MIDDLEBURY - Determined to learn from a recent loss, Warsaw's varsity boys basketball team took Northern Lakes Conference rival Northridge to school Friday night.
The Tigers, who were frustrated with their play in a 53-47 setback to state-ranked Noblesville Saturday, opened the game with a 13-0 run and never looked back, as they thrashed the host Raiders 60-34."We were determined to learn from the Noblesville game," said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle. "We had two very good practices this week. Our pace was better tonight. Our transition offense was really good."
Outside of converting just 7 of 19 free throw attempts, Warsaw was nearly flawless in the 26-point win.
The Tigers were 24 of 41 (59 percent) from the field overall and 5 of 6 from three point range.
They outrebounded Northridge 33-16, dished out 19 assists as a team, made 10 steals and only turned the ball over nine times.
"I'm encouraged by the way we played tonight," said Ogle. "Our body language was good, so was our demeanor. We played very well tonight. We had a really strong first half."
Leading 17-5 after the first quarter, the Tigers opened the second stanza with a 9-0 run and eventually led 28-7 at halftime and 45-18 after three quarters of play.
The win improved the Tigers to 8-2 overall and 2-0 in NLC play, while Northridge, the defending conference champion, fell to 2-7 overall and 0-2 in conference play.
"We were very disappointed with the way we played against Noblesville," said Ogle. "We did some soul searching. We wanted to try and use this as a turning point for our team. I thought we did a lot better tonight. We played with more effort and enthusiasm."
Junior Nic Moore, who dished out nine of Warsaw's 19 assists, led a balanced scoring attack with 14 points.
Senior Justin Clemens added 12 points and five rebounds, while classmate Andy Conrad chipped in with nine points and seven rebounds.
Senior Zack Linky overcame his shooting woes and hit both of the three-point shots he took, as he finished with eight points. Junior Jalen Roscoe also scored eight points for the Tigers.
"We played very unselfishly tonight," said Ogle. "When we do that, we have a lot of guys who can score. We're difficult to guard when we're patient and play together like that."
They certainly were Friday, as the Tigers were simply better than the Raiders.
Senior Craig Thomas came off the bench and led Northridge with 11 points, while junior reserves Colin Adams and Alex Long scored seven and six points, respectively.
The Raiders, who were a dismal 3 of 20 (15 percent) from the field in the first half, finished the game 13 of 34 (38 percent) from the field overall and 1 of 12 (8 percent) from three-point range.
Warsaw hosts NLC foe Goshen Friday, while Northridge travels to conference rival NorthWood Friday.
WARSAW 60, NORTHRIDGE 34
W 17 11 17 15 - 60
N 5 2 11 16 - 34
Warsaw - Andy Conrad 3-5 3-4 9, Joey Sparkman 1-2 0-0 2, Justin Clemens 6-8 0-4 12, Brock Davis 0-0 1-4 1, Nic Moore 4-9 3-4 14, Christopher O'Hara 0-0 0-0 0, Jordyn Coon 1-2 0-0 2, Zack Linky 3-5 0-0 8, Lucas Grose 1-3 0-2 2, Cody Bragg 0-0 0-0 0, Jalen Roscoe 4-6 0-1 8, Travis Thomas 0-0 0-0 0, Clay Anderson 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 24-41 7-19 60.
Northridge - Luke Davis 1-5 0-0 2, Daniel Seiltz 0-0 0-0 0, Gavin Blyly 0-2 1-2 1, A.J. Miller 0-2 0-1 0, Skyler Mitchell 0-1 2-2 2, Malcom Thurmond 0-1 1-2 1, Justin Yoder 2-5 0-2 4, Craig Thomas 5-6 1-2 11, Kolin Adams 3-7 0-0 7, Rick Nystrand 0-0 0-0 0, Adrian Zehr 0-0 0-0 0, Alex Long 2-2 2-2 6. Totals 13-34 7-13 34.
