On The Court

Tip-off: 6:30 p.m. Friday in Huntington

Coaches: Al Rhodes (Warsaw), Eric Foister (Huntington North)

Records: Huntington North 14-5, Warsaw 16-2

Last Game: H. North 48, FW Northrop 46; Warsaw 53, Gary Wirt 39

Last Year: Huntington North 54, Warsaw 52

Matchup: Huntington North has played eight of their last 10 games on the road ... Sean Kline is North's biggest offensive threat with his 22 point and 11 rebounds per game average ... Rick Hall adds 15 points and six caroms for the Vikings ... Warsaw's offensive surge is led by a slew of juniors ... Chris Wiggins averages 13.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game ... Steve Siebenmorgen adds 13.8 points and 6.1 rebounds ... Zach Nelson pulls down 5.5 boards and adds 12.3 points per game ... Rob Kesler leads the team with 65 assists on the year, an average of 3.6 per game.

Rhodes: "Sean Kline is probably Mr. Basketball 2001. We'll have our hands full with him and Rick Hall, an experienced guard. They give them an excellent combination of an inside and outside game, althought Kline can score anywhere. The truth of the matter is, this type of team with the combination of inside and outside is very difficult to guard and will put pressure on us. We have to do a good job of cutting those two down without letting anybody else open. Huntington North is one of the top teams we will play this year. They have done well with a tough schedule."

Foister: "When you talk about Warsaw there's good and there's the bad. The good thing is they won't surprise you, they don't do as much stuff as other teams do. The bad thing is the things they do they do very well. We want an up and down game and we want to put pressure on them and see how they handle it, offensively we have some kids who can score."

NORTHWOOD AT BREMEN

Tip-off: 6:15 p.m. Friday in Bremen

Coaches: Dan Gunn (NorthWood), Gary Hudson (Bremen)

Records: NorthWood 9-8, Bremen 13-6

Last Game: Penn 56, NorthWood 54; Valley 79, Bremen 69 OT

Last Year: NorthWood 48, Bremen 46

Matchup: NorthWood comes off a weekend where they won a conference game by three points and lost the next night by two points ... Bremen is one game removed from an emotional overtime-loss to Valley ... NorthWood's offense is spearheaded by Darin Nunemaker and his 13.1 points and 3.1 rebounds per game ... Charlie Roeder adds 10.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game ... Chad Martin contributes 7.9 points and 4.0 rebounds per game ... Bremen is paced by Adam Mark's 17.5 points and 10 rebounds ... Nate Hudson comes in with 14 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists.

Gunn: "Bremen has a nice team this year. They have size and quickness and their guards play well together. Mark is big inside. We have to be able to handle their trapping defense, keep turnovers low and hit good percentage of free throws. We'd like to go to the line more than they do."

Hudson: "They are a very hard nosed, physical team and they play great defense. We've been trying to make practices as physically demanding as possible. They play best man-to-man defense we've seen and that's a tribute to Dan Gunn. I'd say the physical teams have bothered us, that's a mental thing. The kids have to understand that bumping and pushing is part of the game, not only do you need to learn to take it but be able to dish it out. The major key for us will be how well NorthWood shoots the ball. If they struggle we should be in the game."

TRITON AT KNOX

Tip-off: 6:30 p.m. Friday in Knox

Coaches: Joe Bennett (Triton), Todd Boldry

Records: Triton 9-8, 3-3 NSC; Knox 16-2, 5-0 NSC

Last Game: Triton 68, Valley 61; Knox 76, LaVille 67

Last Year: Triton 52, Knox 41

Matchup: Triton is one game removed from a big win over Valley ... Knox comes in with a perfect record in the Northern State Conference ... Matt Savill leads Triton with 13.7 points and 3.2 rebounds per game ... Brandon Zeider adds 11.5 points and 4.5 rebounds ... Jim Read leads the team with 5.2 rebounds ... Austin Unterbrink paces the Trojans with 3.4 assists.

Bennett: "Knox is undefeated in the conference and I believe has lost only a couple all year. Everything starts with Brandon Webb. Webb is 6-6, and he can hit the perimeter shot or shoot inside. They have players who shoot the perimeter shot and rebound well, in addition to what Webb can do."

Boldry: "They're very quick. They can shoot the three, dribble penetrate and hurt us inside. For us rebounding is our key. When we really outrebound a team we're in good shape but when we're even in rebounding we struggle."

OAK HILL AT TIPPECANOE VALLEY

Tip-off: 6:30 p.m. Friday in Mentone

Coaches: Flava Sirk (Oak Hill), Bill Patrick (Valley)

Records: Oak Hill 7-10, 4-2; Valley 12-6, 4-2

Last Game: Oak Hill 86, Frankton 63; Triton 68, Valley 61

Last Year: Oak Hill 83, Valley 63

Matchup: Both teams come in with 4-2 records in the Three Rivers Conference ... The Vikings are on a one game skid after losing at Triton on Saturday ... Valley is led by Jarvis Shepherd's 15.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.4 steals per game ... Brandon Eaton adds 15.3 points and 5.6 rebounds ... Eric Prater and Josh Cumberland pull down an average of 4.8 rebounds each ... Oak Hill's offense is led by Kyle Wert with 14 points per game ... Ty Henderson adds 11 points per game.

Sirk: "Obviously they are a very well coached team, they have a winning record and they have played well lately. Valley is a tough place to win. Defensively we need to key on Shepherd and Eaton. We can't let them get good looks from the outside."

Patrick: "Oak Hill has Kyle Wert in his second or third year as a starter and he scored 20 against Valley last year. They shoot near 40 percent from the three-point line. They're big and they've scored a lot of points this year. They have to be averaging in the 70s. We have to keep them from getting the ball up the court and at the same time we have to take care of the ball and do a good job blocking out with their size. With the shooters and scorers they've got that'll be tough."

WHITKO AT SOUTHWOOD

Tip-off: 6:30 p.m. Friday in South Whitley

Coaches: Steve McClure (Southwood), Fred Fields (Whitko)

Records: Whitko 6-10, 1-4 TRC; Southwood 15-2, 3-2 TRC

Last Game: Rochester 64, Whitko 54; Southwood 56, F.W. Elmhurst 43

Last Year: Southwood 74, Whitko 52

Matchup: Whitko has been plagued by injuries and illness for the last month ... The Wildcat's offense is led by Ben Mohr's 13.8 points per game ... Ben Ryan adds 10.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game ... Joe Grant adds 6.1 rebounds while Josh Gonzales dishes out 4.8 assists per game ... The Knights are led in offense by Paul Wright's 20.5 points per game, he also pulls down an average of 5.0 rebounds per game ... Shawn Zellars adds 6.9 points while Nick Dawson contributes 5.5 rebounds per game.

McClure: "When you play Whitko you'd better be able to rebound, they're strength is their board work. If we can break even on the boards we'll have a chance but doing that is a monumental task. We've been pretty good on the road and we have good poise on the road."

Fields: "They are about the quickest team we have seen in the last month. They have excellent three-point shooting. Wright is as good of a player as we've seen. I think everything starts with him. We have to keep him in normal numbers. We'd like to keep him in low double figures and not give him any easy looks. We've not seen Ben Ryan since last Friday because he's been ill. Shane Henderson could be back to normal and Josh Gonzales is getting back to normal. Right now our concern is ourself and getting ready for the sectional."

MANCHESTER AT NORTHFIELD

Tip-off: 6:30 p.m. Friday in Wabash

Coaches: Gary Goshert (Manchester), Brian Tonsoni (Northfield)

Records: Manchester 13-4, 6-0 TRC; Northfield 6-11, 0-5 TRC

Last Game: F.W. Harding 51, Manchester 47; Maconaquah 51, Northfield 41

Last Year: Manchester 61, Northfield 55

Matchup: The Squires enter this game with a perfect record in the conference while the Norsemen have yet to win a game in the Three Rivers Conference ... Manchester's offense is spearheaded by Eric Swan's 19.9 points per game ... Swan also pulls down 5.9 rebounds and dishes out 2.9 assists per game ... Rex Reimer adds 11.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game ... Chris Betten adds 5.1 rebounds per contest ... Northfield is led by Ryan Wilcox's 12.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game ... Nick Clifton contributes 11.7 points per contest.

Goshert: "This is our last TRC game so it won't be hard in terms of a mental aspect. We have a huge opportunity to win the conference, we pretty much have it locked up but we have the chance to through the conference with an unblemished record. They play solid defense and they have kids who can score at anytime. We have to be prepared to play against their man to man defense. The defensive end of the floor will be vital for us. We have to do the little things. I think offensively we have to take advantage of transition situations."

Tonsoni: "They are very good. We really have to limit Swan and Reimer and hope the others don't step up. Betten and (Steve) Fawcett add a lot of rebounding and can score inside. We have to be able to rebound and score."

WAWASEE AT 2A N0. 3 WESTVIEW

Tip-off: 6:15 p.m. Friday in Syracuse

Coaches: Jerry Davis (Wawasee), Troy Neely (Westview)

Records: Wawasee 0-17; Westview 14-2

Last Game: NorthWood 63, Wawasee 60; Westview 63 Angola 49

Last Year: Wawasee 49, Westview 46

Matchup: The Wawasee squad will try to continue their dominance of the Westview Warriors, who Wawasee has beaten for the past few years ... Andrew Warner averages 12.6 points and 4.6 rebounds for the Warriors ... Jeremy High is an area leader in rebounding (6.3), assists (2.7), and steals (1.8) ... Chris Lambert chips in 8.6 points for the Wawasee effort ... Westview relies on Scott Hostetler who is the team's vocal leader as well as the team leader in scoring and steals ... Jeff Nelson leads the Westview Warriors in rebounding and is second in scoring ... Derek Yoder also scores in double figures for these Warriors ... Westview will also get help from a strong bench.

Davis: "Westview is a team that has got good shooters. Every kid on the team can shoot the three effectively. They are having a fine season, they baet NorthWood at NorthWood and they beat Northridge. Westview is a team that we beat the past two years, and that will be a motivating factor for them. Defense will be big for us in this game. We want to shut them down and make it difficult for them to shoot from the perimeter. We will also have to rebound to be successful. Since they will be shooting from the perimeter, we will need to be ready to rebound further out on the floor."

Neely: "I know Wawasee has beaten us the past four or five years in a row. Regardless of their record, we have not been able to beat them. We need to step up to the challenge they will give us. To be successful we will need to get rebounds and prevent them from getting second shots from rebounds."