On The Court

FW NORTH AT WARSAW

TIPOFF: 8 p.m. Saturday at the Tiger Den

COACHES: Glenn Heaton (FW North), Al Rhodes (Warsaw)

RECORDS: FW North 0-2, Warsaw 4-1

LAST GAME: New Haven 49, FW North 48; Warsaw 46, Goshen 36

MATCHUP: ...The potential danger here for Warsaw is coming off a big conference game the night before at Wawasee. How well the Tigers get back up after the battle with the Warriors will tell the story. Last week, Warsaw had a big conference game on Saturday against Goshen and were flat the night before against Huntington North. Tom Krizmanich leads Warsaw with 15 ppg. The Tigers will have to deal with a big North Side frontcourt. North Side starts 6-foot-5 Kenneth Johnson, 6-6 Jason Brown and 6-7 Mike Koepke. Johnson leads North Side with 16 points per game, and Vernard Holland adds 14. North Side has several returning players, although last year's leading scorer, Leodis Key, graduated.

GAME TALK:

Heaton... "We have basically nine kids back from last year. Our first game we played Muncie South and lost 80-70. We were pleased with and encouraged by our performance. Against New Haven, we got in foul trouble early ... Warsaw is very team-oriented, fundamentally sound and well-coached. When the Tigers play at Warsaw, they're always good. You can tell by the close games they win that they expect to win. Most teams would probably say our big kids give them matchup problems. Our guard play has been very good. We think that will be the key to our success."

Rhodes... "They always mix their defenses between halfcourt zone and fullcourt pressure. They present a different kind of opponent than what we have had. They have good experience coming back. It should be a good challenge for us. ... We are in the same boat we get caught up in. Our conference game on Friday is so big that we won't really worry about them until Saturday morning. We have a tough stretch ahead of us with double weekends for awhile. It makes for a tough schedule. It is good for us to play against a variety of teams. Fort Wayne North adds to that."

HOMESTEAD AT MANCHESTER

TIPOFF: 8 p.m. Saturday at North Manchester

COACHES: Don Lines (Homestead), Gary Goshert (Manchster)

RECORDS: Homestead 2-1, Manchester 2-1

LAST GAME: FW South 65, Homestead 52; Manchester 68, Southwood 62

MATCHUP:... Pete Lougheed, a 6-6, 240-pound junior center, paces Homestead with 19 ppg. Shooting guard Daryn Schwartz adds 16.5 ppg, and forward John Marynowski adds 15.5. These two teams play different styles of games. Homestead wants to turn the game into a track meet; they scored 104 against Whitko earlier this season. The Squires search for the best possible shot on each possession. Homestead, who won only two games two years ago, has it all this year. Big inside players, good outside shooters, good rebounders and quick guards. How will Manchester deal with Lougheed, a bull inside?

GAME TALK:

Lines... "Probably the big thing with Manchester is they're young. I saw their game against Southwood and was impressed. Their kids are playing hard and playing with enthusiasm. We had a pretty disappointing game against South Side. After the first two games, I thought our team had played well. Against South Side, our two leading scorers had three fouls each in the first four minutes. We probably played that game more not to lose than to win it. We want to create things with our defense and get up and down the court. We need to establish our defense. We want the other team to run with us. But I'm sure Manchester will try to get us in their type of game. They always have good shooters. That's the biggest thing I fear. We must defend their perimeter shots, because they can hit them."

Goshert... "From what I hear, Homestead is a lot better than they were in the past. They have physically strong kids. The 6-6 kid (Lougheed) is just an excellent, excellent ballplayer. They have a lot of nice kids to complement him as far as shooting from the perimeter. They have good quickness. It will be very important to contain them in their transition. These guys send some people. We need to make sure we make the transition from offense to defense. Otherwise, they'll have the ball in the basket before we can even contest the shot."