Groninger, Tigers Cash In At Charity Stripe

January 27, 2018 at 6:55 a.m.


NAPPANEE – Nolan Groninger admits it was an area of his game that needed work, so the 6-foot Warsaw junior put an emphasis on free throw shooting in the offseason.

Groninger’s improvement was evident Friday night, as he made 14 of 15 charity tosses – including an 11-of-12 effort in the fourth quarter – en route to a 22-point performance that led the Tigers to a 42-35 Northern Lakes Conference win at NorthWood.

“It’s something I worked on a lot in the offseason, because it wasn’t a strong point in my game,” Groninger said of his performance at the free throw line.

“I really worked on improving there.”

The Tigers were 17 of 21 at the free throw line as a team, and the seven-point victory extended their win streak to six games.

Warsaw is now 9-7 overall and alone atop the NLC standings at 4-1. The Tigers have won 25 of their last 26 conference games.

NorthWood, now on a three-game skid, fell to 8-6 overall and 2-3 in the NLC.

Elkhart Memorial, Northridge and Plymouth are tied for second in the league standings at 3-2.

“We’re happy to be at the fourth rung of the NLC?championship ladder, we’ve got four wins now,” said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle, whose team is eyeing the program’s fourth straight conference crown.

“I was happy to be up 26-10. Our start to the game was good, and our start to the third quarter was good, and then we kind of lost it for about eight minutes in a row. That allowed them to get back in it.”

The Tigers led 5-4 after one quarter of play, 16-7 at halftime and 27-19 heading into the final frame.

After trailing by as many as 16 points, the Panthers cut Warsaw’s advantage to two, 35-33, with 2:55 remaining.

Groninger made a steal and was fouled with 1:27 to play. He converted both free throw attempts, pushing the Tigers’ lead to six.

NorthWood got no closer the rest of the way.

“I thought we did a better job executing offensively, and we were fortunate to mix in some perimeter threes in that stretch,” NorthWood coach Aaron Wolfe said of what got his team back in the game.

“I thought our guys were able to rebound the basketball and get second chances. I’m proud of our guys, I thought they battled to get back in the game.”

Warsaw’s ability to get to the free throw line, particularly Groninger, was just too much to overcome for the Panthers, who have lost their last four meetings against the Tigers.

“I think there were some crucial possessions late in the game where we came up empty and they shot free throws,” said Wolfe. “Obviously that was the emphasis, but they’re very good at getting to the free throw line, and tonight was no different.”

Caleb Glick led NorthWood with 13 points and six rebounds, while Caleb Lung and Brad Delio scored seven and six points, respectively.

To go with Groninger’s 22 points, four steals and two assists, the Tigers got eight points and two steals from sophomore Brian Elliott.

Senior Jack Rhoades, juniors Tyler Metzinger and Jaylen Reese, and sophomore Blake Marsh all scored three points in the win.

In the JV game, Jaylen Coon scored 16 points to lead Warsaw to a 49-45 win.

Trent Edwards led NorthWood’s JV squad with 30 points.

Warsaw is in action again tonight in a non-conference home game against Elkhart Central.

NorthWood travels to Concord for an NLC clash Thursday.



WARSAW 42, NORTHWOOD 35

W    5    11    11    15    –    42

NW    4    3    12    16    –    35

Warsaw – Nolan Groninger 4-7 14-15 22, Brian Elliott 3-8 0-0 8, Jack Rhoades 1-1 0-0 3, Zach Riley 0-4 0-0 0, Jack Grose 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Metzinger 0-3 3-6 3, Jaylen Reese 1-3 0-0 3, Blake Marsh 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 10-27 17-21 42.

NorthWood – Kaden Gongwer 1-5 0-2 3, Brad Delio 2-8 0-1 6, DeAndre Smart 0-0 4-6 4, Caleb Glick 3-4 6-6 13, Caleb Lung 2-5 2-3 7, Luke Holland 0-0 2-2 2, Nick Bean 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 8-26 14-20 35.

Three-pointers – Warsaw 5 (Elliott 2, Rhoades, Reese, Marsh), NorthWood 5 (Delio 2, Gongwer, Glick, Lung); Rebounds – Warsaw 17 (Riley 4), NorthWood 25 (Glick 6); Turnovers – Warsaw 6, NorthWood 11; Fouls – Warsaw 19, NorthWood 17; Fouled out – none; Records: Warsaw 9-7 (4-1 NLC), NorthWood 8-6 (2-3 NLC)

JV – Warsaw 49, NorthWood 45

Warsaw – Jaylen Coon 16, Connor Lennox 10,?Keagan Larsh 9, Drew Yeager 8, Noah Bohnenkamper 3, Tedros Berelsman 3

NorthWood – Trent Edwards 30, Ben Vincent 8, Jason Borkholder 2, Toby Brenner 2, Brock Flickinger 1

NAPPANEE – Nolan Groninger admits it was an area of his game that needed work, so the 6-foot Warsaw junior put an emphasis on free throw shooting in the offseason.

Groninger’s improvement was evident Friday night, as he made 14 of 15 charity tosses – including an 11-of-12 effort in the fourth quarter – en route to a 22-point performance that led the Tigers to a 42-35 Northern Lakes Conference win at NorthWood.

“It’s something I worked on a lot in the offseason, because it wasn’t a strong point in my game,” Groninger said of his performance at the free throw line.

“I really worked on improving there.”

The Tigers were 17 of 21 at the free throw line as a team, and the seven-point victory extended their win streak to six games.

Warsaw is now 9-7 overall and alone atop the NLC standings at 4-1. The Tigers have won 25 of their last 26 conference games.

NorthWood, now on a three-game skid, fell to 8-6 overall and 2-3 in the NLC.

Elkhart Memorial, Northridge and Plymouth are tied for second in the league standings at 3-2.

“We’re happy to be at the fourth rung of the NLC?championship ladder, we’ve got four wins now,” said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle, whose team is eyeing the program’s fourth straight conference crown.

“I was happy to be up 26-10. Our start to the game was good, and our start to the third quarter was good, and then we kind of lost it for about eight minutes in a row. That allowed them to get back in it.”

The Tigers led 5-4 after one quarter of play, 16-7 at halftime and 27-19 heading into the final frame.

After trailing by as many as 16 points, the Panthers cut Warsaw’s advantage to two, 35-33, with 2:55 remaining.

Groninger made a steal and was fouled with 1:27 to play. He converted both free throw attempts, pushing the Tigers’ lead to six.

NorthWood got no closer the rest of the way.

“I thought we did a better job executing offensively, and we were fortunate to mix in some perimeter threes in that stretch,” NorthWood coach Aaron Wolfe said of what got his team back in the game.

“I thought our guys were able to rebound the basketball and get second chances. I’m proud of our guys, I thought they battled to get back in the game.”

Warsaw’s ability to get to the free throw line, particularly Groninger, was just too much to overcome for the Panthers, who have lost their last four meetings against the Tigers.

“I think there were some crucial possessions late in the game where we came up empty and they shot free throws,” said Wolfe. “Obviously that was the emphasis, but they’re very good at getting to the free throw line, and tonight was no different.”

Caleb Glick led NorthWood with 13 points and six rebounds, while Caleb Lung and Brad Delio scored seven and six points, respectively.

To go with Groninger’s 22 points, four steals and two assists, the Tigers got eight points and two steals from sophomore Brian Elliott.

Senior Jack Rhoades, juniors Tyler Metzinger and Jaylen Reese, and sophomore Blake Marsh all scored three points in the win.

In the JV game, Jaylen Coon scored 16 points to lead Warsaw to a 49-45 win.

Trent Edwards led NorthWood’s JV squad with 30 points.

Warsaw is in action again tonight in a non-conference home game against Elkhart Central.

NorthWood travels to Concord for an NLC clash Thursday.



WARSAW 42, NORTHWOOD 35

W    5    11    11    15    –    42

NW    4    3    12    16    –    35

Warsaw – Nolan Groninger 4-7 14-15 22, Brian Elliott 3-8 0-0 8, Jack Rhoades 1-1 0-0 3, Zach Riley 0-4 0-0 0, Jack Grose 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Metzinger 0-3 3-6 3, Jaylen Reese 1-3 0-0 3, Blake Marsh 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 10-27 17-21 42.

NorthWood – Kaden Gongwer 1-5 0-2 3, Brad Delio 2-8 0-1 6, DeAndre Smart 0-0 4-6 4, Caleb Glick 3-4 6-6 13, Caleb Lung 2-5 2-3 7, Luke Holland 0-0 2-2 2, Nick Bean 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 8-26 14-20 35.

Three-pointers – Warsaw 5 (Elliott 2, Rhoades, Reese, Marsh), NorthWood 5 (Delio 2, Gongwer, Glick, Lung); Rebounds – Warsaw 17 (Riley 4), NorthWood 25 (Glick 6); Turnovers – Warsaw 6, NorthWood 11; Fouls – Warsaw 19, NorthWood 17; Fouled out – none; Records: Warsaw 9-7 (4-1 NLC), NorthWood 8-6 (2-3 NLC)

JV – Warsaw 49, NorthWood 45

Warsaw – Jaylen Coon 16, Connor Lennox 10,?Keagan Larsh 9, Drew Yeager 8, Noah Bohnenkamper 3, Tedros Berelsman 3

NorthWood – Trent Edwards 30, Ben Vincent 8, Jason Borkholder 2, Toby Brenner 2, Brock Flickinger 1
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092

e-Edition


e-edition

Sign up


for our email newsletters

Weekly Top Stories

Sign up to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every Sunday

Daily Updates & Breaking News Alerts

Sign up to get our daily updates and breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox daily

Latest Stories


Trailer A Total Loss In Sunday Fire
A trailer was a total loss after a Sunday afternoon fire, which also claimed the life of a puppy.

Public Occurrences 05.05.25
County Jail Bookings The following people were arrested and booked into the Kosciusko County Jail:

GOP Chair To Appoint Next Etna Green Clerk-Treasurer
A date and time has been set for Kosciusko County Republican Central Committee Chairman Mike Ragan to appoint the next Etna Green clerk-treasurer.

A ‘Gem’
Editor, Times-Union: We have a "gem" in news reporting here in Warsaw!

The Lawless Party
Editor, Times-Union: Democrats have a long history of supporting lawlessness and they have the nerve to say no one is above the law. At times they act like spoiled children that expect to get their way all the time even if they have been naughty.