Warsaw Teams Dominate Northridge To Open Tourney
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Dale Hubler, Times-Union Sports Writer
Though players often take them hard, sometimes the best thing for a team is a loss. Such may be the case for Warsaw's varsity boys basketball team.
Since a five-point overtime loss at Columbia City in the season opener, the Tigers have won seven straight, with four of the last five wins being margins of 17 or more.
The latter of those wins came Tuesday, a 61-40 decision over visiting Northridge in the opening round of the Northern Lakes Conference/Lake City Bank Holiday Tournament.
While its offense continues to strengthen, Warsaw's defense has been there like heat on a summer day, and Tuesday's showing was no different.
The Tigers outscored the Raiders 12-4 in the first quarter and led 25-7 when senior Brad Seiss scored on a field goal with just under five minutes to play in the second stanza.
"I thought defensively in the first half we did a very nice job," Warsaw coach Al Rhodes said. "In the first half we had them around .45 points per possession, which is excellent defense. We were in control at that point."
The 21-point win improves the Tigers to 7-1 overall and pits them against Wawasee Friday night at 8 p.m. at Goshen. Elkhart Memorial and the host Redskins will play at 6 p.m. with the winners advancing to Saturday's championship at Warsaw.
Northridge falls to 3-4 and will play NorthWood in Thursday's consolation round at Concord.
The Raiders closed the gap to 12, 37-25, when Matt Crawford hit a field goal with 2:59 remaining in the third, but Warsaw bounced back as if it were Rubbermaid¨.
A quick basket by junior Ryan DeGeeter pushed the lead right back to 14, which ended up being the margin going into the fourth as Warsaw led 44-30.
After trailing 31-15 at the half, Northridge outscored the Tigers 15-13 in the third quarter.
"In the third quarter we were not mentally sharp at all," Rhodes said. "Offensively we made poor shots. I was disappointed with our play in the third quarter, we just didn't look sharp."
Junior Mario Ingraffia opened the fourth-quarter scoring with a three-pointer that cut the lead to 10, 43-33, but the Tigers jumped out to a 50-33 lead before Ingraffia hit another trey.
Senior Jerad Shaw scored eight of Warsaw's 17 points in the fourth to put the Raiders away. The 6-foot-4 Shaw, he who plays with the intensity and eyes of former Chicago Bear linebacker Mike Singletary, finished with a game-high 20 points and six rebounds. Shaw was 7 of 9 from the field and 5 of 6 from the charity stripe.
Senior Greg Clay added 11 points and six rebounds in the win, while DeGeeter had nine points and four rebounds. Chris Clay and Seiss scored five each, while junior Erik Fussle came off the bench to score four.
For the game, the Tigers shot 22 of 38 (57.9 percent) from the field, while Northridge was 13 of 30 (43.3 percent) from the field. Warsaw outrebound Northridge 24-15.
Justin Gingerich led the Raiders with seven points, while Matt Crawford, Trent Mast, Lance Weirich and Ingraffia scored six each.
Thursday's game with Wawasee will be a rematch of a regular season contest played Friday. The host Tigers came away with 59-42 win.
WARSAW 61, NORTHRIDGE 40
Northridge (3-4) 4 11 15 10 - 40
Warsaw (7-1) 12 19 13 17 - 61
Northridge FG FT R S Pts.
Ingraffia (G) 2-2 0-2 2 0 6
Mast (G) 2-4 1-2 2 2 6
M. Crawford (F) 2-8 2-2 3 0 6
J. Gingerich (F) 2-4 2-2 2 3 7
Eaton (C) 2-4 1-1 3 0 5
Weirich 2-4 1-3 1 0 6
D. Gingerich 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Kropf 1-3 0-0 2 1 2
Whitten 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
N. Crawford 0-0 2-2 0 0 2
Totals 13-30 9-14 15 7 40
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
Seiss (G) 2-6 1-3 2 3 5
G. Clay (G) 2-3 1-2 1 1 5
C. Clay (F) 2-3 1-2 1 1 5
Shaw (F) 7-9 5-6 6 1 20
DeGeeter (C) 3-4 3-6 4 1 9
Walmer 0-1 2-2 0 0 2
Kindig 1-1 0-0 1 0 2
Datta 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Moore 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Fussle 2-2 0-0 1 0 4
Scott 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Knepper 1-2 1-2 2 3 3
Totals 22-38 15-23 24 10 61
Three-point goals - Northridge 5-12 (Ingraffia 2-2, Mast 1-2, J. Gingerich 1-3, Weirich 1-2, M. Crawford 0-2, Eaton 0-1), Warsaw 2-10 (G. Clay 1-3, Shaw 1-2, Seiss 0-1, DeGeeter 0-1, Walmer 0-1, Datta 0-1). Fouls - Northridge 21, Warsaw 15. Fouled out - none. [[In-content Ad]]
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By Dale Hubler, Times-Union Sports Writer
Though players often take them hard, sometimes the best thing for a team is a loss. Such may be the case for Warsaw's varsity boys basketball team.
Since a five-point overtime loss at Columbia City in the season opener, the Tigers have won seven straight, with four of the last five wins being margins of 17 or more.
The latter of those wins came Tuesday, a 61-40 decision over visiting Northridge in the opening round of the Northern Lakes Conference/Lake City Bank Holiday Tournament.
While its offense continues to strengthen, Warsaw's defense has been there like heat on a summer day, and Tuesday's showing was no different.
The Tigers outscored the Raiders 12-4 in the first quarter and led 25-7 when senior Brad Seiss scored on a field goal with just under five minutes to play in the second stanza.
"I thought defensively in the first half we did a very nice job," Warsaw coach Al Rhodes said. "In the first half we had them around .45 points per possession, which is excellent defense. We were in control at that point."
The 21-point win improves the Tigers to 7-1 overall and pits them against Wawasee Friday night at 8 p.m. at Goshen. Elkhart Memorial and the host Redskins will play at 6 p.m. with the winners advancing to Saturday's championship at Warsaw.
Northridge falls to 3-4 and will play NorthWood in Thursday's consolation round at Concord.
The Raiders closed the gap to 12, 37-25, when Matt Crawford hit a field goal with 2:59 remaining in the third, but Warsaw bounced back as if it were Rubbermaid¨.
A quick basket by junior Ryan DeGeeter pushed the lead right back to 14, which ended up being the margin going into the fourth as Warsaw led 44-30.
After trailing 31-15 at the half, Northridge outscored the Tigers 15-13 in the third quarter.
"In the third quarter we were not mentally sharp at all," Rhodes said. "Offensively we made poor shots. I was disappointed with our play in the third quarter, we just didn't look sharp."
Junior Mario Ingraffia opened the fourth-quarter scoring with a three-pointer that cut the lead to 10, 43-33, but the Tigers jumped out to a 50-33 lead before Ingraffia hit another trey.
Senior Jerad Shaw scored eight of Warsaw's 17 points in the fourth to put the Raiders away. The 6-foot-4 Shaw, he who plays with the intensity and eyes of former Chicago Bear linebacker Mike Singletary, finished with a game-high 20 points and six rebounds. Shaw was 7 of 9 from the field and 5 of 6 from the charity stripe.
Senior Greg Clay added 11 points and six rebounds in the win, while DeGeeter had nine points and four rebounds. Chris Clay and Seiss scored five each, while junior Erik Fussle came off the bench to score four.
For the game, the Tigers shot 22 of 38 (57.9 percent) from the field, while Northridge was 13 of 30 (43.3 percent) from the field. Warsaw outrebound Northridge 24-15.
Justin Gingerich led the Raiders with seven points, while Matt Crawford, Trent Mast, Lance Weirich and Ingraffia scored six each.
Thursday's game with Wawasee will be a rematch of a regular season contest played Friday. The host Tigers came away with 59-42 win.
WARSAW 61, NORTHRIDGE 40
Northridge (3-4) 4 11 15 10 - 40
Warsaw (7-1) 12 19 13 17 - 61
Northridge FG FT R S Pts.
Ingraffia (G) 2-2 0-2 2 0 6
Mast (G) 2-4 1-2 2 2 6
M. Crawford (F) 2-8 2-2 3 0 6
J. Gingerich (F) 2-4 2-2 2 3 7
Eaton (C) 2-4 1-1 3 0 5
Weirich 2-4 1-3 1 0 6
D. Gingerich 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Kropf 1-3 0-0 2 1 2
Whitten 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
N. Crawford 0-0 2-2 0 0 2
Totals 13-30 9-14 15 7 40
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
Seiss (G) 2-6 1-3 2 3 5
G. Clay (G) 2-3 1-2 1 1 5
C. Clay (F) 2-3 1-2 1 1 5
Shaw (F) 7-9 5-6 6 1 20
DeGeeter (C) 3-4 3-6 4 1 9
Walmer 0-1 2-2 0 0 2
Kindig 1-1 0-0 1 0 2
Datta 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Moore 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Fussle 2-2 0-0 1 0 4
Scott 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Knepper 1-2 1-2 2 3 3
Totals 22-38 15-23 24 10 61
Three-point goals - Northridge 5-12 (Ingraffia 2-2, Mast 1-2, J. Gingerich 1-3, Weirich 1-2, M. Crawford 0-2, Eaton 0-1), Warsaw 2-10 (G. Clay 1-3, Shaw 1-2, Seiss 0-1, DeGeeter 0-1, Walmer 0-1, Datta 0-1). Fouls - Northridge 21, Warsaw 15. Fouled out - none. [[In-content Ad]]