Northridge boys basketball coach Steve Austin doesn't like the timing of the Northern Lakes Conference Tournament, having to play two days before Christmas. He hadn't completed his shopping.

Whether or not his players had finished their shopping is unknown, but they were in the giving mood. They turned the ball over 23 times, including nine times in the third quarter, as Warsaw (6-3) won the first NLC Tournament with a 60-39 win over the Raiders (5-4) in Saturday's championship game.

"Turnovers, we had what, 50?" Austin joked afterward.

Warsaw coach Al Rhodes upped his career record to 375-125 (.750).

"I'm very proud of our team," Rhodes said. "We started 1-2, and to be 6-3 and win this tournament, that's something I'm extremely proud of."

Josh Buck led Warsaw with 17 points, five rebounds and four steals. Brian Johnson added 14 points, four steals and three assists. Warsaw finished with 16 steals.

Sophomores Wes Bontrager and Matt Crawford scored 11 each for Northridge, a team with three sophomores and one freshman in the starting lineup and one senior on its roster.

An inexperienced Northridge team with one senior on its roster struggled to get the ball past halfcourt against Warsaw's full-court press early in the second half. The Tigers went on a 19-2 run to open the third quarter to turn a 22-21 halftime lead into a 41-23 lead with 3:39 left in the quarter.

"The key was our defensive pressure," Rhodes said. "We put good pressure on the ball and converted steals into transition baskets. The third quarter we had very good full-court pressure. How many deflections did we have?"

For Northridge, the sequence in the third quarter usually went like this: Turnover before halfcourt, Warsaw layup.

"The start of the third quarter, that was the ballgame right there," Austin said. "The first two minutes decided the game."

Warsaw outscored the Raiders 22-7 in the quarter to take a 44-28 lead into the fourth. Warsaw scored 20 of the points in the paint. The other two came on free throws.

"I think they've overachieved so far, including beating Plymouth," Rhodes said of Northridge, which beat No. 3 (3A) Plymouth (5-1) 46-37 to advance to the championship. "A factor is their younger players. When they are juniors and seniors, they will be difficult to beat."

As effective as Warsaw was at scoring inside, Northridge was just as ineffective. Northridge hit 9 of 19 three-pointers but just 4 of 15 two-point field goals.

"We won't win games when we make nine threes and four twos," Austin said. "We didn't get to the free throw line, either."

Austin sounded like a man who had plans for his coaching staff and team after Christmas.

"This," he said, "is probably a very good tape to watch over and over."

WARSAW 60, NORTHRIDGE 39

Northridge (5-4) 14 7 7 11 - 39

Warsaw (6-3) 10 12 22 16 - 60

Northridge FG FT A S R Pts.

Crawford (F) 3-9 0-0 1 1 1 11

Yoder (G) 3-4 0-0 0 0 1 9

Eaton (C) 2-2 0-0 1 0 3 4

Ingraffia (G) 0-3 0-0 5 1 0 0

J. Gingerich (F) 0-2 0-0 1 0 4 0

Whitten 1-2 2-2 1 1 0 4

Bontrager 4-10 0-0 0 0 2 11

D. Gingerich 0-2 0-0 1 0 0 0

Kropf 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0

Totals 13-34 2-2 5 3 12 39

Warsaw FG FT A S R Pts.

Buck (F) 7-13 3-4 1 4 5 17

Johnson (G) 6-7 2-4 3 4 2 14

G. Clay (F) 2-7 3-4 1 0 0 7

Seiss (G) 3-4 0-0 3 3 7 6

C. Clay (G) 2-6 0-0 2 3 2 4

Martin 1-2 4-4 4 0 0 6

Shaw 2-3 0-0 0 2 3 4

Fawley 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 2

Foster 0-0 0-0 0 0 2 0

Totals 24-43 12-16 14 16 21 60

Three-point goals -ÊNorthridge 9-19 (Yoder 3-4, Crawford 3-5, Bontrager 3-8, Ingraffia 0-1, J. Gingerich 0-1), Warsaw 0-1 (Martin 0-1). Turnovers -ÊWarsaw 8, Northridge 23. Total fouls -ÊWarsaw 11, Northridge 14. Fouled out -ÊNone. [[In-content Ad]]