Tigers Surrender Late Rally, Fall To FW Dwenger In Holiday Tourney Finale
December 30, 2021 at 3:10 a.m.
Tigers Surrender Late Rally, Fall To FW Dwenger In Holiday Tourney Finale
By Connor McCann-
The size differential between the two teams was obvious to spectators even sitting up in the rafters of the Tiger Den. It was evidenced on the first possession of the game, in which the Tigers took an entire minute off of the clock before being able to put a shot up. For the first half of the physical, and at times chippy, contest, both teams spent most of their possessions dribbling, passing and trying to figure out the other side’s stagnant defense.
Despite the lack of size compared to the Saints, Warsaw was able to lead both 13-11 after a quarter, and 27-22 at halftime. After 24 assists and 17 made threes on Tuesday, it was a different type of offense for the Tigers in this one. Lots of entry passes into the lane gave Warsaw some easy layups, as the three pointers were not falling.
“A lot of credit goes to them. I think they did a good job of continuing to pursue the basket, get second chance opportunities,” Warsaw head coach Matt Moore said. “We go from 47% shooting in the first half to 27% in the second half because our shot selection was much different. We settled for too many jumpers.”
The second half, and specifically the third quarter, is where Dwenger started to make the most of its size and physicality. The layups and shots at the rim that were there after lengthy first half possessions disappeared. The jumpers that Warsaw had made so many of in recent games stopped falling. With the score knotted up at 31-31 with just a few seconds remaining in the third, Jaxson Gould made a three pointer to give the Tigers the lead, the team’s final lead of the game. Gould would finish his night with a team-high 14 points and five rebounds.
“They changed from a 2-3 zone to a 1-3-1 and that changed our player movement a lot,” Moore said. “A lot of credit goes to them, we got tested in a way that now we’ll have a chance to improve.”
The fourth and final quarter would belong to the Saints. Unable to find any momentum after the last second three from Gould, the Tigers struggled to get any offense figured out in the final period. Dwenger would capitalize on the home team’s scoring woes, and finish off the comeback and win the tournament. Warsaw finishes its three games in two days with two victories and a loss.
“We saw three different types of teams. A big physical one tonight, a super athletic and super skilled team yesterday, so you get measured in different ways,” Moore said. “I think that’s what our sectional is going to look like, you have to win three games in five days and if you have experience with a bunch of different looking teams you’re going to be in a position to have success.”
Warsaw has a week and a half before traveling to Middlebury to take on Northridge in NLC play on Friday, January 7.
“The biggest thing is we’re going to play two teams that are going to zone us a lot these next two games, so we’re going to have to look at what we can improve,” Moore said. “We are a good team, and I’m not going to use one game as a measuring stick by any means, but we do have some things we can work on, and we’ll attack those in practice.”
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The size differential between the two teams was obvious to spectators even sitting up in the rafters of the Tiger Den. It was evidenced on the first possession of the game, in which the Tigers took an entire minute off of the clock before being able to put a shot up. For the first half of the physical, and at times chippy, contest, both teams spent most of their possessions dribbling, passing and trying to figure out the other side’s stagnant defense.
Despite the lack of size compared to the Saints, Warsaw was able to lead both 13-11 after a quarter, and 27-22 at halftime. After 24 assists and 17 made threes on Tuesday, it was a different type of offense for the Tigers in this one. Lots of entry passes into the lane gave Warsaw some easy layups, as the three pointers were not falling.
“A lot of credit goes to them. I think they did a good job of continuing to pursue the basket, get second chance opportunities,” Warsaw head coach Matt Moore said. “We go from 47% shooting in the first half to 27% in the second half because our shot selection was much different. We settled for too many jumpers.”
The second half, and specifically the third quarter, is where Dwenger started to make the most of its size and physicality. The layups and shots at the rim that were there after lengthy first half possessions disappeared. The jumpers that Warsaw had made so many of in recent games stopped falling. With the score knotted up at 31-31 with just a few seconds remaining in the third, Jaxson Gould made a three pointer to give the Tigers the lead, the team’s final lead of the game. Gould would finish his night with a team-high 14 points and five rebounds.
“They changed from a 2-3 zone to a 1-3-1 and that changed our player movement a lot,” Moore said. “A lot of credit goes to them, we got tested in a way that now we’ll have a chance to improve.”
The fourth and final quarter would belong to the Saints. Unable to find any momentum after the last second three from Gould, the Tigers struggled to get any offense figured out in the final period. Dwenger would capitalize on the home team’s scoring woes, and finish off the comeback and win the tournament. Warsaw finishes its three games in two days with two victories and a loss.
“We saw three different types of teams. A big physical one tonight, a super athletic and super skilled team yesterday, so you get measured in different ways,” Moore said. “I think that’s what our sectional is going to look like, you have to win three games in five days and if you have experience with a bunch of different looking teams you’re going to be in a position to have success.”
Warsaw has a week and a half before traveling to Middlebury to take on Northridge in NLC play on Friday, January 7.
“The biggest thing is we’re going to play two teams that are going to zone us a lot these next two games, so we’re going to have to look at what we can improve,” Moore said. “We are a good team, and I’m not going to use one game as a measuring stick by any means, but we do have some things we can work on, and we’ll attack those in practice.”
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