ELKHART - Following Wednesday's boys basketball game against Elkhart Central, Warsaw coach Doug Ogle described senior Nic Moore as "extra special."
The 5-foot-9 Illinois State recruit certainly was, scoring a game-high 39 points and dishing out nine assists in Class 4A No. 7 Warsaw's 83-72 win over the Blue Blazers at historic North Side Gym.Juniors Lucas Grose and Jay Holladay, and sophomore Jared Bloom weren't bad either, as they also played major roles in the Tigers winning their 10th game of the season.
Grose finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Holladay was 4 of4 from the three-point line en route to a career-high 12 points and Bloom was 2 of 3 from the arc on his way to scoring a career-best eight points.
"Nic was extra special tonight, and his confidence in Jay Holladay is growing," said Ogle, whose team improved to 10-1 overall and 2-0 against fellow Class 4A Sectional 4 teams.
"Jay Holladay has been shooting the ball well. His outside shooting tonight was very good. Jay Holladay and Jared Bloom were very good tonight."
Elkhart Central fell to 9-3 on the season, while Warsaw has won its last four games at North Side Gym and six of its last seven.
The Tigers led 24-21 after one quarter of play and 43-38 at halftime.
The Blue Blazers held a 54-52 advantage late in the third quarter, but back-to-back treys from Holladay and Moore gave Warsaw a 58-54 lead heading into the final frame.
Elkhart Central's Tyllis Mason hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to two, 69-67, but an 8-0 run by the Tigers - which included a bucket by Grose and treys from Moore and Holladay - gave Warsaw a 10-point lead that the Blue Blazers couldn't recover from.
"I know a lot of people from what I heard in the stands were like, 'If we can just be competitive, we'd be happy with that,'" said Elkhart Central coach Matt Windy. "And we're like, 'Why be happy with that?' I guarantee Warsaw doesn't think that. They're thinking, 'We're going to beat this team tonight and we're going to beat them again in the sectional.' I don't think our guys are happy with losing tonight."
The game featured six ties and five lead changes, and Warsaw outrebounded the Blue Blazers 25-20, including a 12-8 advantage on the offensive glass.
"We allowed too many offensive rebounds," said Windy. "That's the game right there. If we could've have been better there, maybe we could have won the game."
Senior Chris Holt led Elkhart Central with 23 points and seven assists, while sophomore Terrell Street and Mason scored 15 points each and senior Mason Braden added eight points.
Street and Mason hit four three-pointers each for the Blue Blazers, who were 8 of 18 behind the arc, 25 of 44 (57 percent) from the field overall, and 14 of 19 at the charity stripe.
"Elkhart Central has a lot of firepower," said Ogle. "I won't be too disappointed if the ping pong balls bounce the right way and we don't have to play them in the sectional. Those guys were 9-2 for a reason."
Warsaw finished the game 29 of 53 (55 percent) from the field overall, 12 of 18 from three-point range, and 13 of 14 at the free throw line.
Moore connected on 5 of 8 three-point attempts, while Holladay, Bloom and junior Rhett Kesler combined to make 7 of 10 long-range attempts.
Both teams were playing missing a starter. Elkhart Central was without senior Satori Stahl, while the Tigers were without junior Jordyn Coon, who is recovering from a foot injury.
The Tigers are in action again Friday at Northern Lakes Conference opponent Goshen.
WARSAW 83, ELKHART CENTRAL 72
W 24 19 15 25 - 83
EC 21 17 16 18 - 72
Warsaw - Brock Anson 0-1 0-0 0, Jared Bloom 3-6 0-0 8, Joey Sparkman 1-1 0-0 2, Nic Moore 15-25 4-4 39, Rhett Kesler 2-4 0-0 5, Lucas Grose 4-6 7-8 15, Jay Holladay 4-5 0-0 12, Jalen Roscoe 0-1 0-0 0, Travis Thomas 0-2 0-0 0, Clay Anderson 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 29-53 13-14 83.
Elk. Central - Chris Holt 7-11 9-9 23, Terrell Street 5-7 1-5 15, Mason Braden 4-8 0-0 8, Adam Raifsnider 0-0 2-2 2, Tyllis Mason 5-9 1-2 15, Jalen Culbreath 1-6 1-1 3, John Stahl 3-3 0-0 6. Totals 25-44 14-19 72.
Three-pointers - Warsaw 12 (Moore 5, Holladay 4, Bloom 2, Kesler), Elk. Central 8 (Street 4, Mason 4). Rebounds - Warsaw 25 (Grose 8), Elk. Central 20 (Stahl 4, Braden 4). Assists - Warsaw 14 (Moore 9), Elk. Central 17 (Holt 7). Turnovers - Warsaw 11, Elk. Central 13. Fouls - Warsaw 14, Elk. Central 16. Fouled out - Street. Records: Warsaw 10-1, Elk. Central 9-3.
