Streaks Snapped As Warriors Top Tigers In NLC Opener
December 16, 2017 at 7:50 a.m.
Streaks Snapped As Warriors Top Tigers In NLC Opener
By Dale [email protected]
A Northern Lakes Conference championship.
A sectional title.
And a win over Warsaw.
The Warriors got the latter of the trio Friday night, as they beat the host Tigers 28-20 in the NLC opener for both teams.
The game itself was far from beautiful, as the teams combined to shoot 19 of 60 from the field overall and 3 of 17 from three-point range.
The outcome, however, left Wawasee and its fans with every reason to celebrate – and boy did they.
With Friday’s eight-point win, the Warriors (2-3) snapped their 42-game NLC losing streak, a 10-game skid in the series with Warsaw (2-4), and the Tigers’ 21-game NLC win streak.
Wawasee hadn’t won a conference game since beating Northridge 73-51 on Feb. 15, 2011.
The Tigers, who were held under 25 points for the first time since a 29-20 loss to Milford in the 1948-49 season, lost a game in league play for the first time since a 38-31 loss to Plymouth on Feb. 13, 2014.
“Cayden Wegener wrote 1-0 on the board in the locker room, in reference to our record after losing so many conference games,” said Wawasee’s second-year coach. “We didn’t talk about our streak, but it was definitely on our minds. It’s nice to not ever talk about that again. I’m just really proud of the kids for the way they played tonight.
“We did it at the Tiger Den, where it’s really difficult to play. I grew up in the NLC (and played at Goshen). I grew up watching Warsaw and Concord, and Goshen and Warsaw ... I?know it’s extremely difficult to win here. I told the guys this is a program win.”
As they’ve done all season, the Warriors played a slow-down style of offense in which they make pass after pass.
Wawasee, which shot 9 of 21 from the field overall, 3 of 10 from the arc, and 7 of 9 at the free throw line, led 7-4 after one quarter of play, 11-10 at halftime and 18-16 going into the final frame.
Despite making just 10 of 39 shot attempts overall, going 0 of 14 from the arc, and not attempting a free throw, the Tigers were never out of the game.
Junior Nolan Groninger scored the first four points of the fourth quarter and gave Warsaw a 20-18 lead with 1:50 remaining.
Junior Bennett Hoffert put the Warriors back on top with a three-pointer with 1:28 to play, as Wawasee closed the game on a 10-0 run.
After starting the season with wins over Tippecanoe Valley and Columbia City, Warsaw has lost four straight games. The common thread in that skid has been its shooting woes.
The Tigers are 55 of 161 overall and 12 of 69 from three-point range in losses to Homestead, Huntington North, Lake Central and Wawasee.
“I’m proud of how our guys competed in the game, especially in terms of rebounding,” said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle. “We got 16 offensive rebounds on 29 missed shots. We competed, that part I’m proud of.
“Now, the shooting ... 10 of 39, we were 5 of 20 in the first half. We were 0 of 6 on threes in the first half. Against their zone, we said we wanted to shoot nine or 10, or 11 or 12 threes. We knew we had to take some. We just didn’t make any of those, and then we didn’t make enough of our shots inside. Shots from the elbow, in the lane ... there were all kinds of good shots that we just missed. Then we’d get the rebound and miss again, or turn the ball over.
“It wasn’t really our defense ... we didn’t lose this game because of our defense. We certainly were in it because of our rebounding at halftime. That’s how we were in it. You’re not supposed to be down only one point when you’re 5 of 20 in the first half. We’re just mired in a group shooting slump.”
While he certainly didn’t want the Warriors to snap their streak against his team, Ogle said he respects what Wawasee has been through and understands why Everingham and his squad were so happy Friday night.
“As a coach, I have to have some appreciation for what they’ve gone through,” Ogle said of the Warriors. “This is Everingham’s second season there, so he’s just kind of taken it over. As a fellow coach, I appreciate that they’ve been battling, and they had several close games last year. They had two or three games that they almost won ... so you appreciate it when somebody has some success when they’ve had such a tough go of it for such a long time.
“Of course I didn’t want it to be against us, but you have to have some appreciation for a team like that as a sportsman. I’m as disappointed as anyone, and if our effort had been bad I’d feel differently, but I also have to appreciate what Wawasee did after what they’ve been through.”
Senior Trevon Coleman led Wawasee with 10 points, while classmates Jairus Boyer and Jacob Hand scored five points each.
Juniors Groninger and Tyler Metzinger led Warsaw with six points each.
Warsaw won the JV game 37-26 behind 15 points from Keagan Larsh.
Ethan Hardy scored 10 points for the Wawasee JV team.
The Tigers are in action again tonight when they host Crown Point, while Wawasee hosts Columbia City Tuesday.
WAWASEE 28, WARSAW 20
Waw 7 4 7 10 – 28
War 4 6 6 4 – 20
Wawasee – Cayden Wegenger 0-4 0-0 0, Austin Miller 1-2 0-0 3, Bennett Hoffert 1-2 0-0 3, Jairus Boyer 2-3 1-2 5, Jacob Hand 2-3 0-0 5, Aaron Evans 1-2 0-0 2, Trevon Coleman 2-5 6-7 10, Zak Linnemeier 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 9-21 7-9 28.
Warsaw – Nolan Groninger 3-10 0-0 6, Brian Elliott 1-8 0-0 2, Deandre Adkins 0-2 0-0 0, Jack Rhoades 0-3 0-0 0, Trevor Rumple 0-1 0-0 0, Zach Riley 1-3 0-0 2, Trenton Sands 0-0 0-0 0, Jack Grose 1-3 0-0 2, Tyler Metzinger 3-3 0-0 6, Jaylen Reese 1-6 0-0 2. Totals 10-39 0-0 20.
Three-pointers – Wawasee 3 (Miller, Hoffert, Hand), Warsaw 0; Rebounds – Wawasee 16, Warsaw 27 (Groninger 5); Turnovers – Wawasee 13, Warsaw 12; Fouls – Wawasee 10, Warsaw 16; Fouled out – none; Records: Wawasee 2-3 (1-0 NLC), Warsaw 2-4 (0-1 NLC)
JV – Warsaw 37, Wawasee 26
Wawasee – Ethan Hardy 10, Chris Strombeck 5, Marshal Miller 4, Evan Eshbach 2, Jaydon Boyer 2, Blake Alright 2, Michael Hammer 1
Warsaw – Keagan Larsh 15, Jaylen Coon 10, Connor Lennox 8, Blake Marsh 4
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A Northern Lakes Conference championship.
A sectional title.
And a win over Warsaw.
The Warriors got the latter of the trio Friday night, as they beat the host Tigers 28-20 in the NLC opener for both teams.
The game itself was far from beautiful, as the teams combined to shoot 19 of 60 from the field overall and 3 of 17 from three-point range.
The outcome, however, left Wawasee and its fans with every reason to celebrate – and boy did they.
With Friday’s eight-point win, the Warriors (2-3) snapped their 42-game NLC losing streak, a 10-game skid in the series with Warsaw (2-4), and the Tigers’ 21-game NLC win streak.
Wawasee hadn’t won a conference game since beating Northridge 73-51 on Feb. 15, 2011.
The Tigers, who were held under 25 points for the first time since a 29-20 loss to Milford in the 1948-49 season, lost a game in league play for the first time since a 38-31 loss to Plymouth on Feb. 13, 2014.
“Cayden Wegener wrote 1-0 on the board in the locker room, in reference to our record after losing so many conference games,” said Wawasee’s second-year coach. “We didn’t talk about our streak, but it was definitely on our minds. It’s nice to not ever talk about that again. I’m just really proud of the kids for the way they played tonight.
“We did it at the Tiger Den, where it’s really difficult to play. I grew up in the NLC (and played at Goshen). I grew up watching Warsaw and Concord, and Goshen and Warsaw ... I?know it’s extremely difficult to win here. I told the guys this is a program win.”
As they’ve done all season, the Warriors played a slow-down style of offense in which they make pass after pass.
Wawasee, which shot 9 of 21 from the field overall, 3 of 10 from the arc, and 7 of 9 at the free throw line, led 7-4 after one quarter of play, 11-10 at halftime and 18-16 going into the final frame.
Despite making just 10 of 39 shot attempts overall, going 0 of 14 from the arc, and not attempting a free throw, the Tigers were never out of the game.
Junior Nolan Groninger scored the first four points of the fourth quarter and gave Warsaw a 20-18 lead with 1:50 remaining.
Junior Bennett Hoffert put the Warriors back on top with a three-pointer with 1:28 to play, as Wawasee closed the game on a 10-0 run.
After starting the season with wins over Tippecanoe Valley and Columbia City, Warsaw has lost four straight games. The common thread in that skid has been its shooting woes.
The Tigers are 55 of 161 overall and 12 of 69 from three-point range in losses to Homestead, Huntington North, Lake Central and Wawasee.
“I’m proud of how our guys competed in the game, especially in terms of rebounding,” said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle. “We got 16 offensive rebounds on 29 missed shots. We competed, that part I’m proud of.
“Now, the shooting ... 10 of 39, we were 5 of 20 in the first half. We were 0 of 6 on threes in the first half. Against their zone, we said we wanted to shoot nine or 10, or 11 or 12 threes. We knew we had to take some. We just didn’t make any of those, and then we didn’t make enough of our shots inside. Shots from the elbow, in the lane ... there were all kinds of good shots that we just missed. Then we’d get the rebound and miss again, or turn the ball over.
“It wasn’t really our defense ... we didn’t lose this game because of our defense. We certainly were in it because of our rebounding at halftime. That’s how we were in it. You’re not supposed to be down only one point when you’re 5 of 20 in the first half. We’re just mired in a group shooting slump.”
While he certainly didn’t want the Warriors to snap their streak against his team, Ogle said he respects what Wawasee has been through and understands why Everingham and his squad were so happy Friday night.
“As a coach, I have to have some appreciation for what they’ve gone through,” Ogle said of the Warriors. “This is Everingham’s second season there, so he’s just kind of taken it over. As a fellow coach, I appreciate that they’ve been battling, and they had several close games last year. They had two or three games that they almost won ... so you appreciate it when somebody has some success when they’ve had such a tough go of it for such a long time.
“Of course I didn’t want it to be against us, but you have to have some appreciation for a team like that as a sportsman. I’m as disappointed as anyone, and if our effort had been bad I’d feel differently, but I also have to appreciate what Wawasee did after what they’ve been through.”
Senior Trevon Coleman led Wawasee with 10 points, while classmates Jairus Boyer and Jacob Hand scored five points each.
Juniors Groninger and Tyler Metzinger led Warsaw with six points each.
Warsaw won the JV game 37-26 behind 15 points from Keagan Larsh.
Ethan Hardy scored 10 points for the Wawasee JV team.
The Tigers are in action again tonight when they host Crown Point, while Wawasee hosts Columbia City Tuesday.
WAWASEE 28, WARSAW 20
Waw 7 4 7 10 – 28
War 4 6 6 4 – 20
Wawasee – Cayden Wegenger 0-4 0-0 0, Austin Miller 1-2 0-0 3, Bennett Hoffert 1-2 0-0 3, Jairus Boyer 2-3 1-2 5, Jacob Hand 2-3 0-0 5, Aaron Evans 1-2 0-0 2, Trevon Coleman 2-5 6-7 10, Zak Linnemeier 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 9-21 7-9 28.
Warsaw – Nolan Groninger 3-10 0-0 6, Brian Elliott 1-8 0-0 2, Deandre Adkins 0-2 0-0 0, Jack Rhoades 0-3 0-0 0, Trevor Rumple 0-1 0-0 0, Zach Riley 1-3 0-0 2, Trenton Sands 0-0 0-0 0, Jack Grose 1-3 0-0 2, Tyler Metzinger 3-3 0-0 6, Jaylen Reese 1-6 0-0 2. Totals 10-39 0-0 20.
Three-pointers – Wawasee 3 (Miller, Hoffert, Hand), Warsaw 0; Rebounds – Wawasee 16, Warsaw 27 (Groninger 5); Turnovers – Wawasee 13, Warsaw 12; Fouls – Wawasee 10, Warsaw 16; Fouled out – none; Records: Wawasee 2-3 (1-0 NLC), Warsaw 2-4 (0-1 NLC)
JV – Warsaw 37, Wawasee 26
Wawasee – Ethan Hardy 10, Chris Strombeck 5, Marshal Miller 4, Evan Eshbach 2, Jaydon Boyer 2, Blake Alright 2, Michael Hammer 1
Warsaw – Keagan Larsh 15, Jaylen Coon 10, Connor Lennox 8, Blake Marsh 4
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