After having a long winning streak snapped at Marion on Tuesday night, the Warsaw boys basketball team returned to action Friday night with plenty of reason to get back on track. Taking on their rival Plymouth in their building, a win for the Tigers here would clinch the Northern Lakes Conference title outright. That’s exactly what happened, as Warsaw started strong and never wavered on its way to a 70-40 victory.
“You play to win things and we’ve won the first thing we set out to do and that’s the conference,” Warsaw head coach Matt Moore said. “Now we shift our attention to winning a sectional.”
The game opened up with a pair of baskets from deep, one for each team. Following the outside make, the Tigers were able to get it going inside, with Mydin Burgher and Parker Justice each getting contested layups to fall in order to take an early lead. Plymouth followed the same strategy, feeding Kadyn Ellery down low and letting the senior go to work.
Warsaw was able to remain in front for most of the first quarter thanks to its aggressiveness on both ends. The visitors showed no fear attacking the basket at will, either getting a layup to fall or being sent to the free throw line as a result. Defensively, that aggressiveness was paying off as well, turning into steals which in turn led to easy transition points.
In the final few minutes, the Tigers were able to start to extend their lead. Burgher and Sam Lara continued to be catalysts on the offensive end as Warsaw grew its advantage to seven. The Pilgrims would add a layup in the final seconds of the first quarter to make it a five-point game with the visitors leading 14-9 after one. Burgher led the way with seven points in the opening eight minutes.
He kept it going with a three pointer to put himself in double figures and Warsaw on the board in the second. Followed up by a three by Robbie Finlinson a possession later, and the Tigers had opened up their lead to eleven just two minutes into the period.
Brandt Martin and Justice added some shots later on in the quarter to extend the lead even further. The only thing keeping the Pilgrims in the game at this point was the charity stripe, as Warsaw committed its fifth team foul of the quarter with five minutes to go in the half. While the home side wasn’t lighting it up at the foul line, they were doing just enough to keep things from getting out of hand.
Still, the Tigers were firmly in control of the game. Justice continued to light it up from deep, hitting his second three of the quarter to make it a 17-point contest. The status quo remained for the rest of the half, as Warsaw continued to punish Plymouth inside, getting layups, fouls and sometimes both. At halftime, the visitors led 35-19.
“Parker Justice is a college basketball player,” Moore said. “He had the tough job of having to play behind one of our best players and now that he has an opportunity, he’s making the most of it.”
Freshman Drew Jones picked up right where things left off to begin the third, as the Tigers scored four quick points to jump out to a 20-point lead. The visitors were turning defense into easy offense, turning the Pilgrims over on each of their first two possessions to help add onto the lead.

    Warsaw senior Brandt Martin unleashes a three-pointer during the second quarter...Nieter

A pair of triples for Finlinson extended the lead even further, leading to a quick timeout by Plymouth early in the second. Midway through the third quarter, the home side had managed to score just one point at the foul line, allowing the Tigers to run things up to a 27-point edge.
A three by Burgher made it an even 30 after a brief timeout.
Things didn’t change much as the third quarter came to a close. No matter who was on the court for the Tigers, the visitors kept their foot on the gas and continued to press the action. With just eight minutes left and the game already decided, Warsaw went into its final quarter of conference play up 60-30.
The Pilgrims were able to erase some of the deficit in the fourth with a majority of the Tiger starters out of the game, but still had a lot of work to do. With three minutes remaining in the game, Warsaw still led by 22 points. Around this time, Tristan Wilson sank a three for the second Tiger bucket of the quarter. Warsaw would finish the quarter strong to get its lead back up to 30 points for the final margin of victory.
Finlinson led the team with 16 points. Burgher added 15, while Martin had eleven.
Warsaw (18-4, 7-0 NLC) is on the road at Fort Wayne Northrop Tuesday night.