One last test before next week's much-anticipated Elkhart Sectional, Warsaw boys basketball coach Doug Ogle can use Friday night's game with Carroll as a wake-up call.
Rather than going into Tuesday night's Class 4A Sectional 21 opener against Concord with an 11-game win streak, eighth-ranked Warsaw will have to bounce back from last night's 55-52 overtime loss to the Chargers, which came on Senior Night in the Tiger Den."That's solid thinking," seventh-year Warsaw coach Doug Ogle said when asked if Friday's loss could be used as motivation for his team and ultimately turned into a positive. "If we handle this the right way and turn it into a positive, we can benefit from it."
The three-point loss dropped the Tigers to 18-2 on the season, while Carroll, which opens Class 4A Sectional 5 action Tuesday against DeKalb at East Noble High School, improved to 17-3.
"It's a loss, but in the grand scheme of things we've go to move on," said Ogle. "Carroll is a good team. Now we've got to focus on Tuesday and get ready to play Concord in the sectional."
Carroll took a 54-49 advantage with 33 seconds remaining in overtime, but a three-pointer by junior Justin Clemens with 23 seconds left gave the Tigers new life.
The Chargers' Tyler Ault went to the free throw line with 17 seconds left, hitting the first attempt of a two-shot opportunity to push his team's lead to three, 55-52.
Warsaw junior Andy Conrad rebounded Ault's miss on the second attempt and senior Ryne Robinson, who hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer earlier in the month to lift the Tigers over Marion, missed a shot that would have tied the game.
Clemens got the rebound and quickly got the ball to sophomore Nic Moore, whose three-point attempt bounced off the rim as time expired.
The Tigers were just 1 of 8 from three-point range in the second half and overtime and finished the game 3 of 11 from beyond the arc.
Overall, Warsaw was 18 of 36 from the field and 13 of 18 from the free throw line.
Ogle wasn't as disappointed in his team's offensive play as he was its defensive execution at times.
"It wasn't our offense that cost us the game, it was defensive breakdowns," said Ogle.
After the Tigers held him to eight points through three quarters of play, Ault took charge in the fourth quarter, scoring nine of his team's 14 points.
Ault finished the game 7 of 9 from the field for a game-high 20 points. He also dished out four assists.
"There was a stretch in the fouth quarter where Ault got a and-one and then got in the lane two other times and hurt us," said Ogle. "That sequence cost us more than anything. Ault is good. He's a solid player. He's patient. He scored 20 points on nine shots. That's good."
Cam Ginder added 12 points for the Chargers, while Conner Blasi scored seven points, Shane Merryman added six points and Stephen Jones chipped in with five points.
Warsaw, which played the majority of the game without senior starter Taylor Long, led 14-13 after one quarter of play and 26-25 at halftime.
Long, who injured his foot earlier in the week during practice, only played in the first half of Wednesday's overtime-win at Elkhart Central.
He was in the starting lineup Friday for Senior Night, but came out after the game's first foul and did not return.
"We were playing short-handed," said Ogle. "It's not an excuse, but Taylor does a lot of things for us. I hope and pray that he'll be ready to go for the sectional."
Moore led Warsaw with a game-high 20 points, while Robinson added 16 points and Clemens chipped in with 12 points.
Conrad was the only other Tiger to score, finishing with four points.
Warsaw led 34-33 after three quarters of play and fought back from a five-point deficit in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime.
Moore converted two free throws with 1:13 remaining in regulation to knot the game at 47-all. Both teams had opportunities to score and win the game in regulation but failed to convert.
