A series that dates back to 1920, the high school boys basketball rivalry between the Warsaw Tigers and Plymouth Pilgrims has featured some impressive individual performances. Thurday's clash in the Tiger Den – the 123rd meeting of the U.S. 30 foes – was no exception, as Plymouth senior Ryan McNeil hit 7 of 11 three-point attempts and scored a game-high 22 points while leading his team to a 54-45 win. "Ryan hit some big shots," said first-year Plymouth coach Ryan Bales. "He brings a high level of confidence." He certainly did. McNeil, who also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, made five three-pointers in the second half, including a 4-of-5 effort in the third quarter, and helped the Pilgrims snap a four-game losing streak to the Tigers. Plymouth and Warsaw are both 12-5 overall, while the Pilgrims improved to 4-2 in the Northern Lakes Conference and the Tigers fell to 3-4 in NLC action. Plymouth finishes its NLC schedule Feb. 16 when it hosts Wawasee. "He made a lot of big shots," Warsaw coach Doug Ogle said of McNeil. "We needed to be more cognizant of where he was on the floor." Plymouth was 9 of 19 from the arc and 17 of 20 at the free throw line, while Warsaw was 3 of 16 from three-point range and 12 of 19 at the charity stripe. The Tigers, who were without the services of seniors Jordyn Coon (knee injury) and Brock Anson (illness), were dealt another hit when senior Rhett Kesler went down with a first-half ankle injury. "We need to get healthy, but we're not going to make excuses," said Ogle, whose team has lost four of its last five games after an 11-1 start to the season. "It wasn't a lack of effort from the players we had on the floor, but a lack of wherewithal on defense." Warsaw held just one lead in the game – when senior Lucas Grose scored the first two points of the game. The Tigers, who did rally and cut the deficit to one point multiple times in the second half only to watch the Pilgrims pull away again, trailed 10-6 after one quarter, 22-17 at halftime and 38-34 at then end of the third quarter. "Plymouth is a good team," said Ogle. "They came in with an 11-5 record. They're a good team, and we ended up having three guys missing. We can't control things like injuries, but we could have done a better job knowing where (McNeil) was. We didn't do a good enough job of getting out on him." For Warsaw, Grose scored the team's first 11 points and finished with a team-high 19 points and nine rebounds. Junior Jared Bloom added 13 points, while sophomore Jordan Stookey chipped in with seven points. Senior Jay Holladay and juniors Taylor Cone and John Swanson rounded out the Tigers' scoring with two points each. The Tigers own a 75-48 advantage in the all-time series with the Pilgrims. "I'm a North Judson grad, and coached at North Judson, so I wasn't that far away," said Bales. "I've followed a lot of high school basketball, and Warsaw/Plymouth is a great rivalry. Both schools have had great players, and great coaches with Al Rhodes and Jack Edison. I'm just happy to be a part of it." And he was certainly happy to get a win in his introduction to the rivalry. The Pilgrims fell 72-27 to Warsaw last year and finished the season with a 7-15 records. Bales appears to have Plymouth back on track, and the Pilgrims have won five of their last six games. The lone setback during that span is a double-overtime loss to NLC foe Goshen. To go with McNeil's 22 points, Plymouth also go 14 points from junior Joe Knapp and 10 from 6-foot-9 sophomore Mack Mercer. Warsaw is in action again Tuesday at South Bend Clay, while the Piglrims host Culver Military Academy the same day.
PLYMOUTH 54, WARSAW 45 Ply 10 12 16 16 – 54 War 6 11 17 11 – 45 Plymouth – Ryan McNeil 7-13 1-2 22, Gabe Vervynckt 0-1 0-0 0, Joe Knapp 3-11 7-7 14, David Lee 0-0 0-0 0, Connor Flynn 0-0 0-0 0, Mack Mercer 2-6 6-7 10, Ike Kastner 0-2 0-0 0, Kyser McCrammer 0-0 0-0 0, John Ruff 0-2 2-2 2, Kyle Kaser 2-2 1-2 6, Tom Felke 0-0 0-0 0, Hayden Skirvin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-37 17-20 54. Warsaw – Jared Bloom 5-13 0-0 13, John Swanson 1-1 0-0 2, Jordyn Coon 0-0 0-0 0, Rhett Kesler 0-1 0-0 0, Jason Ferguson 0-0 0-0 0, Lucas Grose 7-13 5-9 19, Kevin West 0-0 0-0 0, Jay Holladay 0-4 2-2 2, Taylor Cone 0-1 2-3 2, Jordan Stookey 2-7 3-5 7, Rashaan Jackson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-40 12-19 45. Three-pointers – Plymouth 9 (McNeil 7, Knapp, Kaser), Warsaw 3 (Bloom 3); Rebounds – Plymouth 28 (McNeil 8), Warsaw 28 (Grose 9); Turnovers – Plymouth 10, Warsaw 13; Fouls – Plymouth 22, Warsaw 19; Fouled out – Bloom, Cone; Records: Plymouth 12-5 (4-2 NLC), Warsaw 12-5 (3-4 NLC) JV - Warsaw 38, Plymouth 29 Warsaw – John Swanson 12, Rashaan Jackson 10, Nate Pearl 5, Jason Ferguson 4, Jake Mangas 3, Michael Miller 2, Darren Walcott 2
