The Columbia City Eagles jumped out early and never let the Warsaw boys basketball team within three points Saturday night at the Tiger Den. Losing 59-49, the Warsaw Tigers (1-1) found themselves down 5-0 in the first 30 seconds against the Eagles (2-0), forcing coach Doug Ogle to call a timeout just 33 seconds into the contest. “Our first offensive possession, we just jammed the ball into a crowd and lost the ball,” Ogle said. “Then in transition, we didn't get matched up. We just started flat. (I was just trying) to tell them 'Wake up. This is a good team and we can't be messing around.’” The best part of the Eagles is their shooting, and after making 12 of 19 three-point attempts in their season opener against Whitko Wednesday, they made 9 of 19 against Warsaw, finishing 18 of 37 (49 percent) from the field overall. Columbia City's top shooter is senior Drew Benedict, who scored 27 points in the win over Warsaw, going 7 of 11 from three-point range. The Huntington University-bound Benedict's most important trey may have come after Warsaw senior Jared Bloom drew the Tigers within 46-37 in the fourth quarter. While the Eagles seemed content to kill as much clock as possible, Benedict chucked up a three-pointer from five feet beyond the arc, increasing the lead back to double digits with 4:59 remaining. “Sometimes you get on kids for taking bad shots and I got him because I thought he took a bad one early in the possession when we didn't need to,” Columbia City coach, and the father of Drew, Chris Benedict said. “He's been around long enough that it just doesn't faze him. He's going to take the next one if he feels like he's open and he has his feet set. If he's on balance and has his feet set and he's going toward the rim, he does a pretty good job.” That shot from Benedict was just one of many the Eagles made to thwart any Warsaw momentum. “Down nine at halftime, I felt we could crawl back into it, but they continued to shoot well and we continued to miss,” Ogle said. “We couldn't get over the hump.” With his experienced squad, Benedict was pleased with its composure. “It just seemed like we made plays when we needed to make plays to really keep them at bay and not really let it get too close,” Chris Benedict said. Along with Drew Benedict's outside shooting, senior Derek Hinen was doing it off the dribble, scoring 14 points while also posting seven assists, five rebounds and three steals. “The combination of Hinen and Benedict – they were too good for us tonight,” Ogle said. “We weren't able to control Hinen at all and then Benedict was too open. He was making them, but our defense on them wasn't good enough. They're a very good basketball team.” Columbia City also got 13 points from sophomore Mason Coverstone. Warsaw also put three players in double-figure scoring, led by junior Jordan Stookey's 14, followed by Bloom's 13 and senior John Swanson's 11. “It's a really good win for us,” Chris Benedict said. “(Warsaw's) a little young, but at the same time, those guys are going to continue to get better.” The loss can be chalked up as a learning experience for a Warsaw team with a lot of inexperience, and Ogle knows what the teaching points are. “We just need to become more solid defensively – more alert,” he said. “Offensively, we were too impatient. When you're playing against a team that is that good, that combination will get you beat every time.” Warsaw's next test is Friday at Homestead (1-1), which defeated Warsaw 67-65 a year ago in the Tiger Den. “They have nine seniors and an excellent point guard in Nick Gamble," Ogle said of the Spartans. “They're going to be good. These first three teams we're playing, we knew were very good. We're just going to try to play better.”
COLUMBIA CITY 59, WARSAW 49 C 19 17 9 14 – 59 W 12 13 7 17 – 49 Warsaw – Jared Bloom 4-13 2-2 13, John Swanson 5-8 1-2 11, Jason Ferguson 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor Cone 3-7 3-4 9, Jordan Stookey 6-12 1-1 14, Trae Furnivall 0-0 0-0 0, Nate Pearl 0-1 0-0 0, Rashaan Jackson 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 19-44 7-9 49. CC – Drew Benedict 7-12 6-9 27, Derek Hinen 5-10 4-7 14, Mason Coverstone 4-6 3-4 13, Daniel Woll 2-5 1-2 5, Austin Paul 0-4 0-0 0, Keaton Reed 0-0 0-0 0, Jonathon Simmons 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-37 14-22 59. Three-point goals – CC 9 (Benedict 7, Coverstone 2), Warsaw 4 (Bloom 3, Stookey); Team Fouls – CC 11, Warsaw 17; Turnovers – CC 9, Warsaw 11; Rebounds – CC 19 (Hinen 5, Woll 5), Warsaw 32 (Cone 11); Assists – CC 12 (Hinen 7), Warsaw 13 (Stookey 4); Steals – CC 7 (Hinen 3), Warsaw 5 (Bloom 2, Pearl 2); Blocks – CC 0, Warsaw 0 Records: CC 2-0, Warsaw 1-1 JV – CC 39, Warsaw 36 Warsaw – Jake Mangas 21, Cameron Hoskins 7, Nick Sands 6, Jonny Hollar 2
