FORT WAYNE – Senior Jared Bloom and Warsaw’s boys basketball team have developed a flair for the dramatic. Just one night after Bloom hit a game-winning shot with 3.7 seconds remaining to defeat Northridge in the Tiger Den, Bloom it again Saturday at Fort Wayne Snider, this one as time expired. The game knotted 50-50 and the ball under the Snider (4-4) basket, Warsaw senior Jason Ferguson in-bounded the ball to Bloom, who rose up and drained the shot, giving the Tigers (7-4) a 52-50 victory It was Warsaw’s sixth win in its last sevengames. “It looked good when it left his hand and it rattled in,” Warsaw coach Doug Ogle said. Having hit a game-winner against Goshen last season, Bloom has now done it three times. “(My confidence level) is pretty high,” Bloom said. “I'm just letting the game come to me. I had a couple shots I forced tonight, but I'm just trying to play and share the ball as team – not worrying about personal statistics and get the win. That's what it's all about.” Bloom had a game-high 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting, along with four rebounds and four assists. The buzzer beater was a perfect ending to a game with many twists. Looking strong in the opening quarter, four different Tigers scored in the first eight minutes, led by sophomore Rashaan Jackson's eight. Along with a balanced offense, the defense was also stingy, helping the Tigers build a 27-12 lead following a trey by junior Jordan Stookey with 5:09 left in the half. Playing in front of a subdued crowd, the host Panthers then began to show life, which resulted in a 22-2 run that gave them a 34-29 lead with 3:21 left in the third quarter. “We got good shots, we just didn't make them,” Ogle said of his team, which made 1 of 13 shots during the Snider run. With both teams having gotten big runs out of their systems, the two played tight the rest of the way, with Bloom scoring 13 of his team's 20 points down the stretch. Going back-and-forth, junior Leander Williams gave Snider a 58-56 lead with two free throws and 1:56 left in the game. Down two, Warsaw then got a big shot from an unlikely player. Eating clock, Warsaw junior reserve Nate Pearl hit a three-pointer from the top of the key with 36 seconds left, his only points of the game and only his second shot attempt. “The possession I'm most proud of was the long possession we had that ended with Pearl getting the 3 at the top (of the key) to put us up,” Ogle said. “We were patient and Nate was ready.” At the other end, Williams once again gave Snider the lead, this time on a layup. His team down 50-49 with five seconds remaining, Ogle called a timeout to set up a play for Bloom, but with him being tightly defended, Ferguson rifled a pass to Jackson under the basket, where he was fouled. Missing the first, Jackson converted the second, tying the game at 50-50 with 2.7 seconds remaining. “I was thinking, ‘We didn't win, but we didn't lose. We just have to go into overtime and play tough, and hopefully get the win,’” Bloom said. “Fortunately, we didn't have to.” Warsaw didn't have to because on Snider's ensuing in-bound pass, which came out of a timeout, the baseball pass to the other end of the court sailed over everybody, landing out of bounds. The turnover gave possession to Warsaw under the Snider basket, setting up Bloom's game-winning shot. “For us to lose our lead, then get down by five (and comeback) was a huge thing for our guys,” Ogle said. “I'm really happy with the win. It's hard to get (momentum) back when you lose it. I'm impressed with our guys.” Along with Bloom's performance, Jackson had nine points and three assists, while seniors John Swanson and Taylor Cone each had six points. Outrebounded 27-19 by the Panthers, the Tigers had some issues with Snider's 6-foot-5 sophomore Devlyn Williams, who had 15 points and eight rebounds. Despite losing the battle on the boards, the Tigers did fight through a big Panthers run to get their fourth-straight win going into Tuesday's game at Elkhart Central. “We just kept playing together and made sure we didn't give up,” Bloom said. “We just kept fighting and withstood their pressure.” The only negative out of the game may have been Snider's comeback, as Northridge also used a 10-0 fourth-quarter run to make Friday night's win a little more exciting than it needed to be. Regardless, the Tigers are piling up wins. “We're playing better,” Ogle said. “We've been chipping away at some different things. It's nice to see the perseverance get rewarded.” As a senior on a team that wasn't expected to do too much this season, Bloom has been pleased with how the team's been performing under his leadership. “We're getting better each day, but I don't think we're near where we could be,” he said. “If we just keep chipping away at it in practice and just get better everyday, especially defensively, (we can do well).”
