ELKHART – For four years, Warsaw's varsity boys basketball team had one of the best point guards in the state in current Illinois State University freshman Nic Moore. Friday night, in the semifinals of Class 4A Sectional 4 at historic North Side Gym, it was the Tigers' oppenent that had the silky-smooth floor general. Faced with the daunting task of slowing 5-foot-9 senior Todd Johnson and the 10th-ranked Elkhart Memorial Crimson Chargers, Warsaw came out on the short end of a 70-50 outcome. Johnson, who will play NCAA Division I basketball next season at Northern Kentucky University, scored a game-high 22 points, dished out eight assists, made five steals and grabbed four rebounds. His impressive all-around performance helped the Crimson Chargers win their 11th-straight game and advance to tonight's 7:30 p.m. sectional final against rival Concord (18-4), a 57-32 winner over Goshen (11-10) in Friday's first semifinal game. Memorial improved to 21-1 on the season, setting a new program record for wins in a season, while the Tigers finished their season with a 13-8 record. "He's a tough little sucker," Crimson Chargers coach Mark Barnhizer said of Johnson, who upped his career scoring total to 1,003 points and became just the seventh player in Memorial history to top the 1,000-point plateu. "He's quick and deceptive. I'm not trying to compare him to Nic (Moore), but there's some similarities. He's comfortable with the ball in his hands, and that makes the other players comfortable." The Crimson Chargers, who also got 19 points from junior Markese McGuire and 15 more from senior Urston Smith, scored the first five points of the game and never trailed. Memorial led 21-9 after one quarter of play, 39-23 at halftime and 52-37 heading into the fourth quarter. "Todd Johnson is a winner, and he's a great basketball player," said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle, whose team was 11-1 at one point this season, but lost seven of their final nine games. "I will definitely vote for him to be an Indiana All-Star." While Johnson was dishing out assists, the Tigers struggled to handle the ball – turning it over 28 times. "Memorial is a very good team," said Ogle. "They have the ability to pressure you defensively and rebound, and we didn't handle the ball well enough to win. I'm disappointed with how we played, but I'm proud of this group. The fact that they didn't quit, they stayed a team, when the schedule got tough and we went through a rough stretch." Memorial outrebounded the Tigers 32-22, including a 16-4 advantage on the offensive glass. Senior Lucas Grose led Warsaw with 18 points, while junior Jared Bloom chipped in with 17. The duo scored 19 of the Tigers' 23 first-half points. Senior Jordyn Coon scored six points in the loss, while sophomore Jordan Stookey added five points and senior Rhett Kesler and junior John Swanson chipped in with two points each. The Tigers scored the first 10 points of the second quarter, cutting the deficit to two, 21-19, when Bloom connected on a three-point attempt with 5:01 to play in the frame. Memorial, however, responded with an 18-4 run and led by at least 12 points the rest of the way. "Our three big guys (Johnson, McGuire, Smith) stepped up and played well," said Barnhizer. "They were the difference."
ELKHART MEMORIAL 70, WARSAW 50 War 9 14 14 13 – 50 EM 21 18 13 18 – 70 Warsaw – Brock Anson 0-0 0-0 0, Jared Bloom 6-11 2-2 17, John Swanson 1-1 0-0 2, Jordyn Coon 1-6 4-6 6, Rhett Kesler 0-2 2-2 2, Jason Ferguson 0-0 0-0 0, Lucas Grose 6-9 6-8 18, Kevin West 0-0 0-0 0, Jay Holladay 0-0 0-0 0, Jordan Stookey 1-2 3-4 5. Totals 15-32 17-22 50. Memorial – Jyrron Cooper 3-9 0-0 6, Matthew Kibiloski 0-0 0-0 0, James Hershberger 1-3 1-2 4, T.J. Gray 0-0 0-0 0, Parker Devenney 1-1 0-0 2, Cameron Maxwell 0-0 0-0 0, Urston Smith 7-14 0-0 15, Markese McGuire 5-11 6-10 19, Spenser Gilbert 0-0 0-0 0, Evan Weaver 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 27-58 9-14 70. Three-pointers – Warsaw 3 (Bloom 3), Memorial 7 (McGuire 3, Johnson 2, Hershberger, Smith); Rebounds – Warsaw 22 (Coon 5), Memorial 32 (Cooper 5, Smith 5); Turnovers – Warsaw 28, Memorial 12; Fouls – Warsaw 12, Memorial 22; Fouled out – none; Records: Warsaw 13-8, Memorial 21-1
