After a tough offensive night in their first playoff game on Tuesday, the Warsaw Tigers returned to North side Gym for the semifinal round of 4A Sectional 4 on Friday night. Matched up with Goshen, Warsaw had no such issues scoring the ball in this one, lighting up the scoreboard en route to a 59-51 win.
“I thought our first quarter was as important of a quarter as we’ve played this year and the guys came through,” head coach Matt Moore said. “Really proud of the guys and how they came out.”
Mydin Burgher led the way for the Tigers offensively in the initial minutes of the game, scoring the first four points of the night for Warsaw. The early offensive issues that plagued the team in Tuesday’s win over Concord seemed to have gone by the wayside, as a contested layup by Robbie Finlinson gave the home team on the scoreboard six points in the first two minutes.
On the other end, the Redhawks were able to keep pace with the Tigers thanks to some shotmaking from deep. A steal and score by Goshen temporarily put them in front at 8-6 before a layup by Burgher tied things up a possession later.
That wouldn’t be the last time the lead changed hands in the opening period, as Goshen remained aggressive. Now attacking the rim at will, guard Braxton Cline found some success attacking Carson Gould, forcing the Tiger point man to pick up two early fouls. Cline scored nine of the first 14 points of the game for the RedHawks, putting them in front multiple times.
Each time the visitors went on top, the Tigers came up with an answer. One stretch saw a triple by Brandt Martin, followed up by a dunk from Finlinson, off of a fantastic behind the back feed from Gould, for a quick 5-0 run. Warsaw didn’t stop there. Sam Lara and Parker Justice got in on the action to extend the run to 11-0. Soon, it was a double digit lead for the Tigers. After scoring 20 points in the first half on Tuesday, Warsaw scored 24 in the first eight minutes on Friday, and led 24-14 after one.
Goshen used a quick spurt in the opening 90 seconds of the second quarter to cut the lead down to three in a hurry. The teams continued to trade buckets as the period wore on, with the Tigers remaining in the lead, albeit a much less comfortable one than in the first.
During the middle portion of the quarter, things slowed down a tad for Warsaw as the team experienced its first scoring drought of the game. Goshen was able to take full advantage of this, getting to within one during the stretch. It wouldn’t be the only time the RedHawks would crawl within a point, but each time they did so, the Tigers answered on the other end with a basket of their own.
The visitors had a hard time taking care of the basketball in the final minutes of the half, allowing Warsaw to get its lead back up to five as the two sides headed to their locker rooms.
A big three by Gould two minutes into the third served as the first Tiger points of the second half. After Martin’s second basket of the game about a minute later extended the lead to eight, Goshen quickly called timeout to talk things over. After scoring the first bucket of the third in the opening seconds, they had now gone over three minutes without any points.
The break didn’t do much to stop the bleeding, as a three for Finlinson put him in double figures and extended the lead to double digits for the second time in the game. After the make, the Tigers would encounter another stretch where it seemed as if a lid was on the basket before Justice was able to end the cold spell with a three of his own. With eight minutes to go in the game, Warsaw led 46-36.

    Junior Nydin Burgher of Warsaw goes up against Braxton Cline of Goshen during Friday night's sectional game...Nieter

With its season on the line, Goshen scored four quick points to begin the fourth to cut the lead to six, but just when it seemed as if momentum was beginning to shift, Justice squashed it with a massive corner three to go back up by nine. With a little over five minutes left, the lead was back up to eleven on a layup by Lara.
“Very proud of Parker. He did not have a very confident Tuesday game so for him to come into tonight and come through for us, we need it,” Moore said.
Midway through the fourth, the Tigers were still up by nine, looking to deny one final push by the RedHawks. They were doing a fine job of it, holding the visitors scoreless for the next couple of minutes as time really started to become a factor. Soon, just two minutes remained in the game and Warsaw led by 10.
The lead only grew as time continued to wind down, as the Tigers grew nearer and nearer to a spot in the sectional championship game. With less than a minute to go, Goshen was able to get within nine, but it was too little, too late.
Justice led the way with 12 points. Martin and Finlinson each had eleven. Burgher added 10.
Warsaw (24-4) will face off against Northridge Saturday night with a sectional title on the line.
“You play for these opportunities. This game is going to be about seniors,” Moore said. “They’re going to have to produce. It comes down to can you minimize mistakes and take advantage of theirs.”