Prior to the start of the season, coach Doug Ogle said his Warsaw boys basketball team had the makings of an unselfish squad. The Tigers were exactly that Thursday night, as they dished out assists on 24 of 33 baskets and had five players score in double figures en route to an 86-77 win over the visiting Fort Wayne South Side Archers. “We moved the ball well, 24 assists is pretty good,” said Ogle. “I was happy with our ball movement.” Senior Jared Bloom led the Tigers in scoring with 20 points, while classmate John Swanson added 19, juniors Jordan Stookey and Nate Pearl chipped in with 13 and 12, respectively, and sophomore Rashaan Jackson finished with 10. Swanson led Warsaw in rebounds with eight, while Stookey added eight assists and four steals to his impressive line of stats. Warsaw improved its record to 4-4, while South Side fell to 0-6. After bouncing back from Tuesday’s heart-breaking 49-47 loss at Triton, Ogle called the win over the Archers good for his team’s psyche. “The loss Tuesday was emotionally draining, and we had finals Wednesday and today, and South was as dangerous of an 0-5 team as you’re going to find,” said Ogle. “We needed a win for our psyche.” So do the Archers, who kept themselves in the game with the hot hand of senior guard Eric Hairston. Hairston, whom South Side coach Mike Novell said was averaing just five or six points per game, poured in a game-high 34 points. He scored 17 in the first quarter alone and finished the game 12 of 16 from the field overall and 6 of 8 from the arc. “Our leading scorer is out with a knee injury, and we had two players late to the bus, so they sat out the first quarter, and we still hung with them,” said Novell. “Hairston played like this all summer. This is what he’s capable of.” Warsaw led 24-23 at the end of the first quarer, 42-36 at halftime and 64-56 going into the final frame. The Tigers led by as many as 14 points, 70-56, in the fourth quarter. “The biggest thing that hurt us tonight was rebounding,” said Novell, whose team was outrebounded 40-28, including 15-7 on the offensive glass. “Warsaw got too many opportunities. Rebounding and post play were the big difference. Their big guy (Swanson) looked like an All-American tonight.” To go with Swanson’s inside presence, senior Taylor Cone was also effective in the paint, scoring eight points and grabbing seven rebounds. A team that entered the season vastly inexperienced – outside of Bloom and Stookey – Warsaw was very balanced Thursday night, and the Tigers have now won four of their last five games. “I’m a little surprised so far that we’ve been as balanced offensively as we have, but that’s not a bad thing,” said Ogle. To compliment Hairston’s breakout performance, the Archers also got 13 points from senior Deion Williams, and 11 and 10 points, respectively, from seniors Domonique Gleason and Devin Jones. The Tigers swept all three levels of competition against the Archers, as Warsaw won the JV game 42-36, and won the freshman game 42-23.
WARSAW 86, SOUTH SIDE 77 South 23 13 20 21 – 77 War 24 18 22 22 – 86 South – Teon Fryar 0-4 0-0 0, Aaron Thomas 1-4 1-1 3, Devin Jones 4-7 2-7 10, William Holley 0-0 0-0 0, Eric Hairston 12-16 4-8 34, Deion Williams 4-8 5-6 13, Trae Masten 2-5 0-0 6, Thomas Nolan 0-0 0-0 0, Domonique Gleason 4-7 1-3 11, Samuel Stephens 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 27-53 13-25 77. Warsaw – Jared Bloom 6-18 7-8 20, Darren Walcott 0-0 0-0 0, John Swanson 9-15 1-2 19, Trae Furnivall 0-0 0-0 0, Jason Ferguson 2-4 0-0 4, Taylor Cone 4-7 0-1 8, Jordan Stookey 4-9 5-6 13, Rashaan Jackson 4-5 0-1 10. Totals 33-66 13-18 86. Three-pointers – South 10 (Hairston 6, Masten 2, Gleason 2), Warsaw 7 (Pearl 4, Jackson 2, Bloom); Rebounds – South 28 (Williams 4, Gleason 4), Warsaw 40 (Swanson 8, Cone 7); Turnovers – South 17, Warsaw 15; Assists – South 14 (Jones 5), Warsaw 24 (Stookey 8); Fouls – South 20, Warsaw 21; Fouled out – none; Records: South 0-6, Warsaw 4-4 JV – Warsaw 42, South Side 36 Warsaw – Nick Sands 11, Cameron Hoskins 10, Jonny Hollar 8, Cody Freeman 6, Jake Mangas 4, Peyton Long 2, Tim Swanson 1
