Simfukwe Surges, Tiger Defense Clip Eagles’ Wings 62-54
November 28, 2021 at 9:47 p.m.
Simfukwe Surges, Tiger Defense Clip Eagles’ Wings 62-54
By Chip Davenport-
The opening night backdrop was Columbia City’s new facility, christened the previous season, but now free from crowd size restrictions for the 2021-2022 basketball season. The crowd, three-fourths of capacity, witnessed a solid Tiger team effort complementing Simfukwe’s game- and career-high-tying 27 points.
“I’m really proud of the all-around effort by all of our guys,” Warsaw head coach Matt Moore said, reflecting on a night where nine payers saw meaningful minutes among multiple lineup combinations.
“That’s what you want from your seniors,” Moore said of the 6’1” senior guard grabbing the Tigers’ reins. “I thought Jaxson had a great floor game of getting us set up in a lot of ways, and he defaulted at times for Judah’s matchup.”
Gould, who scored 12 points despite his frigid 3-13 shooting performance, complemented Simfukwe’s effort by masterfully minding the store on defense (seven rebounds, four steals), and aided the offensive attack with three assists.
Simfukwe added four rebounds and two steals, and the Tigers scored 21 points off 15 Columbia City turnovers. Ball security for the Tigers, on the other hand, was tight with only six miscues.
The Tigers trailed 15-10 in the opening quarter, and Columbia City opened its advantage to 23-17 before the orange and black closed the first half with a 9-0 run. Drew Heckaman, an athletic junior forward who plays bigger than his 6’3” 175-pound frame, joined the action off the bench and scored ten of his 14 points by halftime, and Warsaw moved ahead of the Eagles 26-23 at halftime.
“(Drew is) probably the sturdiest guy we have with the basketball,” Moore remarked. “He plays off two feet, he’s strong, and he’s a good pivoter. He is (also) bouncy, athletic, and he gets through seams.”
Heckaman added three rebounds and a blocked shot on the defensive end of the floor.
Warsaw slipped behind the Eagles 35-30 halfway through the third quarter, and when the guests narrowed the deficit to 35-34 at 3:41, Moore called a time out. The ensuing results of he and his coaching staff’s adjustments started to take shape, and the Tigers trailed at the period’s end 43-42.
“Our guys did a really good job of adjusting to the things we asked them to,” Moore said. “The second half we tried to drive (the ball) more. I thought we had some high-percentage shots, and the guys had some nice isolations, and we finished them down the stretch.”
The Eagles finished the evening shooting 18-38 from the field (47.4%), outrebounding Warsaw 24-23, and they did not issue a single assist. They hit all 15 of their free throw attempts.
Andrew Hedrick (15 points), Mason Baker (12 points, 8-8 from the charity stripe), Jaxson Crawford (11 points, six rebounds), Elias Spellman (nine points, five boards), Alex Hedrick (three points), and Rhet Wilson (two points) comprised Columbia City’s total offensive output.
Twins Nick and Theo Katris, loosely known as the Katrii, contributed to the Tigers’ effort scoring four points each and grabbing one steal apiece along with Russ Winchester’s one free throw and three rebounds. The trio of juniors played solid defense, and constructively adapted their physical play from the football field to the hardcourt.
The Tigers shot 48% (24-50) from the field and hit 12 of 16 free throws (75%).
Warsaw’s JV team suffered a 43-39 loss while the JV Eagles scored 19 points off 17 Tiger miscues. Freshman Luke Bricker led the JV Tigers’ scoring effort with ten points followed by Luke Yeager (nine points, ten caroms, three blocked shots), and Julian Saldivar (nine points, seven boards), and Grady Nolin (five points). Carson Gould and Austin Polk rounded out the effort with three points each.
Warsaw (1-0) hosts non-conference foes Homestead (Friday night), and Huntington North (Saturday night).
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The opening night backdrop was Columbia City’s new facility, christened the previous season, but now free from crowd size restrictions for the 2021-2022 basketball season. The crowd, three-fourths of capacity, witnessed a solid Tiger team effort complementing Simfukwe’s game- and career-high-tying 27 points.
“I’m really proud of the all-around effort by all of our guys,” Warsaw head coach Matt Moore said, reflecting on a night where nine payers saw meaningful minutes among multiple lineup combinations.
“That’s what you want from your seniors,” Moore said of the 6’1” senior guard grabbing the Tigers’ reins. “I thought Jaxson had a great floor game of getting us set up in a lot of ways, and he defaulted at times for Judah’s matchup.”
Gould, who scored 12 points despite his frigid 3-13 shooting performance, complemented Simfukwe’s effort by masterfully minding the store on defense (seven rebounds, four steals), and aided the offensive attack with three assists.
Simfukwe added four rebounds and two steals, and the Tigers scored 21 points off 15 Columbia City turnovers. Ball security for the Tigers, on the other hand, was tight with only six miscues.
The Tigers trailed 15-10 in the opening quarter, and Columbia City opened its advantage to 23-17 before the orange and black closed the first half with a 9-0 run. Drew Heckaman, an athletic junior forward who plays bigger than his 6’3” 175-pound frame, joined the action off the bench and scored ten of his 14 points by halftime, and Warsaw moved ahead of the Eagles 26-23 at halftime.
“(Drew is) probably the sturdiest guy we have with the basketball,” Moore remarked. “He plays off two feet, he’s strong, and he’s a good pivoter. He is (also) bouncy, athletic, and he gets through seams.”
Heckaman added three rebounds and a blocked shot on the defensive end of the floor.
Warsaw slipped behind the Eagles 35-30 halfway through the third quarter, and when the guests narrowed the deficit to 35-34 at 3:41, Moore called a time out. The ensuing results of he and his coaching staff’s adjustments started to take shape, and the Tigers trailed at the period’s end 43-42.
“Our guys did a really good job of adjusting to the things we asked them to,” Moore said. “The second half we tried to drive (the ball) more. I thought we had some high-percentage shots, and the guys had some nice isolations, and we finished them down the stretch.”
The Eagles finished the evening shooting 18-38 from the field (47.4%), outrebounding Warsaw 24-23, and they did not issue a single assist. They hit all 15 of their free throw attempts.
Andrew Hedrick (15 points), Mason Baker (12 points, 8-8 from the charity stripe), Jaxson Crawford (11 points, six rebounds), Elias Spellman (nine points, five boards), Alex Hedrick (three points), and Rhet Wilson (two points) comprised Columbia City’s total offensive output.
Twins Nick and Theo Katris, loosely known as the Katrii, contributed to the Tigers’ effort scoring four points each and grabbing one steal apiece along with Russ Winchester’s one free throw and three rebounds. The trio of juniors played solid defense, and constructively adapted their physical play from the football field to the hardcourt.
The Tigers shot 48% (24-50) from the field and hit 12 of 16 free throws (75%).
Warsaw’s JV team suffered a 43-39 loss while the JV Eagles scored 19 points off 17 Tiger miscues. Freshman Luke Bricker led the JV Tigers’ scoring effort with ten points followed by Luke Yeager (nine points, ten caroms, three blocked shots), and Julian Saldivar (nine points, seven boards), and Grady Nolin (five points). Carson Gould and Austin Polk rounded out the effort with three points each.
Warsaw (1-0) hosts non-conference foes Homestead (Friday night), and Huntington North (Saturday night).
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