Tigers Tame Whitko Wildcats
December 21, 2017 at 6:08 p.m.
Tigers Tame Whitko Wildcats
By Dale [email protected]
In snapping a five-game losing streak, as well as a six-game skid in the Tiger Den that dated back to last season, the Tigers shot 54 percent from the field, pulled away in the fourth quarter and saw seven of their 10 available players score at least five points.
It all added up to a 67-49 win over the Whitko Wildcats, and it was a much-needed victory for the Tigers.
“We feel like we’re getting better slowly, kind of, but we just haven’t had any wins to show for it,” said Ogle, whose team improved to 3-5, while Whitko fell to 4-5.
“To have a game like tonight helps our confidence. We’re very happy, and, to a degree, relieved. We needed a game like this.”
Ogle said assistant coach David Wayne drew a picture of a wall on the board in the locker room, and the message was all about breaking through a wall.
The Tigers broke through a number of walls.
A team that had been mired in a shooting slump, Warsaw made 26 of 48 attempts from the field overall, 5 of 10 from three-point range, and 10 of 13 at the free throw line.
Six-foot-7 junior Tyler Metzinger, whose previous career high was 10 points in a loss at Lake Central on Dec. 8, poured in a game-high 17 points to go along with five rebounds.
Senior Zach Riley made 4 of 6 shot attempts and was 5 of 6 at the free throw line en route to 13 points.
And junior point guard Nolan Groninger, who started the season with 17 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in a win at Tippecanoe Valley, finished with a double-double of 11 points and 13 assists.
Groninger was superb in running the show for the Tigers, who had assists on 21 of 26 made baskets.
“Groninger was really outstanding,” said Ogle. “I don’t know if we’ve ever had a player in my tenure get 13 assists. I don’t remember that, and I think I would.
“I thought Nolan was special tonight in terms of how he ran our team.”
Junior Trevor Rumple scored seven points in the win, while sophomore Brian Elliott and junior Jaylen Reese scored six points each.
Senior Jack Grose, who started in place of classmate Jack Rhoades (back injury), scored five points, and senior Deondre Adkins chipped in with two points and six boards.
The Tigers trailed 14-13 after one quarter of play, but led 30-26 at halftime and 46-40 heading into the final frame.
While Warsaw was able to work the ball inside, Whitko appeared more comfortable playing on the perimeter.
The Wildcats made just four two-point baskets, as they were 15 of 35 from the field overall, 11 of 23 from three-point range, and 8 of 9 at the charity stripe.
“We hit four 2s, you’re never gonna win a game doing that,” said Whitko coach Eli Henson. “No matter who you’re playing, you’re never gonna win a game like that.
“Warsaw does such a good job of closing off the lane, and they don’t allow penetration, they stop the ball first. The did a good job of closing out on our shooters.
“You’d think if you shot that well from the three that you’d have won, but we got beat by 18 points. When you’re only cranking threes, yeah you’re gonna have a little success, you might catch a hot streak and hit four or five in a row, but you’re legs are gonna get tired as the game wears on. And when we’re only playing five or six guys, those guys in the fourth quarter are just getting dog tired. I wish I had guys to stick in there for them for a minute or two, but right now we just don’t have guys playing with confidence.”
Senior River West led Whitko with 17 points, making 5 of 7 three-point attempts along the way.
Six-foot-7 junior Spencer Sroufe finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots.
Freshman Brett Sickafoose chipped in with 10 points.
No other Whitko player scored more than three points.
“Honestly, right now we just don’t have a bench,” said Henson. “As a coach, I’m saying that it’s not lack of effort. I’m hoping that it’s that we just don’t have a bench right now.
“We need guys to step up. Right now we’ve got three or four guys that are doing the bulk of our scoring, and that can’t continue if we’re going to be a good team moving forward.”
The Tigers are in action again Saturday when they travel to Topeka to play Class 2A No. 3 Westview, who takes a 6-0 record into a home game Friday with Lakeland.
Whitko is off until Dec. 28 when it travels to Huntington for a noon tipoff against the Vikings in a holiday tournament that is being hosted by both Huntington North and Columbia City.
Whitko will also play Leo on Dec. 28 at Huntington North.
In Wednesday’s JV contest, Warsaw beat Whitko 69-31.
Jaylen Coon led the JV Tigers with 16 points, while Blake Marsh and Wyatt Amiss scored 13 and 10, respectively.
Micah Cokl paced the Wildcats with nine points.
Notes – Wednesday’s game was the first time the Tigers and Wildcats played since Dec. 29, 2016. Whitko won that meeting 62-60 in overtime in South Whitley. The teams met each year from 1972-91, and then again in 2005 and 2006. Warsaw now leads the overall series 15-10.
WARSAW 67, WHITKO 49
Whi 14 12 14 9 – 49
War 13 17 16 21 – 67
Whitko – Brett Sickafoose 3-8 2-3 10, Shad Ebbinghouse 1-1 0-0 3, Micah Lewis 1-5 0-0 3, Cade Bechtold 0-0 0-0 0, River West 5-10 2-2 17, Brian Collins 0-1 2-2 2, Spencer Sroufe 5-10 2-2 14. Totals 15-35 8-9 49.
Warsaw – Nolan Groninger 5-10 1-2 11, Brian Elliott 2-5 0-0 6, Deondre Adkins 1-1 0-0 2, Trevor Rumple 3-4 0-0 7, Dane Stookey 0-0 0-0 0, Zach Riley 4-6 5-6 13, Nick Marsh 0-0 0-0 0, Jack Grose 2-6 0-0 5, Tyler Metzinger 7-12 3-4 17, Jaylen Reese 2-4 1-1 6. Totals 26-48 10-13 67.
Three-pointers – Whitko 11 (West 5, Sickafoos 2, Sroufe 2, Ebbinghouse, Lewis), Warsaw 5 (Elliott 2, Rumple, Grose, Reese); Rebounds – Whikto 22 (Sroufe 7), Whitko 24 (Adkins 6); Turnovers – Whitko 14, Warsaw 8; Fouls – Whitko 17, Warsaw 15; Fouled out – Elliott; Records: Whitko 4-5, Warsaw 3-5
JV – Warsaw 69, Whitko 31
Whitko – Micah Cokl 9, Kylar Bryant 7, Devin Blaine 6, Andrew Swartz 3, Clayton Ebbinghouse 2, Austyn McDaniel 2, Cameron Sapp 2
Warsaw – Jaylen Coon 16, Blake Marsh 13, Wyatt Amiss 10, Keagan Larsh 9, Connor Lennox 6, Tedros Berelsman 5, Drew Yeagar 4, Austin Spice 3
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In snapping a five-game losing streak, as well as a six-game skid in the Tiger Den that dated back to last season, the Tigers shot 54 percent from the field, pulled away in the fourth quarter and saw seven of their 10 available players score at least five points.
It all added up to a 67-49 win over the Whitko Wildcats, and it was a much-needed victory for the Tigers.
“We feel like we’re getting better slowly, kind of, but we just haven’t had any wins to show for it,” said Ogle, whose team improved to 3-5, while Whitko fell to 4-5.
“To have a game like tonight helps our confidence. We’re very happy, and, to a degree, relieved. We needed a game like this.”
Ogle said assistant coach David Wayne drew a picture of a wall on the board in the locker room, and the message was all about breaking through a wall.
The Tigers broke through a number of walls.
A team that had been mired in a shooting slump, Warsaw made 26 of 48 attempts from the field overall, 5 of 10 from three-point range, and 10 of 13 at the free throw line.
Six-foot-7 junior Tyler Metzinger, whose previous career high was 10 points in a loss at Lake Central on Dec. 8, poured in a game-high 17 points to go along with five rebounds.
Senior Zach Riley made 4 of 6 shot attempts and was 5 of 6 at the free throw line en route to 13 points.
And junior point guard Nolan Groninger, who started the season with 17 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in a win at Tippecanoe Valley, finished with a double-double of 11 points and 13 assists.
Groninger was superb in running the show for the Tigers, who had assists on 21 of 26 made baskets.
“Groninger was really outstanding,” said Ogle. “I don’t know if we’ve ever had a player in my tenure get 13 assists. I don’t remember that, and I think I would.
“I thought Nolan was special tonight in terms of how he ran our team.”
Junior Trevor Rumple scored seven points in the win, while sophomore Brian Elliott and junior Jaylen Reese scored six points each.
Senior Jack Grose, who started in place of classmate Jack Rhoades (back injury), scored five points, and senior Deondre Adkins chipped in with two points and six boards.
The Tigers trailed 14-13 after one quarter of play, but led 30-26 at halftime and 46-40 heading into the final frame.
While Warsaw was able to work the ball inside, Whitko appeared more comfortable playing on the perimeter.
The Wildcats made just four two-point baskets, as they were 15 of 35 from the field overall, 11 of 23 from three-point range, and 8 of 9 at the charity stripe.
“We hit four 2s, you’re never gonna win a game doing that,” said Whitko coach Eli Henson. “No matter who you’re playing, you’re never gonna win a game like that.
“Warsaw does such a good job of closing off the lane, and they don’t allow penetration, they stop the ball first. The did a good job of closing out on our shooters.
“You’d think if you shot that well from the three that you’d have won, but we got beat by 18 points. When you’re only cranking threes, yeah you’re gonna have a little success, you might catch a hot streak and hit four or five in a row, but you’re legs are gonna get tired as the game wears on. And when we’re only playing five or six guys, those guys in the fourth quarter are just getting dog tired. I wish I had guys to stick in there for them for a minute or two, but right now we just don’t have guys playing with confidence.”
Senior River West led Whitko with 17 points, making 5 of 7 three-point attempts along the way.
Six-foot-7 junior Spencer Sroufe finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots.
Freshman Brett Sickafoose chipped in with 10 points.
No other Whitko player scored more than three points.
“Honestly, right now we just don’t have a bench,” said Henson. “As a coach, I’m saying that it’s not lack of effort. I’m hoping that it’s that we just don’t have a bench right now.
“We need guys to step up. Right now we’ve got three or four guys that are doing the bulk of our scoring, and that can’t continue if we’re going to be a good team moving forward.”
The Tigers are in action again Saturday when they travel to Topeka to play Class 2A No. 3 Westview, who takes a 6-0 record into a home game Friday with Lakeland.
Whitko is off until Dec. 28 when it travels to Huntington for a noon tipoff against the Vikings in a holiday tournament that is being hosted by both Huntington North and Columbia City.
Whitko will also play Leo on Dec. 28 at Huntington North.
In Wednesday’s JV contest, Warsaw beat Whitko 69-31.
Jaylen Coon led the JV Tigers with 16 points, while Blake Marsh and Wyatt Amiss scored 13 and 10, respectively.
Micah Cokl paced the Wildcats with nine points.
Notes – Wednesday’s game was the first time the Tigers and Wildcats played since Dec. 29, 2016. Whitko won that meeting 62-60 in overtime in South Whitley. The teams met each year from 1972-91, and then again in 2005 and 2006. Warsaw now leads the overall series 15-10.
WARSAW 67, WHITKO 49
Whi 14 12 14 9 – 49
War 13 17 16 21 – 67
Whitko – Brett Sickafoose 3-8 2-3 10, Shad Ebbinghouse 1-1 0-0 3, Micah Lewis 1-5 0-0 3, Cade Bechtold 0-0 0-0 0, River West 5-10 2-2 17, Brian Collins 0-1 2-2 2, Spencer Sroufe 5-10 2-2 14. Totals 15-35 8-9 49.
Warsaw – Nolan Groninger 5-10 1-2 11, Brian Elliott 2-5 0-0 6, Deondre Adkins 1-1 0-0 2, Trevor Rumple 3-4 0-0 7, Dane Stookey 0-0 0-0 0, Zach Riley 4-6 5-6 13, Nick Marsh 0-0 0-0 0, Jack Grose 2-6 0-0 5, Tyler Metzinger 7-12 3-4 17, Jaylen Reese 2-4 1-1 6. Totals 26-48 10-13 67.
Three-pointers – Whitko 11 (West 5, Sickafoos 2, Sroufe 2, Ebbinghouse, Lewis), Warsaw 5 (Elliott 2, Rumple, Grose, Reese); Rebounds – Whikto 22 (Sroufe 7), Whitko 24 (Adkins 6); Turnovers – Whitko 14, Warsaw 8; Fouls – Whitko 17, Warsaw 15; Fouled out – Elliott; Records: Whitko 4-5, Warsaw 3-5
JV – Warsaw 69, Whitko 31
Whitko – Micah Cokl 9, Kylar Bryant 7, Devin Blaine 6, Andrew Swartz 3, Clayton Ebbinghouse 2, Austyn McDaniel 2, Cameron Sapp 2
Warsaw – Jaylen Coon 16, Blake Marsh 13, Wyatt Amiss 10, Keagan Larsh 9, Connor Lennox 6, Tedros Berelsman 5, Drew Yeagar 4, Austin Spice 3
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