Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Warsaw at Elkhart Central
Tip-off: 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Elkhart
Coaches: Al Rhodes (Warsaw), Mike Drews (Elkhart Central)
Records: Warsaw 5-1, Elkhart Central 2-1
Last Game: FW North 64, Warsaw 59; Elkhart Central 66, Michigan City 62
Last year: Warsaw 76, Elkhart Central 72 (2 OT)
Matchup: Elkhart Central has four players who average in double figures ... James Scott, Anthony Kyle, Justin Riley and Curtis LeFlore each average more than 10 points per game ... Justin Riley also leads the team in rebounding ... Warsaw has two players who average more than 10 points per game in Steve Siebenmorgen (16.3 ppg.) and Zach Nelson (12.7 ppg.) ... Nelson also averages 6.5 rebounds per game.
Rhodes: "Elkhart Central has a new basketball coach with a very up-tempo style. We have played several teams that full-court press at times, but we have seen no one committed to it for a whole game like Elkhart Central. They are led by Scott, a two-guard, and LeFlore, a forward. They beat Goshen by 20-some points, so that shows us we have our work cut out for us. They don't have great size, but they have exceptional quickness. Once we get the ball down the court, we should get the ball inside against Central if our guards handle their pressure."
Drews: "Warsaw is a very good basketball team. They have excellent outside shooting and good post play inside as well. We'll need to play good half-court defense with an emphasis on helping out the post. We are not a big team, our biggest guy is 6-3, so we'll need to be ready at the post against a much taller Warsaw team."
Columbia City at Manchester
Tip-off: 7:30 p.m. Saturday in North Manchester
Coaches: Chris Benedict (Columbia City), Gary Goshert (Manchester)
Records: Columbia City 3-2; Manchester 4-0
Last Game: Columbia City 51, Angola 42 ; Manchester 62, Rochester 52
Last Year: Manchester 54, Columbia City 50 (OT)
Matchup: Columbia City is led by Jason Elkins, who averages 12 points per game ... Columbia City also has three players, Eric Heuer, Justin Waterson, and Mike Shumaker, averaging nine points per game ... Manchester will look to Eric Swan, its leading scorer, who is averaging 20.8 points and six rebounds per game, for offensive leadership ... Chris Betten adds 5.3 points and nine rebounds per game ... Michael Hendrix averages 3.3 assists per game and 1.8 steals per game.
Goshert: "I don't think their team is much different than last year. They have excellent patience with the ball offensively. They handle the ball well inside, and they have a force at the post in Elkins and at the perimeter. They do an excellent job of utilizing their best capabilities offensively by shooting from the perimeter and the post. Added together, those are difficult to defend. They also have a tenacious defense and a well-coached, quality basketball team. We'll have our hands full, so we'll need to play our best four quarters of basketball and maybe more if it's like last year. It will be important to play tough defense. We need to make it difficult for them to score. We'll try to make them work offensively to score. We'll also need to contest shots and make some stops and hopefully build a cushion for ourselves."
Benedict: "Manchester is a solid, well-coached team. They are good ball handlers and shooters. They won't beat themselves. We need to execute against Manchester because they are a good team. In order to beat them, we need to get the ball and do good things with it."
Wawasee at South Bend Riley
Tip-off: 7:30 p.m. in South Bend
Coaches: Jerry Davis (Wawasee), Tom DeBaets (Riley)
Records: Wawasee 0-4, SB Riley 2-3
Last Game: Warsaw 86, Wawasee 59; SB Riley 47, Glenn 39
Last Year: SB Riley 47, Wawasee 36
Matchup: Wawasee is 0-4, but the Warriors have faced Warsaw, DeKalb and Fairfield. Combined, these teams have only two losses. This weekend they face their first opponent with a record under .500, 2-3 South Bend Riley.
Davis: "Dokes (Ronald) inside at 6-8 is a physical speciman, he's agile and they are more disciplined than before, they will look to him for scoring. We have to take care of the ball against their superior quickness and athletic ability. We've gotta take care of the ball and score points."
DeBaets: DeBaets did not return phone calls.
