Playing in front of a home crowd at the Tiger Den for the final time in the 2023-24 season, the Warsaw boys basketball team went out with a bang on Tuesday night, crushing Fort Wayne Northrop 74-21 to send their supporters home happy for one final time this season. The Tiger offense had it going all night long, hitting 13 threes on the night.
The Tigers began the contest with a dazzling display of offense, sharing the ball incredibly well. Four different players, Luke Bricker, Luke Yeager, Robbie Finlinson and Brandt Martin, made the first four shots of the night for the home team. Five players would score in the quarter. The shots were falling from all over, but the deep ball was working exceptionally well for Warsaw in the first quarter, as the team made five threes in the opening period.
The defense was also playing incredibly well. The Tigers allowed just one made field goal in the game’s first eight minutes, adding three blocks in the process. While the offense continued to work well cohesively, Bricker ended up taking over the game on his own. The junior scored 10 points in the first quarter as the Tigers jumped out to a massive 25-3 lead.
The second period looked a lot like the first as it got rolling, as Warsaw drained two more three pointers in the opening minutes to continue rolling, as Drew Sullivan joined the scorers with one of his own. The lead continued to grow for the home side, eclipsing 30 points early in the second and remaining there for the rest of the half.
While Warsaw continued to grow its advantage, the team did so in style. Playing his last ever game at the Tiger Den, Yeager brought the crowd to its feet with an emphatic putback dunk that rattled the rim. Not to be outdone, Bricker would do the same just moments later, collecting a poster in the process by throwing one down over a Northrop defender. Bricker finished the first half with 19 points as the Tigers held a 32-point lead as the second half, and the running clock, loomed.

    In one smooth motion, senior Luke Yeager of Warsaw catches the ball with one hand and slams it through the hoop during the second quarter. Photo by Gary Nieter

Two minutes into the second half, Bricker’s fourth three of the night would put the expedited clock into effect. It would be the first of three straight shots from deep, including Finlinson’s third and yet another from Bricker to make it a 40-point game.
Outside of an and-one for Yeager and Trai Davis getting his second bucket of the night to fall, the rest of the quarter sped by without much of note occurring. Up by 48 points after 24 minutes of play, Warsaw began the fourth quarter well on its way to a victory.
Most of the starters remained in the game as the fourth got going, as Finlinson joined Bricker in double figures a few minutes in with his fourth make of the night. He’d get another one to fall moments later to give him 15 points for the game. Yeager would get a tip in with about three minutes left in the contest before being subbed out to the tune of a loud ovation from the Warsaw faithful.
The game’s final three minutes were carried out by members of the junior varsity team. Elijah Wright, who had a monster game in the JV contest earlier in the evening, was able to get onto the scoreboard with a tough make as time winded down. Parker Justice put the exclamation point on the victory with a long three pointer, the team’s 13th of the night.
Bricker finished his sensational night with 27 points and four rebounds. Finlinson scored 15 on five made threes while Yeager added nine and a team-high seven rebounds. Martin scored eight points while Davis added four.
Warsaw (15-5) will take to the road for Saturday’s game at Hammond Morton, the Tigers’ first ever game against the Governors. On Sunday, the Tigers and other area teams will figure out who they will be taking on in the playoffs as the IHSAA does its annual sectional draw. Warsaw will wrap up the season Tuesday at Tippecanoe Valley.