One of the most anticipated games in Northern Indiana each year took place at the Tiger Den Friday night, with Warsaw and NorthWood facing off in a game with some huge implications. The stakes were simple: win, and take over first place in the Northern Lakes Conference. It was a strong start and finish for the Panthers, but the Tigers did just enough in the middle two quarters to come away with a 61-49 victory for their ninth straight win.
With one of the biggest crowds at the Tiger Den in years feeding into the intensity of this crucial NLC matchup, the beginning of the game was a doozy. Play was extremely physical, with bodies hitting the floor, contact being made at the rim and the fans loving every second of it. NorthWood did a good job of starting quickly, hitting a majority of its early shots to begin the game on top.
The Tigers did well to answer every punch. Mydin Burgher had a huge start for the home side, scoring seven of his team’s first 10 points, a handful of them coming right after baskets by the visitors to keep the momentum in check. The Panthers kept on coming though, doing a ton of damage from beyond the perimeter to not only stay in front, but to start extending its lead.
“Mydin began this game incredibly engaged and aggressive in his matchup, and that’s what we need him to do,”head coach Matt Moore said.
With leading scorers Brandt Martin and Luke Bricker only combining for three points thus far, it was up to Warsaw’s secondary scorers to find a rhythm. Robbie Finlinson finished off the quarter strong for the Tigers, scoring four points in the final minutes to tie things up near the end of the first. NorthWood would add two points at the free throw lines on a late foul to take an 18-16 lead heading into the second.
This trend continued with Sam Lara hitting a corner three to begin the second to put Warsaw on top. A steal and score a possession later by Caron Gould put the home side up by three. On the other side, a good chunk of the offense was coming from usual suspects: Myles and Maddux Everingham. Formerly Wawasee Warriors, the twins were able to score inside and out. It didn’t take long before the visitors were back in front.
Throughout the middle portion of the period, the lead went back and forth several times as both sides were able to find success on offense. Burgher continued his hot start, becoming the first player in the game to reach double figures in scoring. A second three by Lara made it a 26-24 ball game with about three minutes until the half.
He was about to do a whole lot more.
He’d add another three points after a quick break, stealing the ball near midcourt and getting fouled on a made layup. He’d convert on the freebie at the line and extend the Warsaw lead to five, its largest of the night so far. He wasn’t done. After another steal in transition, the ball found the sophomore cutting to the hoop. Using an acrobatic finish in which he contorted his body and absorbed the contact, Lara went to the line once again and converted on another three-point play. After nine points in 27 seconds, the Tigers were up eight.

    Sophomore Sam Lara of Warsaw shoots a three-pointer during the second quarter...Nieter

“Sam has put together some incredibly quality minutes over the last five or six games,” Moore said. “He’s so dynamic and his shot selection has been outstanding.
The home side smelled blood in the water and kept pouring it on. A three by Finlinson put Warsaw up by eleven with 90 seconds until halftime. That would be the final points to go up in the second quarter, and the two sides headed into the break with the home team up 35-24. In the first half, Lara and Burgher combined for 23 points.
“We wanted to go fast. We didn’t think they could run with us if it turned into an open floor game,” Moore said.
Bricker finally put himself on the board by scoring the first points of the third quarter. The senior extended the Warsaw lead to 15 moments later on a deep three. That was the first of two big triples, the second coming from Burgher, to start to tilt things heavily in the Tiger favor. Since trailing 22-21 midway through the second quarter, Warsaw had gone on a 23-4 run.
The NorthWood team that had started the game so confident and shooting extremely well. Now the Panthers were forcing their shots and were having an incredibly difficult time getting the ball into the hoop. Perhaps part of it was the shell shock of the extended Warsaw run, but the Tigers were improving on each possession defensively, making the visitors extremely uncomfortable. It showed on the scoreboard.
“It’s hard to play against us when we’re that locked in defensively,” Moore said. “We get better each day and we can gameplan for anybody. We gave up a lot of size tonight but we were able to adjust and take advantage.”
Warsaw slowed down significantly on the offensive end in the latter half of the quarter, but the visitors were unable to take advantage on the other end. A last second shot by Parker Justice made it an 18-point game with the Tigers up 48-30 heading into the fourth.
The Panthers showed some signs of life to begin the final eight minutes, getting some much needed stops and scoring the first six points to get within 12. With a little under five minutes to go in the game, Bricker stopped the bleeding with a midrange jumper to relieve some of the tension in the arena.
NorthWood continued to apply the pressure, getting within eleven a possession later, the closest they had been since halftime. Another crucial bucket by Finlinson brought it back up to 13 with plenty of time still left in the game.
Looking to hold on, the Tigers were taking as much time as possible on the offensive end. Players were passing up open looks around the perimeter to try to drain a few more critical seconds of the clock. It did the job, but still the visitors kept creeping. With two and a half minutes to go, it was now a 10-point game.
The Panthers got a big turnover after a timeout and after a long possession, made two at the line to get within single digits. A nice feed from Bricker to Martin on the other end erased it almost immediately. Time was now beginning to heavily favor the Tigers. With less than a minute to go, they were still up 10.
The game was extended at the free throw line, where Warsaw did just enough to hold on to a massive victory and first place in the NLC.
Warsaw (15-3, 5-0 NLC) is on the road at Elkhart Saturday night.