Following Friday's Northern Lakes Conference battle at the Tiger Den, Elkhart Memorial boys basketball coach Mark Barnhizer referred to Warsaw standout guard Nic Moore as "the real deal."
The 5-foot-9 Mr. Basketball candidate tallied 22 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Class 4A No. 5 Tigers.Barnhizer, however, also had plenty of reason to speak highly of his backcourt, as senior Jaron Davis and sophomore Markese McGuire combined to score 46 points in the Crimson Chargers' 64-57 win over Warsaw.
"First of all, Nic Moore is the real deal," said Barnhizer, whose team snapped Warsaw's 17-game NLC win streak and its 18-game home win streak, dropping the Tigers' record to 14-2 overall and 5-1 in the NLC. "I can't take anything away from Nic Moore, he's a great player. Jordyn Coon is really good. Lucas Grose is really good. They have three really good players."
Davis and McGuire were pretty good themselves, though, and Warsaw lost in the Tiger Den for the first time since Carroll left town with a 55-52 victory on Feb. 27, 2009.
Davis was 10 of 14 from the field overall and 7 of 11 from three-point range en route to a game-high 27 points, while McGuire was 7 of 14 from the field, added three treys of his own and scored 19 points.
"We had some kids play well," said Barnhizer, whose team improved to 8-6 overall and 4-2 in conference play with its fourth-straight win. "Our focus the last three weeks has been on getting better. I'm not surprised we played well, but I'm a little surprised we won here. This is a really difficult place to come and win."
In Moore's prep career, Warsaw boasts a 35-5 record in the Tiger Den.
It's a been a place opposing teams haven't fared well. Friday night, however, was a different story.
The Crimson Chargers were 23 of 43 (54 percent) from the field overall, 12 of 24 from three-point range, and 6 of 8 at the free throw line.
Warsaw, on the other hand, was 23 of 54 (43 percent) from the field overall, 5 of 12 from the arc, and 6 of 16 from the charity stripe.
"They've been shooting the ball well, but it hasn't been Davis, it's been McGuire and (Todd) Johnson," Warsaw coach Doug Ogle said of Memorial. "We needed to do a better job of getting out on Davis, and we didn't do that. They played well, shot well, and their defense was solid. I give them credit."
Memorial led 12-11 after the first quarter, 27-21 at halftime and 42-39 heading into the fourth.
Moore cut the Crimson Chargers' advantage to one, 50-49, with a three-pointer midway through the fourth quarter. Memorial responded with an 11-4 spurt, though, and took a 61-53 lead with 1:05 remaining in the game.
Warsaw held just one lead in the game, pulling ahead 33-32 when junior Jay Holladay drilled a three-pointer with 3:26 left in the third quarter.
The Crimson Chargers responed to Holladay's trey and took the lead for good on a three-pointer from Davis, who hit three treys in both the third and fourth quarters.
"They made 12 of 24 three-pointers and mixed in some other good plays," Ogle said of Memorial. "Their confidence is up. They came in on a three-game win streak. We didn't expect them to shoot that well. We hung in there and fought, that part was good. Tonight they were better. No excuses, they were just better than us."
Johnson added 12 points and seven assists for Memorial, while Urston Smith chipped in with six points and 11 rebounds.
For Warsaw, Coon tallied 12 points and seven rebounds and Grose posted a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The Tigers have won 17 of the past 22 meetings with the Crimson Chargers.
The two teams could meet again in postseason play, as both squards are in Class 4A Sectional 4.
"That's certainly a possibility," said Ogle. "Maybe we can use this experience to motivate us to make some positive changes. When you're winning, things aren't as exposed, or you don't pay as close attention."
The Tigers are in action again tonight at Marion. The junior varsity game is scheduled for 6 p.m.
ELKHART MEMORIAL 64, WARSAW 57
EM 12 15 15 22 - 64
W 11 10 18 18 - 57
Memorial - Jyron Coper 0-1 0-0 0, Todd Johnson 3-7 4-6 12, Parker Devenney 0-1 0-0 0, Jaron Davis 10-14 0-0 27, Markese McGuire 7-14 2-2 19, Urston Smith 3-5 0-0 6, Paul Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Evan Weaver 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-43 6-8 64.
Warsaw - Jared Bloom 1-3 0-0 2, Joey Sparkman 0-1 0-0 0, Nic Moore 9-21 3-6 22, Jordyn Coon 5-14 1-2 12, Rhett Kesler 0-2 0-0 0, Lucas Grose 4-9 2-7 11, Jay Holladay 2-2 0-0 6, Jalen Roscoe 1-1 0-1 2, Travis Thomas 1-1 0-0 2, Clay Anderson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-54 6-16 57.
Three-pointers - Memorial 12 (Davis 7, McGuire 3, Johnson 2), Warsaw 5 (Holladay 2, Moore, Coon, Grose); Rebounds - Memorial 28 (Smith 11), Warsaw 31 (Grose 10); Turnovers - Memorial 15, Warsaw 10; Fouls - Memorial 17, Warsaw 13; Fouled out - Weaver; Records: Memorial 8-6, 4-2 NLC, Warsaw 14-2, 5-1 NLC.
JV - Warsaw 35, Memorial 26
Warsaw - Brock Anson 10, Jordan Wray 7, Taylor Cone 6, Tim Ahlersmeyer 5, Kevin West 4, Jason Ferguson 1, Shay Hepler 1, Josh Hueber 1
