On The Court

WARSAW AT NORTHWOOD

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

Coaches: Al Rhodes (Warsaw), Dan Gunn (NorthWood)

Records: Warsaw 9-2, 2-1 NLC; NorthWood 8-2, 2-0 NLC

Last Game: Warsaw 62, Goshen 25; NorthWood 66, Northridge 57

Last Year: Warsaw 65, NorthWood 51

Matchup: NorthWood knocked Northridge out of the No. 1 spot in Class 3A by defeating the Raiders last Friday. The Panthers now stand as the only team undefeated in the Northern Lakes Conference. The NorthWood squad will look to Charlie Roeder to lead the offensive attack with his 16.5 points per game, and Brock Doty is close behind him with 14.0 points per game. Roeder also leads the Panthers in rebounds with 58 while Rory Clouse has pulled down 56 rebounds so far this season. Warsaw is coming off a 62-25 rout of Goshen Saturday. The TIgers will look to Steve Siebenmorgen, Chris Wiggins and Zach Nelson, who all score in double figures, to lead the offensive attack. Siebenmorgen and Nelson lead the Warsaw squad in rebounding as well.

Rhodes: "I'm excited about our chances in the conference, but we have to face an awfully good NorthWood team in a gym that has been tough for us to play in. Defensively, NorthWood is one of the most physical teams we face all year. They make it very difficult to run an offense against their physical style of play - that's what happened to Northridge against them. Northridge didn't adjust to their physical play. By the same token, we are a physical team as well. We hope we can get the ball inside to Zach and Steve, because we're bigger. To do that, we will have to handle their perimeter defense. How our guards play against their pressure on the perimeter will be the key to the game."

Gunn: "Warsaw has experience back this year. Chris Wiggins is a player who is playing well for them right now. They are getting healthy. (Ross) Kesler is back for them, and they have the two big inside guys in Siebenmorgen and Nelson. They are playing well and they seem to be on a roll after winning their holiday tournament. The key for us will be rebounding. With their size compared to ours, it will be very important for us to rebound."

NORTHFIELD AT TIPPECANOE VALLEY

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

Coaches: Brian Tonsoni (Northfield), Bill Patrick (Valley)

Records: Northfield 3-5, 2-1 TRC; Valley 7-3, 3-0 TRC

Last Game: Southwood 56, Northfield 37; Valley 57, Argos 35

Last Year: Valley 45, Northfield 42

Matchup: Valley is looking to stay undefeated in the Three Rivers Conference, and the Vikings want to give Bill Patrick the 500th win of his career. He's at 499 and counting. Valley has won its last three games, and the Vikings hope to extend the streak to four. Brandon Eaton is the Viking scoring leader with 22 points per game, while Dax Snyder pulls down 6.1 rebounds per game. Northfield is looking to improve its TRC record by knocking off the Vikings. The Norsemen will look to Cory Brainard to lead the offensive attack. Brainard averages 11.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, while teammate Kyle Merrick adds an average of 10.6 points and 5.6 rebounds for the Norsemen.

Tonsoni: "Valley is fundamentally sound offensively and defensively. Brandon Eaton is their best player, so we will focus on him. They also have a good inside game, and they have some pretty good players in (Craig) Kuhn, Snyder and (Justin) Ross. We have a pretty solid defense, and we can compete with them defensively. The key for us will be to be patient. We need to get the ball to the right people and play our offense."

Patrick: "Northfield beat Manchester, and when they play the first night of two games, they are tough. They beat Manchester in the tournament then didn't play very well the next night. Brainard is an athlete. (Jason) Cordes is a nice player. Merrick is a good player. They have some size. They play hard and play with enthusiasm. They really get keyed up on Friday nights. Brainard scores inside and can shoot 15-foot jumpshots. He's averaging 13. Merrick is averaging 14 in the conference, 10 overall. We'll have all we can handle with them."

MANCHESTER AT NORTH MIAMI

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

Coaches: Gary Goshert (Manchester), John Burrus (North Miami)

Records: Manchester 6-3, 4-0 TRC; North Miami 2-8, 0-3 TRC

Last Game: Manchester 54, Whitko 45; CMA 63, North Miami 61

Last Year: Manchester 62, North Miami 37

Matchup: Manchester is looking to continue its Three Rivers Conference unbeaten streak this season. The Squires have lost just one TRC game in the past four years under Gary Goshert and have won 22 straight TRC games. The Squires will look to Lee Shafer and his 15.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game to lead the team offensively and defensively. David Bazzoni also averages in double figures in scoring with 12.0 points per game. He also dishes out 5.6 rebounds per game for the Squires. North Miami is looking for its first TRC win of the season against the Squires. Brandon Fouts leads the Warriors with 10.5 points per game. Ross Nixon and Matt Deed add 10 and 9.5 points per game respectively. Joe Deardorff leads North Miami in rebounding with 5.1 per contest.

Goshert: "I've been able to to scout them the last two weeks and I've seen them play. In the TRC, anytime you go someplace else and play on the road, you can throw the records out. North Miami has a nice team. They are not gigantic, but they have some players who do some nice things. Defense will be a big key in this game. North Miami plays a half-court zone defense so we will need to handle the ball and take good shots."

Burrus: "Manchester is 4-0 in the conference, and they are a typical Manchester team. They are talented and well-coached. They change defenses a lot, and they do a lot of half-court trap. They will try to keep us off balance. This will be a big conference game for us at home."

WAWASEE AT NORTHRIDGE NLC

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

Coaches: Robb Berger (Wawasee), Steve Austin (Northridge)

Records: Wawasee 2-8, 1-1 NLC; Northridge 8-2, 1-1 NLC

Last Game: West Noble 73, Wawasee 58; NorthWood 66, Northridge 57

Last Year: Northridge 67, Wawasee 51

Matchup: After winning two games in a row to Goshen and Plymouth, Wawasee fell to West Noble last Saturday. The Warriors are looking to restore that winning streak against a strong Northridge team Friday night in a Northern Lakes Conference matchup. Jeremy High will look to lead the Wawasee squad with his 14.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Brock Doty, R.J. Wilson and Travis Klenke are three more offensive forces for the Warriors as they each average 5-6 points per game. Northridge is looking to bounce back from a loss to NorthWood last Friday.

Berger: "We played Northridge two weeks ago in the Goshen Holiday Tourney and they have the total package. At Goshen, we tried to take away their inside game, and we held Thomas to 15 points. The problems was they turned around and hit 11 three's. They are hard to defend. They can score bunches inside and they can score bunches outside. When we played in the tournament, we shot 19-60 from the field, and hopefully we will execute better. We've got to make sure we shut down Thomas and block out."

Austin: Austin could not be reached to comment.

BETHANY CHRISTIAN AT TRITON

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

Coaches: Jim Buller (Bethany Christian), Joe Bennett (Triton)

Records: Bethany Christian 3-9; Triton 5-5

Last Game: Mishawaka Marian 81, Bethany Christian 53

Last Year: Bethany Christian 37, Triton 36

Matchup: Bethany Christian is looking to improve its record against another Class 1A team. The Bruins will look to Jordan Cross (17 points per game), Jose Ortiz (9.0 points per game), David Martin (7.0 points per game), and Jordan Buller (7.0 points per game) to lead the offensive attack. However, depending on the defensive scheme, any number of players have the ability to score. Triton is looking to go into the second half of the season with a win over Bethany Christian. The Trojans will rely on Brandon Zeider and his 18.4 points per game for the bulk of their scoring. Zeider also pulls down 5.8 rebounds per contest. Austin Unterbrink is another Triton force to be reckoned with as he nets 7.9 points and dishes out 6.5 assists per game.

Buller: "I saw Triton play earlier this season, and they are a fine team with a fine coach. We are very similar teams. Coach Bennett and I both prefer man-to-man defense and a motion offense. Our athletes are fairly similar, and this should be a good game. In the last two matchups, the games came down to the final possession, so quite a rivalry has started."

Bennett: "I think Bethany Christian is a very good full-court team. They're one of the best fast-break teams we will see this season. They run and shoot well, and that makes them very dangerous. Defensively, we need to limit their transition baskets and their easy buckets."

WHITKO AT BISHOP DWENGER

Tip-off: 6:30 p.m. Friday in Fort Wayne

Coaches: Steve Pickett (Whitko), Matt Kostoff (Bishop Dwenger)

Records: Whitko 1-8; Bishop Dwenger 6-3

Last Game: Whitko 84, Wabash 46; FW North Side 57, Bishop Dwenger 54

Last Year: Bishop Dwenger 61, Whitko 49

Matchup: The Whitko Wildcats are coming off their first win of the season, a confidence-boosting 84-46 rout of the Wabash Apaches. Shane Henderson leads the Wildcats 12.7 points per game, while Bryan Howard adds 10.8 and Brandon Waller chips in 9.3. J.R. Manuel leads the Wildcats in rebounding by pulling down 5.6 boards per game. The Wildcats will face stiff competition from Bishop Dwenger. The Saints are coming off a close 57-54 loss to Fort Wayne North Side. Dwenger will look to three scorers who are averaging in double figures. John Gensic averages 16 points per game, while teammates Brandon O'Leary and Mike Hopen average around 15 and 12 points per game respectively.

Pickett: "I know Bishop Dwenger has three really good players. O'Leary is a 6-6 post and he is a good shooter. Gensic is a great shooter, and Hopen can penetrate and break up defenses. We have to contain their dribble penetration and contain their shooting on the outside. They are very physical. We've had some kids sick this week, so this game is going to be a challenge."

Kostoff: "Whitko's record is not great, but they have been right in there in all the games I've seen them play. They play a good man-to-man defense and run the wheel offense. We are expecting a tough game. It will be a battle."