On The Court

GARY WIRT AT WARSAW

Tipoff: 8 p.m. Friday at the Tiger Den

Coaches: Omar Vazquez (Gary Wirt), Al Rhodes (Warsaw)

Records: Gary Wirt 5-9, Warsaw 11-5

Last game: Andrean 79, Gary Wirt 68; Warsaw 51, Plymouth 48

Matchup: Warsaw comes off probably its biggest wins of the season against the highly ranked Pilgrims. The Tigers did so by controlling their turnovers and controlling the boards in the second half against the Pilgrims. The Tigers will face a tough and somewhat unusual Gary Wirt team. As most Gary teams like to get up and down the floor, Gary Wirt is a more patient and deliberate team.

Vazquez: Coach Vazquez was unavailable for comment.

Rhodes: "We had been in this stretch in January, and now to come back with this win, it has to add to our confidence. Just the fact that we worked very hard to get ready for that game, and for it to pay off with a good win, it validates all the hard work that went into it. Especially with the younger players, every bit of experience and winning is good for our confidence. The difference in that game was our rebounding. It helped point us in the right direction. ... They play a combination of man-for-man and zone defense. The things that distinguish them is the fact that they are very much a ball-control team. Against East Chicago, they ran four different ball-control offenses, and their shot selection was very, very good. They are very patient on offense. It is very important we don't get behind them in the game. They are very good free-throw shooters and good ballhandlers. They are very difficult to catch. We hope to get ahead."

WAWASEE AT NORTHWOOD

Tipoff: 8 p.m. Friday at Nappanee

Coaches: Jerry Davis (Wawasee), Dan Gunn (NorthWood)

Records: Wawasee 3-13, 1-4 NLC; NorthWood 10-5, 2-3 NLC

Last game: Goshen 56, NorthWood 42; Manchester 65, Wawasee 54

Matchup: Wawasee has lost five of its last six. The key to beating the Warriors? Get the lead. They have scored 60 or more only three times all season. They have only two players who are offensive threats right now, guard Ryan Mahnensmith and center Brody Stipp. When teams have gotten the lead, the Warriors haven't had the firepower to play catch-up and overtake them.

Davis: Davis was not available for comment.

Gunn: "I think Mahnensmith has been one of their most consistent players, and (Wawasee) plays a number of individuals who move the ball well. They play good aggressive defense, and they have good-sized players inside. (Narron) Graves has been playing well -Êhe scored 19 against Concord. Wawasee is much better than their record. I hope they have a difficult time matching up with (Bobby) Brown and then (Aaron) Huber on the perimeter."

TRITON AT WHITKO

Tipoff: 8 p.m. Friday at South Whitley

Coaches: Kevin O'Rourke (Triton), Fred Fields (Whitko)

Records: Triton 4-11, Whitko 3-12

Last game: Bremen 71, Triton 44; Oak Hill 69, Whitko 64

Matchup: Inside vs. outside, Whitko's forwards vs. Triton's guards. Whitko frontcourt players like Bo Mullins, Kevin Miller, Jeremiah Laws and Jered Deckena - all between 6-3 and 6-6 -Êkey the Wildcat offense. Triton's offense is led by guards Matt Savill, Austin Unterbrink and Andy Westafer. Unterbrink is one of the best point guards in the area, while Savill is one of the best long-distance shooters. The question is, can Triton's interior defense slow or stop Whitko's big men? The undersized Triton players have had trouble doing that this year.

O'Rourke: "Whitko can put three 6-5 guys on the floor at one time, and they have quick guards in (Chad) Schipper and (Josh) Gonzalez. They played Fort Wayne North to a close game, and North is a pretty athletic team. Our biggest concern is the 6-5 guys shooting the ball from the paint. If a team beats us, I would prefer they beat us by shooting from the perimeter, not that I'm saying we would give them open looks."

Fields: "(In the loss to Oak Hill), Jarrad Odle ended up at the free throw line 10 or 12 times in the final two minutes. The fouls were very inconsistent ... We're at the point where we want to change our mentality from competing to winning because we're closing in on sectionals. I want to see people taking things into their own hands and having people step up ... Triton is very guard oriented. They have three good perimeter players.

VALLEY AT NO. 5 (2A) BREMEN

Tipoff: 8 p.m. Friday at Bremen

Coaches: Gregg Sciarra (Valley), Gary Hudson (Bremen)

Records: Valley 5-10, Bremen 14-3

Last game: Valley 77, Wabash 67; Bremen 71, Triton 44

Matchup: Valley set one school record and tied another in last week's win over Wabash. The Viking set a record by shooting 76 percent from the field (39 of 51). That smashed the previous record, when the Vikings hit 31 of 46 (67 percent) in a win over Wawasee in the 1977-1978 season. Valley tied three-point field goal percentage in a game. They shot 67 percent (8 of 12) from three-point land, which tied a record. They also made 8 of 12 against Central Noble in the 1993-1994 season.

Sciarra: "(Bremen) usually plays zone and mixes in man-to-man off that at times. They have fairly smart players who take care of the ball pretty well. They're patient enough on the offensive end, a good half-court set team. They always seem to win by eight, 10 or 12. They really don't have a weak spot."

Hudson: "Valley poses a lot of problems for us. They have a lot of big people, athletic people with long arms who can cause problems. (Maurice) Looman and (JayDee) Parker are tough inside, while (Eric) Love is tough outside. They can stretch your defense and cause problems. If we extend our defense, that will make us weaker in other areas. We'll probably play it pretty straightforward."