Spartans Spoil Warsaw's Home Opener
December 2, 2017 at 7:00 a.m.
Spartans Spoil Warsaw's Home Opener
By Dale [email protected]
Other times, they were too impatient.
After winning their first two games on the road, the Tigers’ home opener wasn’t so happy, as they fell 56-38 to the Homestead Spartans.
Warsaw led 3-0 early on a trey from junior Landen Ferber, but things quickly went south. Homestead scored the next 10 points and led 14-6 after one quarter of play, 24-11 at halftime and 41-23 going into the final frame.
The Tigers turned the ball over nine times in the first quarter and were just 3 of 10 from the field in the first half.
“We had a terrible first half,” said Ogle. “In the first quarter offensively, the combination of sometimes too tentative, sometimes too impatient, some panicking, and the turnovers, that hurt us.
“It started out as a box-and-one on (Nolan) Groninger and we were just abysmal offensively.”
Groninger, the Tigers’ 6-foot standout junior guard, had 17 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in the season-opening win at Tippecanoe Valley.
In a win at Columbia City, he tallied 14 points, four assists and three steals.
Homestead coach Chris Johnson made sure Groninger was the focal point of his team’s defense Friday night, and it worked.
In the first three quarters, Groninger was held to a pair of free throws.
He took just four shots in the game and finished with six points. He didn’t score his first field goal until the 7:33 mark of the fourth quarter, a bucket that trimmed Homestead’s advantage to 41-25.
“Huntington North took it to us in our first game ... the night before Thanksgiving. And we preached that we’ve got to defend,” said Johnson, whose team now leads the overall series against Warsaw 6-1.
“We knew that (Groninger) was a big contributor for them the first two games, and we wanted to see what other people can do. We wanted to force someone else to do something for them.
“We started off with a box-and-one, and tried to mix it up a little bit to where they had to think. I thought tonight we played the style I like to play, as far as playing hard-nosed defense and making them work a little bit on the defensive end with our offense getting the ball swung side to side. I thought we did a good job.”
Warsaw finished the game 11 of 31 from the field overall, 5 of 16 from three-point range, and 11 of 13 at the free throw line.
Senior Jack Rhoades and junior Trevor Rumple scored seven points each, while senior Jack Grose, sophomore Brian Elliott and Groninger netted six points each.
The Spartans, who shot 69 percent in the first half, made 57 percent of their overall field goal attempts in the 18-point win, something very few visiting teams have done over the years in the Tiger Den.
Senior Grant Raber led Homestead with a game-high 16 points, while classmate Sam Buck tallied 12 points and six boards, and senior Onye Ezeakudo finished with 10 points, four assists and three steals.
“We got spread out, and then we started pressing, which we really don’t want to do,” said Ogle. “We used a half-court trap, which we really don’t want to do. When you get down that far ... I just didn’t feel like we could sit back. I was trying to create something and it didn’t work.
“Homestead shot well ... 8 out of 17 on three-pointers. They were 5 of 22 on threes in their first game. They had good looks in their first game, they just missed them. But yeah, our defense was not much better than our offense.”
Homestead won the junior varsity game 47-34.
Blake Marsh led Warsaw with 14 points, while Keagan Larsh and Connor Lennox scored six points each.
The Tigers are in action again tonight when they host Huntington North.
HOMESTEAD 56, WARSAW 38
H 14 10 17 15 – 56
W 6 5 12 15 – 38
Homestead – Zac Bradtmiller 0-0 1-2 1, Grant Raber 7-11 0-0 16, Zak Krueger 1-2 0-0 2, Onye Ezeakudo 3-4 2-2 10, Luke Goode 2-6 0-0 6, Jake Archbold 0-1 0-1 0, Xavier Overstreet 0-0 0-0 0, Sam Buck 4-7 2-2 12, Trevin Taylor 1-1 0-0 2, Will Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Matt Podzielinski 2-2 3-4 7.?Totals 20-35 8-11 56.
Warsaw – Nolan Groninger 2-4 2-2 6, Landen Ferber 1-5 0-0 3, Brian Elliott 2-4 2-2 6, Jack Rhoades 2-4 2-2 7, Trevor Rumple 1-2 4-5 7, Dane Stookey 0-1 0-0 0, Zach Riley 0-1 0-0 0, Trenton Sands 0-0 0-0 0, Nick Marsh 0-0 0-0 0, Jack Grose 2-5 0-0 6, Tyler Metzinger 1-3 1-2 3, Jaylen Reese 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 11-31 11-13 38.
Three-pointers – Homestead 8 (Raber 2, Ezeakudo 2, Goode 2, Buck 2), Warsaw 5 (Grose 2, Ferber, Rhoades, Rumple); Rebounds – Homestead 18 (Buck 6), Warsaw 20 (Metzinger 5); Turnovers – Homestead 11, Warsaw 15; Fouls – Homestead 15, Warsaw 18; Fouled out – none; Records: Homestead 1-1, Warsaw 2-1
JV – Homestead 47, Warsaw 34
Warsaw – Blake Marsh 14, Keagan Larsh 6, Connor Lennox 6, Wyatt Amiss 3, Jaylen Coon 3, Tedros Berelsman 2
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Other times, they were too impatient.
After winning their first two games on the road, the Tigers’ home opener wasn’t so happy, as they fell 56-38 to the Homestead Spartans.
Warsaw led 3-0 early on a trey from junior Landen Ferber, but things quickly went south. Homestead scored the next 10 points and led 14-6 after one quarter of play, 24-11 at halftime and 41-23 going into the final frame.
The Tigers turned the ball over nine times in the first quarter and were just 3 of 10 from the field in the first half.
“We had a terrible first half,” said Ogle. “In the first quarter offensively, the combination of sometimes too tentative, sometimes too impatient, some panicking, and the turnovers, that hurt us.
“It started out as a box-and-one on (Nolan) Groninger and we were just abysmal offensively.”
Groninger, the Tigers’ 6-foot standout junior guard, had 17 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in the season-opening win at Tippecanoe Valley.
In a win at Columbia City, he tallied 14 points, four assists and three steals.
Homestead coach Chris Johnson made sure Groninger was the focal point of his team’s defense Friday night, and it worked.
In the first three quarters, Groninger was held to a pair of free throws.
He took just four shots in the game and finished with six points. He didn’t score his first field goal until the 7:33 mark of the fourth quarter, a bucket that trimmed Homestead’s advantage to 41-25.
“Huntington North took it to us in our first game ... the night before Thanksgiving. And we preached that we’ve got to defend,” said Johnson, whose team now leads the overall series against Warsaw 6-1.
“We knew that (Groninger) was a big contributor for them the first two games, and we wanted to see what other people can do. We wanted to force someone else to do something for them.
“We started off with a box-and-one, and tried to mix it up a little bit to where they had to think. I thought tonight we played the style I like to play, as far as playing hard-nosed defense and making them work a little bit on the defensive end with our offense getting the ball swung side to side. I thought we did a good job.”
Warsaw finished the game 11 of 31 from the field overall, 5 of 16 from three-point range, and 11 of 13 at the free throw line.
Senior Jack Rhoades and junior Trevor Rumple scored seven points each, while senior Jack Grose, sophomore Brian Elliott and Groninger netted six points each.
The Spartans, who shot 69 percent in the first half, made 57 percent of their overall field goal attempts in the 18-point win, something very few visiting teams have done over the years in the Tiger Den.
Senior Grant Raber led Homestead with a game-high 16 points, while classmate Sam Buck tallied 12 points and six boards, and senior Onye Ezeakudo finished with 10 points, four assists and three steals.
“We got spread out, and then we started pressing, which we really don’t want to do,” said Ogle. “We used a half-court trap, which we really don’t want to do. When you get down that far ... I just didn’t feel like we could sit back. I was trying to create something and it didn’t work.
“Homestead shot well ... 8 out of 17 on three-pointers. They were 5 of 22 on threes in their first game. They had good looks in their first game, they just missed them. But yeah, our defense was not much better than our offense.”
Homestead won the junior varsity game 47-34.
Blake Marsh led Warsaw with 14 points, while Keagan Larsh and Connor Lennox scored six points each.
The Tigers are in action again tonight when they host Huntington North.
HOMESTEAD 56, WARSAW 38
H 14 10 17 15 – 56
W 6 5 12 15 – 38
Homestead – Zac Bradtmiller 0-0 1-2 1, Grant Raber 7-11 0-0 16, Zak Krueger 1-2 0-0 2, Onye Ezeakudo 3-4 2-2 10, Luke Goode 2-6 0-0 6, Jake Archbold 0-1 0-1 0, Xavier Overstreet 0-0 0-0 0, Sam Buck 4-7 2-2 12, Trevin Taylor 1-1 0-0 2, Will Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Matt Podzielinski 2-2 3-4 7.?Totals 20-35 8-11 56.
Warsaw – Nolan Groninger 2-4 2-2 6, Landen Ferber 1-5 0-0 3, Brian Elliott 2-4 2-2 6, Jack Rhoades 2-4 2-2 7, Trevor Rumple 1-2 4-5 7, Dane Stookey 0-1 0-0 0, Zach Riley 0-1 0-0 0, Trenton Sands 0-0 0-0 0, Nick Marsh 0-0 0-0 0, Jack Grose 2-5 0-0 6, Tyler Metzinger 1-3 1-2 3, Jaylen Reese 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 11-31 11-13 38.
Three-pointers – Homestead 8 (Raber 2, Ezeakudo 2, Goode 2, Buck 2), Warsaw 5 (Grose 2, Ferber, Rhoades, Rumple); Rebounds – Homestead 18 (Buck 6), Warsaw 20 (Metzinger 5); Turnovers – Homestead 11, Warsaw 15; Fouls – Homestead 15, Warsaw 18; Fouled out – none; Records: Homestead 1-1, Warsaw 2-1
JV – Homestead 47, Warsaw 34
Warsaw – Blake Marsh 14, Keagan Larsh 6, Connor Lennox 6, Wyatt Amiss 3, Jaylen Coon 3, Tedros Berelsman 2
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