It didn’t take long for those in attendance to realize that Warsaw and Concord’s matchup in the opening round of 4A Sectional 4 was going to be a lot different from the Tigers’ 64-38 romp of the Minutemen back in January. Concord gave the NLC champs all they could ask for during the first 16 minutes before a big second half for Warsaw was enough to secure a 44-30 win.
“A lot of casual fans might look at the records and think Warsaw should win easily, but that’s just not the case. These are all competitive kids,” Warsaw head coach Matt Moore said. “They had a week to prepare for us like we had a week to prepare for them and they brought it to us early.”
The game’s first points came nearly two minutes into the contest on a pair of free throws by Warsaw’s leading scorer Brandt Martin. The first field goal of the night wouldn’t come for another minute, when Concord’s Camden Bonds hit a midrange jumper to tie things up. The offense for both sides left a lot to be desired in the opening minutes.
Midway through the first, Carson Gould nailed a shot from the free throw line to give the NLC champions their first bucket of the night. That seemed to light a fire in both teams, as the scoring picked up drastically after that. The Tigers were able to find a bit of separation for the first time as a corner triple by Martin gave Warsaw a five-point lead.
The defense of the Tigers, which has been a staple of the 22-win campaign all season long, was firing on all cylinders during the opening eight minutes. Concord struggled to find enough room to put up a shot, and was turning the ball over at the same rate it was shooting. This allowed the home team on the scoreboard to end the first period with an 11-4 lead.
The Minutemen were able to match their first quarter scoring total just 90 seconds into the second, but the Tigers had picked up the pace offensively as well and were staying in front thanks to some timely baskets.
The next few minutes saw a lull in play, as the score remained the same for nearly three minutes before a Concord make made it a one-possession game. The Tigers, who scored four quick points to begin the quarter, had gone ice cold, pointless for half of the period.
“They did a great job of minimizing our space, and part of that was some hesitation that we showed,” Moore said.
The Minutemen were taking full advantage of this dry spell. Another layup inside made it a one-point game with three minutes until the half. Finally, a putback by Sam Lara ended the long stretch without any points, but the game still remained awfully close.
The Tigers were able to get the lead back up to as many as five in the final minutes, but Concord had one last run up its sleeve before halftime. A pair of threes, including one at the buzzer, gave the Minutemen a one-point lead at the break. With 16 minutes to go, Warsaw still had plenty of time to figure things out, but needed to do so sooner rather than later.
“When things get magnified in the playoffs, it can feel like every possession can be your last,” Moore said. “That’s one of the reasons I was happy to play on Tuesday, to get a feel for this environment.”
The Concord lead grew to four after another three early in the third. A big basket by Mydin Burgher cut it in half and put Warsaw on the board two minutes into the quarter. An even bigger shot, a three by Parker Justice, made it a one-point game a possession later and gave the Tigers points on two straight trips down the court.
Starting to feel it, Warsaw jumped back in front on an and-one by Robbie Finlinson midway through the third. After a tough offensive first half, the Tigers were now rolling. A layup by Burgher made it four straight possessions with points for the home side, and their lead now sat at four.
“The message at the half was just to go do what we do. We knew they were going to start missing shots and we needed to go out and grab the first miss,” Moore said.

    Warsaw sophomore Sam Lara works inside to lay the ball up during the second quarter...Nieter

A transition score by Lara made it a six-point game and forced Concord to call time. While the break did work in terms of temporarily slowing down the Tigers, it was now the Minutemen who were struggling to put points on the board. With just five points in eight minutes, a last second shot by the visitors was no good, giving Warsaw a 33-25 lead after a crucial third quarter that ended on a 12-0 run.
Justice’s second three of the night made it a double digit lead for the Tigers just seconds into the fourth. It remained that way a few minutes later as the Warsaw defense was doing wonders preventing Concord from inching any closer. With five minutes to go in the game, it was now a 13-point lead.
The advantage continued to grow as time went on. A nice jumper off the dribble by Finlinson made it 15 with just four minutes to go. Now with a sizable advantage, the Tigers began playing keep away on offense, burning a ton of time off the clock while still ending up with a good look. It worked to perfection, as soon, there was virtually no time at all for the Minutemen to stage a comeback and the Warsaw lead continued to get larger and larger.
With just two points through seven minutes of the fourth quarter, Concord finally got a three to fall in the closing seconds to shrink the lead to 14, but the damage had already been done at this point. The Tigers were able to put together an incredibly strong second half, and they’d be playing on Friday because of it.
Warsaw (23-4) will take on Goshen in the semifinal round at Northside Gym on Friday.
“The nervousness of playing is now behind us,” Moore said. “There’s kids on this team that have had success in this gym and others not so much. They showed us some things that we can work on. The Goshen game will be a bit tougher but we’ll be ready.”