On The Court Basketball Previews

WARSAW AT CARROLL (ALLEN)

Tip-off: 6:15 p.m. Friday in Fort Wayne

Coaches: Al Rhodes (Warsaw); Rob Irwin (Carroll)

Records: Warsaw 14-4; Carroll 10-7

Last Game: Warsaw 72, Huntington North 57; Carroll 77, DeKalb 57

Last Year: Warsaw 64, Carroll 37

Matchup: Warsaw will look to three players for much of its offense. Steve Siebenmorgen, Chris Wiggins and Zach Nelson, the big three for the Tigers, each score in double figures. Siebenmorgen pulls down 4.7 rebounds per game while scoring 12.6 points. Chris Wiggins adds 12.2 points and 3.9 rebounds, while Zach Nelson adds 3.9 rebounds and 11.3 points per contest. Ross Kesler pulls down 3.7 rebounds per game as well. The Carroll Chargers will rely on Gabe Miller and David Mahlen for much of their scoring threat. Miller is averaging right around 18 points per game while Mahlen adds 16 points per contest. Miller also pulls down 7 rebounds per game for Carroll.

Rhodes: "The thing Carroll has is two 6'7" kids in the post along with some good outside shooters. They have a strong combination of inside and outside. Zach (Nelson) sprained his ankle this week, but we hope to have him back today (Thursday). Josh Buck sprained his knee but he's back strong. Carroll also mixes man-for-man defense. Our guards have to recognize those changes. Our individual defense will be important. We have to deny them outside and not let them get easy passes into the post."

Irwin: "Warsaw is a good team. They are big and strong, and they have basically the same team back from last year. We are going to try to make sure we get them stopped. We need to rebound with them. If we get some stops and rebounds, we should be able to play with them."

JOHN GLENN AT TIPPECANOE VALLEY

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

Coaches: Gordon Mosson (Glenn); Bill Patrick (Valley)

Records: Glenn 13-6; Valley 15-3

Last Game: Glenn 89, Argos 47; Valley 86, Oak Hill 74

Last matchup (December 1999): Tippecanoe Valley 59, Glenn 57

Matchup: After playing Valley to a two-point game in a holiday tourney, the Glenn squad will be out for revenge. The Falcons will look to Chris Adkins with his 21.3 points per game to lead their scoring attack. Matt Jerrell adds 11.0 points per game, while Matt Smith chips in 10 points per game and 6.5 rebounds each contest. Valley will look to Brandon Eaton and Cody New for the majority of the Viking scoring attack. Eaton averages 22.0 points per game while New adds 16.2. In six games, New pulls down 7.7 rebounds and dishes out 2.3 rebounds per game. Eaton averages 5.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.

Mosson: "Valley is very well balanced with a lot of depth. They have good outside shooters. They don't turn the ball over too much, and they don't beat themselves. We will try to contain Brandon Eaton and Cody New. Rebounding is always a key in games like this, and it will be very important for us to shoot the ball well."

Patrick: "We played Glenn in the Holiday Tourney and beat them by two points, 59-57. They've got some big kids, and they play well. Obviously we are going to try to stop (Chris) Adkins and not let him have a big game. They have a solid defense, and rebounding will be a key for us."

NORTH MIAMI AT WHITKO

Tip-off: 6:15 p.m. Friday in South Whitley

Coaches: John Burrus (North Miami); Steve Pickett (Whitko)

Records: North Miami 3-14, 1-5 TRC; Whitko 3-14, 0-6

Last Game: NorthWood 95, Whitko 66; North White 82, North Miami 70

Last Year: North Miami 55, Whitko 40

Matchup: This is a matchup of two struggling teams. Both are introducing young players into the lineup to help get expereince before sectional. North Miami will look to Ross Nixon and his 12 points per game to lead its scoring attack. Brandon Fouts and Matt Deeds score in double figures for the Warriors as well. Fouts is a threat from behind the arc after making 35 three-pointers to date this season. Nixon also leads the North Miami squad with 5.9 rebounds per contest. Whitko is coming off a 29-point loss to NorthWood Tuesday night. The Wildcats will look to Shane Henderson to lead the offense with his 13.3 points per game. Ben Ryan, another of Whitko's leading scorers, missed Tuesday's game with a bad case of the flu and bronchitis and is questionable for Friday. Ryan adds 10.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per contest. Brandon Waller adds an average of 9.0 points per game.

Burrus: "I think we are somewhat comparable to (Whitko). We have both played some really good teams, and we have similar records. This will be a big game for both of us because we both feel we can win it. (Shane) Henderson is very strong out front. Ben Ryan is good inside. They are playing some younger players right now, and I am really impressed with (Alex) Frantz. Robbins is getting some good playing time as well."

Pickett: "North Miami is a very patient team, and they are well coached. I think the game with North Miami will be a big street fight. If we turn the ball over 20 times, we will struggle to compete. We need to hang on to the basketball and block out."

TRITON AT CULVER

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

Coaches: Joe Bennett (Triton); Brian Disney (Culver)

Records: Culver 1-16, 0-6 NSC; Triton 10-8, 3-3

Last Game: Knox 61, Triton 57; Culver Military 46, Culver Community 39

Last Year: Triton 59, Culver 44

Matchup: Triton is coming off a close loss to Knox last Thursday, and the Trojans hope to make up for the close loss with a win over Culver. The Trojans will look to Brandon Zeider for much of thier scoring attack. He averages 18.7 points per game. Brian Klingerman leads the defense by pulling down 6.5 rebounds per game. Zeider grabs 5.8 rebounds and Joey Potter gets 4.9 rebounds per contest. Pat Flaherty leads the Cavalier attack with his 11.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. Tom Watts pulls down 4.3 rebounds per contest.

Disney: "Brandon Zieder is offensively (Triton's) best player. We are going to try to make it as difficult as possible for him to shoot. Austin Unterbrink is good at penetrating and driving into the lanes and getting the ball to big guys inside. The key for us will be containing their scoring inside."

Bennett: "Everything for them starts with Mr. Flaherty in the paint. I think he's one of the best post players in our conference. He'll be a handful to defend. We have to be aware of where he is at all times. Another key will be how we execute offensively."

WAWASEE AT BREMEN

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

Coaches: Robb Berger (Wawasee), Gary Hudson (Bremen)

Records: Wawasee 5-13; Bremen 15-4

Last Game: Columbia City 64, Wawasee 56; Bremen 68, NorthWood 67, OT

Last Year: Bremen 60, Wawasee 49

Matchup: Wawasee is coming off a close loss to Columbia City Tuesday. Against Columbia City, Jeremy High led the Warriors with 21 points. Big man Andrew Packer netted 18 points against the Eagles as well. Bremen will look to Adam Mark to lead the Lions with his 16 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per game. Ben Rans and Joe Snyder each pull down 9.0 rebounds per game.

Berger: "Coach Hudson is a great coach. Adam Mark is a good big man, and Ben Rans is great in transition. Bremen plays a good defense, most times a 1-2-2 zone. We are going to work on our zone offense and containing Mark. We will also try to keep them off the glass and do a good job of blocking Mark out."

Hudson: "They are an excellent zone defense team, both in the half court and the full court. Coach Berger has really got them playing hard. They're playing with a lot of confidence, and their record is very deceptive. With their conference they play a very tough schedule. We're gonna have to score against their zone. Defensively we have to stop their inside game with High and Packer."