After winning just two of their first four Northern Lakes Conference games, the Warsaw boys basketball team had the tough task of having to go into the Pit on Friday night to try to earn a win against defending 3A state champions NorthWood. In a hard-fought defensive battle, the Tigers emerged on top with a 35-34 win in front of a packed house.
“The last few years, this hasn’t been much of a rivalry because we haven’t been doing our part,” Warsaw head coach Matt Moore said after the win. “I was really proud of our guys tonight and how we approached this game and this atmosphere. We came in with nothing to lose and the guys did a tremendous job.”
The start was not the one that Warsaw was looking for, as the Tigers were only able to manage two points in the game’s first four minutes on a dunk from Luke Yeager. Despite the early offensive struggles, the Warsaw defense made it very clear that they came to play in the opening minutes. The visitors were swarming ball handlers, coming up with big double teams and making sure their presence was felt each time a NorthWood player drove at the rim. Despite this, the Panthers were able to open up a small lead as Warsaw struggled to get the ball in the hoop.
The issues wouldn’t last forever though, as a Yeager three pointer would tie things up not long after, kickstarting an end-of-the-quarter run for the Tigers that saw the visitors take their first lead of the game, a brief one, on a layup by Mydin Burgher. NorthWood would answer quickly, tying things up at nine points apiece heading into the second.

    Warsaw sophomore Mydin Burgher lays the ball in for two points during the first quarter of Friday night's game at NorthWood. Photo by Gary Nieter
The following quarter featured more of the same, as the two sides refused to give the other an inch in a neck-and-neck game. One team would make a shot to go up by two, the other would answer with a make of their own to tie it up, rinse and repeat. The most exciting stretch of play in the first half came when NorthWood’s Tyler Raasch and Yeager traded dunks on back-to-back possessions, bringing the house down.
Despite the two teams starting to find some answers on offense, defense remained supreme throughout the half, specifically the defense of the Tigers. The Panthers had to fight tooth and nail for every basket, and with the refs letting the action flow on both ends, perhaps a little extra contact was added here or there to make things even more difficult, much to the chagrin of the crowd.
“We found a rhythm on defense and we kind of rode that as far as we could,” Moore said. “They’re a tough competitive team and you have to match that to compete with them. We found a calm in the chaos.”
Both teams continued to trade buckets until the final seconds, where Yeager split a pair of free throws to give Warsaw a three-point edge, their largest of the game thus far. However, it would last mere seconds, as NorthWood’s Ethan Wolfe sank an incredibly difficult leaning jumper from half court to tie things up at 18 at the halftime buzzer.
Warsaw would find a bit of separation in the opening minutes of the third, as Robbie Finlinson hit a jumper and Yeager converted on an and-one to extend the Tiger lead to five, the largest of the game for either team. The Warsaw defense continued to shine here, allowing just one point to the Panthers over the first five minutes of the quarter.
“We had a brain session about what gives us the best chance to win and it came down to establishing Luke early and often,” Moore said. “I thought we did a great job of simplifying guys being in the right spots and we had a lot of guys playing the right way.”
After being held scoreless for the first half, Warsaw’s leading scorer Luke Bricker made his mark on the game late in the third, hitting a contested layup and a pullup three on back-to-back possessions to give him his first five points of the night, all while extending his team’s lead to seven. That’s where it would sit as the two sides went to the fourth. After holding the defending state champions to just three points in the quarter while scoring 10 of their own, momentum was firmly on the side of the Tigers.
The good times kept on rolling as the final quarter of play got going, as Bricker and Yeager hit another pair of shots to extend the lead to double figures, all while continuing to play suffocating defense on the other end. The home team wouldn’t go away quietly though, hitting a crucial three with about four minutes left to make it a seven-point game once more.
That’s where it sat until about three minutes left, when the Panthers cut into the lead some more, making it a five-point affair. Lifeless just moments ago, the NorthWood faithful were brought to their feet by the late spurt, making it more apparent than ever that Warsaw was going to have to earn this victory the hard way.
Looking to burn some clock in the final minutes of play, the Tigers did well to move the ball around the perimeter to take some precious seconds off of the clock. While Warsaw was able to do this effectively, it did not lead to points, and even after taking 30 seconds of game time off, the visitors were forced to end a crucial possession empty handed. NorthWood would take advantage, sinking a layup on their turn down to make it a three-point contest.
“You want to be aggressive, but you end up playing not to lose in these situations,” Moore said. “We made enough plays down the stretch, and it took every player on the court to do that.”
A similar situation would occur on the following possession. The Tigers were able to get the time down to 30 seconds, but turned the ball over, giving the Panthers an opportunity to tie the game on their final possession. NorthWood would get a good look at the basket, but the final shot would clank off of the front of the rim. Brandt Martin would split a pair of free throws in the final second to finish off a much-needed victory.
Yeager led all scorers in the game with 17 points. Bricker added seven points while Carson Gould scored four.
Warsaw (10-3, 2-2 NLC) will be back in action Saturday evening at the Tiger Den against Elkhart.