On The Court Basketball Previews

OREGON-DAVIS AT TRITON (tonight)

Tip-off: 6 p.m. Thursday in Bourbon

Coaches: Bruce Hirschy (Oregon-Davis), Joe Bennett (Triton)

Records: Triton 11-8; Oregon-Davis 8-10

Last Game: Oregon-Davis 43, Westville 31; Triton 57, Culver 40

Last Year: Triton 74, Oregon-Davis 56

Matchup: A 17-point win over Culver last week snapped a two-game skid for the Trojans. Senior forward Brandon Zeider paces the Triton offense with 18.1 points per game. He also pulls down 5.8 rebounds per game. Steven Boyer adds 10 points and three rebounds per game. Senior Brian Klingerman leads the Trojans with 6.7 rebounds per game. Collin Miller leads the Bobcat offense with 20.5 points per game. He also pulls down 10.4 rebounds per contest. Drew Rannells adds six points per game for Oregon-Davis.

Hirschy: "They pose a lot of problems for our team. They are big and they have great outside shooters. Those combinations are the makings of a good team. (Jim) Read and (Brian) Klingerman are both strong. We'll have our hands full."

Bennett: "They are playing their best basketball of the season. They play a lot of seniors, so they will play hungry. We have to keep working on the things we've been doing all year, that's making our man-to-man defense tougher. We also have to work on our zone so we can take away the inside."

KOKOMO AT WARSAW

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

Coaches: Basil Mawbey (Kokomo), Al Rhodes (Warsaw)

Records: Warsaw 15-4, Kokomo 13-6

Last Game: Warsaw 62, Carroll 47; Kokomo 63, Maconaquah 58

Last Year: Did not play

Matchup: The Tigers enter this contest with a five-game win streak on the line. Kokomo comes in after winning eight of its last nine and knocking off 3A No. 1 Maconaquah. Joe Thatcher leads the Wildkat offense with 20 points per game. He also pulls down an average of five boards per game. Blair Crawford adds 12 points and six rebounds per contest. The Tigers are led by a trio of seniors in double figures. Steve Siebenmorgen paces the Tiger offense with 12.5 points per game, followed by Chris Wiggins with 12.2 and Zach Nelson, 11.0. Senior forward Ross Kesler adds nine points per game.

Mawbey: "They are one of the biggest teams we'll have faced this year. Their size is a big factor. We have to play good defense because they are an outstanding offensive team. You start with Indiana Junior All Stars last year Wiggins and Siebenmorgen. Obviously, Nelson, a three-year starter, is good too. Kesler has been impressive too. They have a lot of depth."

Rhodes: "Kokomo, first of all, plays tremendous defense. It's very difficult to play quickly against them. In most of their contests it's been low scoring with an excellent percentage on offense. Thatcher is a big time player. Coach Mawbey has done a great job with them. They've had a better season win-loss-wise than I thought they would. The last three weeks we've made some progress. Our defense still needs to get better, but our offensive execution is better. We still need to improve on our offensive rebounding. Overall I'm pretty pleased with the team. The team attitude is good, especially with the general intensity."

WAWASEE AT WHITKO

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

Coaches: Robb Berger (Wawasee), Steve Pickett (Whitko)

Records: Wawasee 5-14; Whitko 4-15

Last Game: Bremen 79, Wawasee 70 OT; Whitko 83, North Miami 65

Last Year: Whitko 58, Wawasee 49

Matchup: These two teams enter this contest with nearly identical records and hope to finish the regular season with a win. After a slow start last week, Wawasee took 2A No. 7 Bremen to overtime. Whitko picked up its first Three Rivers Conference win of the year with an 83-65 decision over North Miami. Senior Shane Henderson leads Whitko in the scoring column with 12.9 points per game. Junior Ben Ryan scores 9.8 points per game and shoots 45.7 percent from the three-point line. Henderson and Shane Wendel dish out three assists per game each. Senior Jeremy High spearheads the Warrior offense with 14.5 points per contest. He also leads the team in rebounding with 5.9 per game. R.J. Wilson and Andrew Packer add 8.6 and 7.4 points per game, respectively.

Berger: "They've changed quite a bit since the beginning of the season. They have some good young players and they are very multiple in what they do. We have to be ready to recognize the different defenses they run. They've got a good point guard who gets the ball where it needs to go. It's the last game of the season. We have to match their intensity."

Pickett: "They play an agressive 2-3 matchup zone, and they also play a 2-2-1 full court zone press. They play extra hard and very aggressive. Their schedule is the ninth toughest out of 381 schools (Sagarin ratings). Coach Berger is a tremendous coach and he has them playing well."

NO. 2 (4A) MARION AT MANCHESTER

Tip-off: 6:15 p.m. Friday in North Manchester

Coaches: Moe Smedley (Marion), Gary Goshert (Manchester)

Records: Marion 20-1, Manchester 8-11

Last Game: Marion 103, Fort Wayne Snider 64; Manchester 74, Northfield 46

Last Year: Marion 76, Manchester 67

Matchup: Moe Smedley returns to his old stomping ground and brings with him the second-ranked team in class 4A. Mr. Basketball candidate Zach Randolph, a 6'8" center, averages 23.6 points and 15 rebounds per game. Sophomore forward Allen Miller adds 12.2 points per game, while Matt Backs brings 11 points and 5.4 rebounds per game to the Giants. Senior Lee Shafer paces the Squire offensive attack with 14.9 points per contest, while pulling down an average of 5.4 rebounds. David Bazzoni adds 9.9 points and 4.6 assists per game.

Smedley: "They are a fundamentally sound team. Coach Goshert does a good job with ball control. They play hard all the time. Regardless of the records, they always come to play. The Bechtold kid can shoot with anybody, and Shafer is one of the best in the area. (Chris) Lochner might be one of the hardest workers they have."

Goshert: "We have a nice bit of momentum built up over the last three weeks. We don't want to lose that, basically. On paper it's a giant mismatch. This is a no lose game for us. They're the team that's rated in the nation and has all the expectations. We have the opportunity of a small school to play a big school. Upset time. We're approaching the game like that. We're going to let the chips fall into place. If we do that we won't lose our momentum."

NO. 8 (3A) NORTHWOOD AT JOHN GLENN

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

Coaches: Dan Gunn (NorthWood), Gordon Mosson (Glenn)

Records: NorthWood 14-5, John Glenn 14-6

Last Game: Penn 58, NorthWood 55; Glenn 65, Tippecanoe Valley 58 2OT

Last Year: NorthWood 68, Glenn 38

Matchup: Both teams enter this contest after close games last week. The eighth-ranked Panthers fell to Penn, while Glenn survived a double overtime scare from Tippecanoe Valley. Senior Ian Reed led NorthWood against Penn with 17 points. Seniors Charlie Roeder and Brock Doty added 12 and 11 points, respectively, in the loss. Chris Adkins leads the Bobcat offense with 21.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Matt Smith adds 10 points and six rebounds per contest. Matt Jerrell adds 11 points per game.

Gunn: Gunn could not be reached for comment.

Mosson: "Obviously, we have to crowd their shooters and help on penetration. We can't give them a second shot. For us, we have to have a balanced attack inside and out. We can't have unnecessary mistakes."