Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
TIPPECANOE VALLEY AT WARSAW
Tip-off: 6:15 p.m. tonight in Warsaw
Coaches: Bill Patrick (Tippecanoe Valley), Al Rhodes (Warsaw)
Last year's records: Tippecanoe Valley 19-6, Warsaw 20-5
Last year: Warsaw 71, Tippecanoe Valley 68 (2 OT)
Matchup: Tonight is the last matchup between these two county rivals, at least for the forseeable future. Warsaw replaces 3A Valley with 4A Penn starting next year. Warsaw enters 22-3 against Valley and last loss to the Vikings 74-53 during the 1989 regular season. Warsaw has won 10 straight over Valley since then. This year's game may have a hard time matching last year's thriller that saw Valley's Brandon Eaton score 40. Both teams have been overhauled as Warsaw lost four starters (Chris Wiggins, Steve Siebenmorgen, Ross Kesler, Zach Nelson) and Valley three starters (Eaton, Noah Silveus, Craig Kuhn) to graduation. Tippecanoe Valley's new starting five will be 5-foot-9 senior guard Anthony Domenico, 5-10 senior guard Drew Shafer, 5-11 senior forward Andy Martin, 6-2 senior forward Cody New and 6-3 sophomore center Trey Eaton. Starting for Warsaw will be 6-0 junior point guard Brad Seiss, 6-4 senior forward Josh Buck, 6-4 junior center Jerad Shaw and two of the following three: 6-3 junior guard Greg Clay, 6-3 junior forward Chris Clay or 6-0 senior guard Trent Martin. Warsaw 6-7 senior forward Paul Finnegan, who figured to be a starter entering the season, is suspended. Warsaw's top returning scorers are Buck and Seiss at 4 ppg; Valley's top returning scorers are New (16.5 ppg) and Trey Eaton (8.9 ppg).
Patrick: "In a lot of ways, this Warsaw team may be better than last year's. They will be more athletic. Even without Finnegan, we give up a lot of size. Martin and Buck can both score, and once they get Finnegan back, they will be one of the better teams in the state. The big thing for us this game is how much will Warsaw's size hurt us. To compete, we have to block out. We have to shoot well, because we won't have the inside game we had last year. All five who start for us can shoot pretty well. A lot of teams will key on Cody and Trey, so how the other three shoot will be a big key. The other thing is, can our two guards defend and keep big kids from posting them up and hurting us inside? Turnovers will be a major factor for us all year. It's never easy at Warsaw, because Al always has good basketball teams that are fundamentally sound, and you are playing in front of their crowd."
Rhodes: "[Valley] is in a similar boat to us: a lot of good players graduated. Offensively, it's a guess at this point, but you would figure they will be built around those two guys [Eaton, New]. As far as us, I was right about us having a long way to go defensively in guarding the middle. Our offense is built around Josh Buck, and we'll have to see how the others react to the varsity level. Sometimes you have a feel for a team going in, but we have a new team, and they have a new team. Coach Patrick always has an excellent gameplan. Last year they had all the staggered screens for Brandon Eaton. What we have to figure out is the options they will have for their main two players this year."
WHITKO AT COLUMBIA CITY
Tip-off: 6:30 p.m. tonight in Columbia City
Coaches: Steve Pickett (Whitko), Chris Benedict (Columbia City)
Records: Whitko 0-0; Columbia City 0-0
Last year: Columbia City 63, Whitko 52
Matchup: Whitko will be starting a fairly young squad this season, but coach Steve Pickett hopes extensive work in the offseason pays off for the Wildcats. Columbia City returns an experienced squad to the court. The Eagles will look to Tim Schmitt, senior guard, Trevor Shively, junior guard, Ian Heuer, junior forward, Bob Dye, junior forward, and Jon Pettigrew, senior forward, to run the Columbia City offense.
Benedict:Ê"We played against them in a 3-on-3 league this summer. They worked really hard in the offseason and they are improving. Hopefully we can take care of the basketball. We have two starting guards back, and that experience will help. We want to use our press and read the defense and change the offense as well."
Pickett: "I know they are very well coached by Chris Benedict. They'll play very smart, be very patient and make very few mistakes. They screen well, block out well and handle the ball well. They're a very good team. We're very concerned with shutting down Trevor Shively. We want to block out well. We think they'll go to the offensive glass hard."
MANCHESTER AT MISSISSINEWA
Tip-off: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in Bunker Hill
Coaches: Gary Goshert (Manchester); Mike Danforth (Mississinewa)
Records: Manchester 0-0; Mississinewa 0-0
Last Year: Did not play
Matchup: This is the first regular-season meeting for Manchester and Mississinewa in history. The Indians will look to 6-foot-2 forwards Justin Planck and Zack Henderson, 6-4 center Alec Daly and 5-7 guards Aaron Wilson and Jay Woodcox to lead the offense. Manchester, on the other hand, does not have a set starting five yet this season. The Squires are returning a core of experienced players and expect to have much team depth off the bench.
Goshert: "We know very little about Mississinewa because this is the first year they are on our schedule. At this point in the season, I think most teams are more concerned with themselves than they are with their opponents. I think our depth will be a big plus. We have five players back who have quite a bit of varsity experience. We have 10 players, at this point all 10 are going to get quite a bit of playing time in the first half. We'll give everyone a shot at playing early in the game and in the season and then go from there."
Danforth: "We are going to come out, play hard and try to execute. We are going to try to improve as we have from the first day of practice."
