On The Court

No. 17 WARSAW AT ELKHART CENTRAL

TIPOFF: 8 p.m. Saturday at Elkhart

COACHES: Al Rhodes (Warsaw), Dean Foster (Elkhart Central)

1995-1996 FINAL RECORDS: Warsaw 25-3, Elk. Central 12-10

MATCHUP:...This is a change from last year when the Tigers and Blazers met to end the regular season. But because of a scheduling change, it now tips the season off. Rhodes, starting his 16th season at Warsaw, is only two wins shy of 300 career wins. Foster plans to start 6-foot-0 Jarvis Bloch (forward), 6-4 Rich Gawthrop (center), 5-10 Matt Dowell (point guard), 6-1 Kasey Duddy (forward) and Andrew Vargo (forward). Bloch and Gawthrop are the most experienced. Bloch scored 10.4 points per game last year. Gawthrop added 6.3 ppg. Foster has a 72-24 career record at Elkhart Central, where he's coached since the 1992-1993 season.

GAME TALK:

Rhodes... "They have an excellent team coming back. Coach Foster does a tremendous job. They are a great half-court defensive team. We have our problems. I think a test like that will be good for us."

Foster... "Al's done a terrific job at Warsaw. He's become a measuring stick for the other coaches to see how their programs are doing. This will be a new twist, because Warsaw traditionally has been our last game of the season, and that game helped us prepare for the tournament. Warsaw still looked mighty good to me (without Kevin Ault). Tyler Charlton had two or three steals in the first quarter at the jamboree. Tom Krizmanich is an all-around good player. We're counting on Bloch and Gawthrop to do a lot of rebounding and scoring."

TIPPECANOE VALLEY AT JOHN GLENN

TIPOFF: 8 p.m. Friday at Walkerton

COACHES: Gregg Sciarra (Valley), Gordon Mosson (Glenn)

1995-1996 FINAL RECORDS: Valley 11-10; Glenn 15-7

MATCHUP:... When it comes to experience, these two teams are opposites. Tippecanoe Valley returns starters Jeff Brown, Nick Stutzman and Darren Parker, who combined for 40 points per game last season. Glenn lost six seniors off of last year's team who combined for 36 points per game. Glenn's starting lineup will be 5-9 junior Jake Neiswender (point guard), 6-1 junior Corey Rough (forward), 6-1 junior Josh Williams (shooting guard), 6-2 sophomore Brett Hulse (center) and either 5-10 junior Steve Ruby (forward) or 6-0 senior Joe Hensler (forward). Neiswender averaged 12.8 points and 4.1 assists per game, while Rough averaged 5.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.

GAME TALK:

Sciarra... "Generally, Gordon pulls down 14, 15 or 16 wins every season. His teams are always competitive. Neiswender concerns us a bunch. He's good with the basketball, can shoot and can dribble up the court and break a press by himself. That has us concerned. Rough is kind of a bruiser inside. ... Our half-court team defense is not where it needs to be. As much as being ahead in two quarters of the jamboree was nice to see, we are missing Jason Cumberland (graduated) inside right now. He was an intimidator defensively, with his mouth and his long arms. His personality helped us big time."

Mosson... "Brown, Parker and Stutzman returning give them three very good players. It gives them the experience and senior leadership we don't have. I know Brown hurt us with 22 points or so last year. Parker has always done a nice job, and he has an enormous amount of experience. I know Sciarra likes to run and do different things on defense. This is unusual, because we've never played Valley in the first game before. ... We have quickness, and we have kids who can score. We feel like we have balance between inside and outside scorers. How we will do in a game, we won't know until we play one. Our rebounding could be a problem."

TRITON AT CULVER MILITARY ACADEMY

TIPOFF: 8 p.m. Friday at Culver

COACHES: Kevin O'Rourke (Triton), Ralph Shrader (CMA)

RECORDS: Triton 0-1; CMA 0-0

LAST GAME: Oregon-Davis 52, Triton 48; CMA is at South Bend Adams tonight

MATCHUP:...Triton was 11-11 last year, Culver Military Academy 10-12. Two of Triton's wins came against CMA. Triton beat the Eagles 63-46 in January, then beat them in a much closer game in the Warsaw Sectional. Triton led Oregon-Davis by 6 points going into the third quarter, but the Trojans made only 2 of 12 shots in the fourth quarter and lost. Cory Monesmith led Triton with 23 points, and Scott Blackford had 12. CMA returns four starters, although only three will play against Triton. Starting for Shrader will be 6-2 senior Lee Harris (shooting guard), 6-4 senior Larry Swank (forward), 6-1 junior Billy Peterson (forward), 6-0 Nick Nimerala (guard) and either Randy Williams (center) or Reagan Evans (center). Harris averaged 13.7 ppg and 3.9 rpg last year. Swank averaged 9.7 ppg and 4.2 rpg, and Peterson tallied 6.7 ppg and 4.5 rpg. Will Mishler (9.5 ppg) is the only returning starter not playing - he's suspended.

GAME TALK:

O'Rourke... "I'm very concerned about their experience. They have a number of kids back who have started for two or three years. This year I know they are expecting big things. I read somewhere that they are hoping to win a sectional championship. When you say that, and you play in the Warsaw Sectional, you have to be feeling pretty good about your team. ... We played well for three quarters against Oregon-Davis, but then we got tentative. Offensively, we didn't take the ball to the basket. It was disappointing, but we want to make the best of it and go on. We won't shoot 18 of 51 often. We expect to be much better. But when the ball isn't falling, we have to learn to adjust our game and do a better job."

Shrader... "We didn't embarrass ourselves at the jamboree. We found areas we need to work on. We need to fine-tune some things, just like all teams. Triton traditionally shoots the ball well, and that puts pressure on your defense. Cory Monesmith is their best shooter, their most consistent shooter. But any single kid on their team can light it up on any given night. They run a nice motion offense and have a lot of back screens. If we don't communicate, we could be in for a long night."