame, Zach Nelson was fouled as he shot a layup, and after he netted the ensuing free throw, the Tigers were up 8-4.

By the end of the first, Warsaw held an 18-12 lead over Northridge.

Just over two minutes into Continued from Page 1B

the second quarter, Nelson hit another two-point basket to give Warsaw its first double-figure lead, 22-12.

Northridge chipped away at Warsaw's lead, and with three minutes left in the half, the Raiders had pulled to within three points of the Tigers, 27-24.

Warsaw then scored 10 unanswered points in the final minutes of the half and went into the locker room with a 37-24 lead.

"We were beating ourselves in the first half," said Northridge coach Steve Austin.

In the first half, the Tigers utilized their depth and subbed in five players.

"We got some good play out of our bench," said Warsaw coach Al Rhodes. "The five guys we had from the bench played very well.

"Because we had those guys off the bench, we were able get into the second half before (Steve) Siebenmorgen or (Zach) Nelson got into any foul trouble."

"If you look at depth, theirs is outstanding and ours is nonexistent," said Austin.

Northridge came out in the third frame ready for action as the Raiders started off with a three-pointer by Todd Pletcher just 20 seconds into the quarter.

Ross Kesler answered with a two-point basket for the Tigers to make the score 39-27.

Aaron Thomas then went on a scoring binge for Northridge, nailing six points in a row to put the Raiders within three points of the Tigers, 39-36.

After Wiggins scored another basket for the Tigers, Northridge went on another six-point run to make the score 43-42 with 18 second to play in the third.

Tom Donkers sank a layup at the buzzer to give Warsaw a 45-42 lead heading into the final frame.

In the third frame, Northridge scored 18 points while holding Warsaw to only eight total points in the quarter.

"We played our best quarter of the year in the third," said Austin. "We played good defense - something we didn't do in the first half and part of the fourth quarter.

"When we play good defense, our offense clicks as well, and we handle things better."

"We knew Northridge would come back," said Rhodes. "Steve Austin's teams always fight back.

"We set up too close to the basket and let them back into the basketball game. At that time we were playing a rushed offense and had four or five possessions where we failed to score."

Warsaw answered Northridge's third-quarter wake-up call by outscoring Northridge 7-0 in the first 1:21 of the fourth frame.

At the six-minute mark, Pletcher hit a two-point goal for the Raiders to make the score 52-44, but Ross Kesler moved the ball down the court and dished it to Nelson for a quick two points to restore Warsaw's 10-point lead.

Northridge's big gun, Thomas, fouled out with 3:09 to play as Wiggins increased the Tiger lead to 60-47 as he hit one of two from the charity stripe.

In the final three minutes of play Northridge outscored Warsaw 8-4, but the run was too little, too late as the Tigers took the 64-55 victory.

"We made mistakes tonight," said Austin. "And when you play a good team like Warsaw, they will capitalize on those mistakes. We just had too many holes to fill."

"We showed great composure tonight," said Rhodes. "We let them get to within two or three, but we never lost the lead."

"We also had three players in double figures. Its good to know we have a strong three-pronged attack."

Siebenmorgen and Wiggins combined for 31 of Warsaw's 64 points while Chris Bennett and Tom Donkers came off the bench to add four points each.

Warsaw, now 6-1 overall and 3-0 NLC, travels to Elkhart Central tonight to take on the Blue Blazers at 6:15 p.m.

Warsaw 64

Northridge 55

Warsaw 18 19 8 19 - 64

Northridge 12 12 18 13 - 55

Warsaw FG FT R A S Pts.

Siebenmorgen 4-6 7-8 6 1 0 15

Wiggins 7-11 1-4 1 3 1 16

Rb. Kesler 2-3 0-0 0 4 1 4

Rs. Kesler 2-3 5-8 2 3 1 9

Nelson 5-6 2-3 4 0 2 12

Barrett 2-2 0-0 1 0 1 4

Grossnickle 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Donkers 2-2 0-0 4 0 0 4

Rhodes 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Seiss 0-1 0-0 0 1 0 0

Compson 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Henthorn 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Stogsdill 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

TOTALS 24-34 15-23 18 12 6 64

Northridge FG FT R A S Pts.

Anderson 6-9 4-8 4 2 1 17

Thomas 7-7 1-4 1 0 0 15

Wierich 4-7 0-0 1 1 1 11

Pletcher 4-9 0-0 2 0 1 10

Fazi 1-3 0-0 3 0 0 2

Weldy 0-2 0-1 0 0 0 0

TOTALS 22-37 5-13 11 3 3 55

Three-point goals -ÊWarsaw 1-3 (Wiggins 1-2, Seiss 0-1), Northridge 6-12 (Anderson 1-1, Wierich 3-5, Pletcher 2-5, Fazi 0-1). Turnovers - Warsaw 12, Northridge 11. Fouls - Warsaw 14, Northridge 18. Fouled out -ÊThomas.

JV Score -ÊWarsaw 54, Northridge 31 [[In-content Ad]]

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