Tyler Charlton had the unenviable task of guarding South Bend Washington scoring machine Cedric Moodie in the championship game of the Warsaw Holiday Tournament Saturday.

It was not an easy chore, with Moodie entering the game with a 27.5 points per game average and fresh off a 34-point performance the night before in the tourney semifinals.

But Charlton was up to the challenge as Moodie scored only 19 points and shot a dismal 5 of 23 from the floor.

And in his spare time, Charlton managed to score a career-high 32 points.

Charlton's performance on both ends of the court earned him the Most Valuable Player award as Warsaw won its third straight Warsaw Holiday title with a 76-74 win over the Panthers.

"He is an excellent player, but that is what I like to do: play defense," Charlton said of guarding the 6-foot-2 Moodie. "I thought about it coming into the game, and that is what I set out to do."

For a guy that prides himself on defense, Charlton did a good job on the offensive end. Charlton hit on 10 of 12 from the field and 10 of 15 from the free throw line. He scored 14 points in the first quarter and that set him on his high-scoring course for the game.

"I just came out and what was there, I took it and went from there," Charlton said.

Charlton entered the tournament averaging 10 points a game, but exploded for 48 points over the two games.

Charlton's scoring was due in large part to the pace of the game. Washington, a very athletic team, likes to score points and get up and down the floor. Warsaw usually doesn't like to get into a free-for-all type of game, but when the Panthers pressed, the Tigers took advantage of any opportunities the press presented.

Warsaw hit on 17 of 21 shots in the first two quarters of the game, many coming on easy looks at the baskets and layups after breaking the Washington press. The Tigers held a 45-35 halftime lead, and it looked like the track meet was on.

"As far as the pace, we knew we wanted to attack their fullcourt press," Warsaw coach Al Rhodes said. "If they were going to press, we were going to try to make them pay for it. They paid for it with baskets in behind and foul trouble. Our confidence and our assertiveness against the press was aggressive and that is what brought the championship to us."

In the second half, the pace seemed to slow down, mostly by Warsaw's doing. The Tigers, with the Panthers in foul trouble, went to the Iowa offense (Warsaw's stall) early in the fourth quarter.

"We were still able, in segments, to slow the game up," Rhodes said. "For the majority of the game we had five guys back on defense. When we didn't, they hurt us."

The Tigers did manage to slow the pace of the game, but they never did really manage to slow the Panthers down.

Leading by four, 71-67, Warsaw watched as Moodie, who had missed nine straight shots at one point, suddenly got hot and hit a layup, three-pointer and two free throws in one stretch in the fourth to help cut the lead to 75-74 with 15 seconds left.

On the ensuring inbounds after Moodie's two freebies, Todd Bella stole the inbounds pass on the press. But P.J. Wiley saved the day just seconds later by making a steal of his own and one of two free throws for the finals points.

It never came easy for the Tigers, though, as even Moodie's three-quarter court shot at the buzzer had the distance, but was just wide left.

"Every time we switched defenses, they reacted very well to it," Rhodes said. "Every time we thought we might shake them, they came up with big plays like they did against Riley (on Friday).

"The thing I liked the most about the game was the character we demonstrated," he said. "We have had problems all year of people worrying about things when they made mistakes and letting one mistake lead to another."

It was a wild ride for the Tigers, who entered the game averaging 57 points per game on offense and giving up only 52 on defense. For the most part this season, the Tigers' defense has been the main reason for Warsaw's surprising 9-2 record.

"I feel comfortable with that pace," Charlton said. "My friends and I play that way when we play by ourselves. But they (Washington) are very good at it, so back and forth we couldn't match them with it the whole game."

The win was also a good shot in the arm for an inexperienced team searching for an identity this season and gave them something that Warsaw holds above all else: a championship.

"The win felt great because nobody expected us to come in here and win this game and be where we are right now," Charlton said. "It is nice to cut the nets down and get our first championship. Things are improving for us, but we still need to improve some things."

Warsaw jumped out of the gates quickly, running out to a 23-11 first-quarter lead behind Charlton's 14 points. The Tigers shot 10 of 13 from the field in the period.

In the second, Warsaw remained hot and hit on 7 of 8 from the field, but Washington's William Avance scored 10 points to keep the Panthers close as they outscored Warsaw 24-22 to trail by 10 at the break.

Warsaw (9-2) is off until Jan. 10 when it hosts Gary Wallace.

Consolation

SB Riley 79, SB Clay 76

Riley's Tony Echols capped off an impressive showing in the two games of the tournament by scoring 29 points to lead Riley to the three-point win over Clay in the consolation game.

Echols scored 63 points in the two games as the Wildcats grabbed third place.

Riley led 40-29 at halftime, but Clay came back on 18 second-half points from Lincoln Glass to come within one point several times.

Glass ended up with 27 points and eight steals.

Clay drops to 2-8, while Riley ups to 6-3. [[In-content Ad]]