On The Court

No. 5 WARSAW AT FORT WAYNE NORTH SIDE

Tip-Off: 6:15 p.m. Saturday in Fort Wayne

Coaches: Al Rhodes (Warsaw); Glenn Heaton (North Side)

Records: Warsaw 3-0; North Side 1-2

Last Game: Warsaw 51, Valparaiso 44; North Side 50, Leo 38

Last Year: North Side 64, Warsaw 59

Matchup: Warsaw is ranked No. 5 in the class 5A Associated Press poll and No. 5 in the coaches' poll, which combines all classes. Warsaw has won three games in a row and is looking for number four. The Tigers will look to Chris Wiggins to lead the offensive attack. Wiggins is averaging 13.7 points per game. Two other Tigers are averaging in double figures in scoring as well. On average, Zach Nelson and Steve Siebenmorgen average 11.7 and 10.0 points per game. Nelson also pulls down seven rebounds per game for the Tigers. Fort Wayne North Side has three players who are scoring in double figures as well. Ross McGregor contributes 17 points per game while Corey Smith and DeShawn Belcher add 15 and 12 points per game, respectively. However, North Side lost four starters from last season, including Indiana All-Star Vernard Holland.

Rhodes: "Playing in North Side's gym is always tough. North Side has a 6-9 center, and how well we contain him will tell the story of the game. They play a lot of zone defense, so we will try to execute our zone offense well against it."

Heaton: "Warsaw is a very good team. They have everybody back from last year. Wiggins is a great outside shooter. Nelson and Siebenmorgen are good under the basket. They have great depth. They are one of the best basketball teams in the state. We lost All-Star Vernard Hollins and four of our five starters. This is a rebuilding year for us."

MANCHESTER AT HOMESTEAD

Tip-Off: 6:15 p.m. Saturday in Fort Wayne

Coaches: Gary Goshert (Manchester), Chris Johnson (Homestead)

Records: Manchester 2-0; Homestead 1-2

Last Game: Manchester 64, Southwood 39; FW South Side 60, Homestead 55

Last Year: Homestead 58, Manchester 56

Matchup: Manchester is off to a 2-0 start this season. Much of the Squire offense is concentrated in the scoring efforts of Klay Bechtold (14.5 points per game), Lee Shafer (7.5 points per game), David Bazzoni (7.0 points per game) and Nate Kerr (6.5 points per game). Shafer also pulls down 4.5 rebounds per game while Kerr grabs an average of 4.0 rebounds per contest.

Goshert: "This is our first double weekend, so we really don't know much about what kind of shape we're in. Both games are on the road, and they are both high quality opponents. Homestead is big. They have starters that are 6-6 and 6-5, and the subs for those players are 6-4 and 6-4. They are very talented, and they work very hard. They are an excellent team with high quality players."

Johnson: "When I coached at (Fort Wayne Bishop) Dwenger we always had a tough time with them. They are very well coached, fundamentally smart. It's going to be an extremely tough game. They're very good at ball control, being patient and making us play defense. We have to be patient on offense and make them play defense. We want to make sure we're patient also. We have to make sure we play fundamentally sound basketball."

FAIRFIELD AT NORTHWOOD

Tip-Off: 6:15 p.m. Saturday in Nappanee

Coaches: Scott Miller (Fairfield), Dan Gunn (NorthWood)

Records: Fairfield 3-0, NorthWood 1-0

Last Game: Fairfield 71, Prairie Heights 48; NorthWood 67, Triton 53

Last Year: NorthWood 76, Fairfield 70

Matchup: The Panthers have only played one game this year: a 67-53 win at Triton. Ian Reed and Charlie Roeder led the offensive attack in that game with 17 points apiece. Rory Clouse and Brock Doty added 14 and 13 points in that game, respectively, giving the Panther offense some balance. The Falcons' offense is led by Ryan Thwaits and his 22 points per game. Matt Shultz adds 11 points per game for Fairfield.

Miller: "They have athleticism. These guys are terrific athletes and they've had success in their high school careers. One thing we didn't do last year was match up in transition and rebound. We'll have to do a better job of that."

Gunn: "Playing Fairfield is like playing five guards. And the best of all of them is (Ryan) Thwaits. He plays the game the way it should be played. He's the kind of player all coaches would want. In order to beat Fairfield we have to control Mr. Thwaits."

TRITON AT WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP

Tip-Off: 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Valparaiso

Coaches: Joe Bennett (Triton), Kevin Duzan (Washington Township)

Records: Triton 2-2, Washington Township 1-2

Last Game: Triton 60, Elkhart Baptist 40; Boone Grove 64, W. Township 54

Last Year: Did not play.

Matchup: After starting out the year 1-2, Triton evened its season Tuesday with an 11-point win at Elkhart Baptist. The Trojans are led by senior Brandon Zeider, who had a career-high 33 points in a game against LaVille Saturday. Washington Township comes off a 10-point loss to Boone Grove and is led in the scoring column by Lucas Copeland and his 13.5 points per game. Dennis Dixon adds 12.5 points per game for Washington Township. Nate Gatz pulls down six rebounds per game for Washington Township."

Bennett: "This is the first time we've played them. I don't really know anything about them. I haven't to see any tapes on them yet but we're working on it."

Duzan: "They have a lot of physical size. They have decent size inside. (Brandon) Zeider works real hard on the perimeter and can take it inside. Their point guard has been there for awhile and knows what to do. I think the key will be to stop Zeider."

PLYMOUTH AT WHITKO

Tip-Off: 6:15 p.m. Saturday in South Whitley

Coaches: Jack Edison (Plymouth), Steve Pickett (Whitko)

Records: Plymouth 3-0, Whitko 0-4

Last Game: Plymouth 59, Mishawaka 48; Central Noble 48, Whitko 34

Last Year: Plymouth 81, Whitko 38

Matchup: Whitko is searching for its first win of the season. The Pilgrims are ranked No. 6 in Class 3A and are looking to keep their season undefeated. Whitko is led by a trio of double-figure scorers: Shane Henderson (13.5), Bryan Howard (11.3) and Brandon Waller (10.8). John Pettibone leads the Pilgrim scoring attack with his 13 points per game average. Jeff Stetler adds eight points per game and Brent Houilan grabs eight rebounds per contest.

Edison: "They've played (or are playing) some good, tough teams right off the bat. And we have regard for some of those teams. They play Valley, who played Warsaw played tough. They get two starters for this game from a problem they had. That can't hurt them."

Pickett: "Plymouth has a great program with a great coach, Jack Edison. Right now they are ranked sixth or seventh in the state this season. They come out to play, and they have a tremendous in-your-face defense. They switch offensive screens. We want to improve every game and compete on the defensive end of the court."