Fresh off of perhaps the biggest win of the season against Northridge Friday night, the Warsaw boys basketball team got right back to work on Tuesday evening, facing off against Penn. The Tigers shook off a very slow start to take part in what was an incredibly back-and-forth game, winning 59-55.
Penn was able to jump out to an early lead thanks to some fine shooting from beyond the arc. The Kingsmen made their first two triples of the game to get out to an early 6-0 advantage. On the other end, it was a struggle to get on the board. The first Tiger points didn’t come until four and a half minutes into the game on a layup by Brandt Martin.
It didn’t get much better after that, as another drought quickly followed Warsaw’s first. During this stretch, the visitors were able to go up by double figures at 12-2 with 90 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The Tigers would score their second, and final, bucket of the opening period in the final seconds, as Mydin Burgher found Luke Bricker on a terrific outlet pass. The senior layed it in with about three seconds on the clock as the home side trailed 12-4 going into the second.
“It was a weird start for us. I don’t know if that was because it was a letdown spot after the Northridge game, but we were able to shake that off,” Warsaw coach Matt Moore said after the game.
Parker Justice came off the bench to begin the following quarter and quickly sank a three from the corner to finally bring some juice in the Tiger Den. A midrange jumper a possession later by Martin had Warsaw already exceeding its first-quarter total just a minute and a half into the second. They didn’t stop there, as a floater by Martin brought the home team to within four, resulting in a Penn timeout.
That deficit was shrunk to just one on a Robbie Finlinson three near the midway point of the quarter. About a minute later, Finlinson would convert on a hoop plus the harm to give the Tigers their first lead of the night. Even after what was perhaps the team’s worst quarter of the season, Warsaw was on top five minutes later.
“We just needed to see the ball go through the hoop, and once it did, we were in pretty good shape,” Moore said.
The lead didn’t last long, as Penn’s Peyton Miamba answered with two triples in succession to put the Kingsmen right back in front. The Tigers added three more points in the period, another make from deep by Finlinson to give him nine points in the quarter, but the visitors remained in the lead 23-20 at halftime.

    Senior Luke Bricker of Warsaw soars to block the shot attempt of Penn's Lucas Obermeyer...Nieter

Five straight points by Martin to begin the third quarter put the Tigers back in front, but only temporarily. He was called for a technical foul after his second make, which led to two free throws and a possession that the Kingsmen used to retake the lead. Things remained tight, as Martin continued to take over the game for Warsaw. He scored the first nine points in the quarter for his team, plus assisted on ten and eleven, a layup by Sam Lara, which saw the home side regain the edge on the scoreboard.
“It’s one thing if it happens once or twice, but Brandt has consistently put together a great month of basketball for us,” Moore said. “He’s doing a fantastic job of leading this team.”
It stayed a back-and-forth game for the remainder of the third, with Penn tying things up before the Tigers found a way to retake the lead. It seemed as if fans in attendance were in store for one heck of a finish as Warsaw was on top by just one point with eight minutes remaining in the game.
A three by Bricker, just his second bucket of the night thus far, put the home side up by four, its largest advantage yet. Despite this, the Kingsmen refused to go away. Consistently hitting shots to answer makes by the Tigers on the other end, it remained a one-possession game with less than five minutes to go.
With about four minutes to go, a long distance bucket for the visitors tied things up at 42 all. Thirty seconds later, Martin reached the 20-point threshold at the free throw line to go back in front. After a pair of Kingsmen makes at the charity stripe to even things up once again, Martin continued his clutch streak with a triple from the wing to give his team a 47-44 lead with three minutes left.
Looking for a bit of separation as the end approached, the Tigers got in in the form of a Finlinson layup plus a foul. He’d convert on the three-point play to put his team up by four once more with two minutes to go. After a miss by Penn and a foul on a Bricker rebound, Warsaw found itself up by six. As they had all night long, the visitors were able to match it on the other end with a triple to cut that lead in half.
Still holding onto a lead and in no hurry to give the ball back to the Kingsmen, the next Tiger possession was a long one. The home side did well passing the ball around the key to drain the clock as they attempted to hold on to a victory. With less than a minute to go, Finlinson was fouled and split the pair at the line to make it a four-point game.
With about 30 seconds left, a Penn player was fouled shooting a three, and given the opportunity at the line, he made all three freebies to get back within one. A pair of Finlinson free throws brought it back up to three with 20 seconds left, but the Kingsmen quickly answered on the other end to make it 55-54 with eleven seconds left.
“Those were some pressure-packed shots. In those moments, the ball feels a little heavier and the basket a little further away. We did a great job of converting down the stretch,” Moore said.
The battle at the foul line continued, and in the end, it was Warsaw that was able to finish off the job with some clutch shooting at the stripe.
Martin led all scorers with 26 points on 9-10 shooting. Warsaw (11-3) is on the road at Goshen Friday.