On The Court Basketball Previews

WARSAW AT No. 5 (3A) PLYMOUTH (NLC)

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

Coaches: Al Rhodes (Warsaw), Jack Edison (Plymouth)

Records: Warsaw 12-5, 4-2 NLC; Plymouth 12-2, 5-1 NLC

Last game: Plymouth 54, Goshen 40; Warsaw 84, Marion 72

Last year: Warsaw 50, Plymouth 44

Matchup: Plymouth already has clinched at least a share of the NLC title as every other conference team has at least two losses. Should Warsaw beat Plymouth, both would share the title with 5-2 records, along with possibly Goshen and NorthWood, each 4-2 entering their games tonight. Plymouth has won five straight, while Warsaw has won five of six. Plymouth may be the best defensive team Warsaw sees this season as the Pilgrims employ Edison's switching man-to-man defense and allow just 48.7 points per game. But winning on Marion's home floor has given Warsaw a renewed confidence, and the Tigers appear to be peaking as the regular season winds down. Josh Buck leads Warsaw with 15.1 points per game and is followed by Greg Clay (9.8 ppg), Chris Clay (8.0 ppg), Paul Finnegan (8.0 ppg), Brian Johnson (7.1 ppg) and Trent Martin (7.0 ppg). Finnegan averages 5.7 rebounds per game, and Buck adds 5.4 rpg. Warsaw shoots 52 percent from the floor and scores 63.9 ppg. Warsaw's opponents shoot 46 percent from the floor and average 53.6 ppg. Last week Warsaw scored several baskets on back cuts against Marion, and the Tigers may hope for those kind of points again this week as Plymouth likes to extend its defense out front on the perimeter.

Rhodes: "Confidence is the key to a team taking big strides, and that [Marion] win came at a good time leading into the Plymouth game. As I watched Plymouth against Bremen, I was impressed with their patience, the number of ball reversals and the quality of shot they waited for. When you look at Plymouth this year, it's not that this player or that player is great, but their team as a unit is impressive. It's important we do a good job of ball-handling and always still see the basket area this game because Plymouth's pressure is very intense on the basketball. When you play Plymouth, the people who are open are not the people coming off screens. Plymouth switches so often on defense, you have to take advantage of your screeners. Northridge always gets baskets by design against Plymouth by using their switching [on defense] against them. A big key for us this game is shot selection. Patience will be a key."

Edison: "The last few weeks Warsaw has gone from a good team to an outstanding team. With Finnegan back, it strengthens them at all positions, because I'm not sure what position he is. He can be a point guard, or he can post up. They have so much depth, their fourth or fifth man off the bench isn't a letdown. Sometimes they bring a better shooter in off the bench, somtimes they bring somebody in with more quickness, sometimes they bring in better athletes. This may be one of the most athletic teams we've seen as far as quickness and defense. Their half-court defense really takes teams out of what they're trying to do. We have to rely on our defense. If it's mediocre, we won't outscore anybody. The extra game with Memorial changes things around. Now there's a chance for four teams to tie for first."

MANCHESTER AT WHITKO (TRC)

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

Coaches: Gary Goshert (Manchester); Steve Pickett (Whitko)

Records: Manchester 9-6, 4-2 TRC; Whitko 8-7, 3-3 TRC

Last Game: Manchester 40, Northfield 38; Whitko 64, North Miami 60

Last Year: Manchester 54, Whitko 45

Matchup: This is a battle of Three Rivers Conference rivals. Manchester is hoping for a Tippecanoe Valley loss to have chance at a piece of the TRC pie. A Valley loss and a Manchester win will make the Squires and the Vikings share the TRC title. Oak Hill is in there is well, so when all is said and done Friday night, three teams could share the TRC championship. The Squires will look to Anthony Frieden (11.0 ppg) and Nate Kerr (10.2 ppg) to lead the scroing attack. Kerr also leads Manchester in rebounding with 5.7 per game, while Klint Rupley adds 4.9 rpg. Whitko is coming on strong heading into the last games of the season. The Wildcats will look to Alex Frantz (15.4 ppg), Josh Hoffman (13.3 ppg) and Adam Wendel (11.7 ppg) to lead their scoring attack. Whitko will also look to Hoffman (6.9 rpg) and Frantz (5.7 rpg) to pull down the boards as well.

Goshert: "The Whitko team has improved as much as anyone in the area in the last month. They have some excellent basketball players. They kids have the skills to score inside. Frantz is all over the offensive boards, and he shoots the mid-range jumper and had a nice inside game. Wendel is a steady influence on the team. He can shoot outside and has good size. They have five really nice kids starting, and off the bench they have some depth and youth. That's the makings of a good solid team. We have to go over there for a TRC game, it will definitely be difficult. We will have to find a way to defend and contain their weapons. The key for us will be handling the ball and getting good shots off."

Pickett: "Manchester is very well-coached. They have strong gueards in Frieden and the Sortg brothers. Klay Bechtold is a tremendous outside shooter who shoots the three-ball very well. They also have goos post players in Rupley and Kerr. Manchester plays a lot of guys, they have a lot of depth. We have been practicing defense and containing their perimeter shots. We are also working on our transition defense. Obviously blocking out, dribble penetration and turnovers will be keys."

WAWASEE AT GOSHEN (NLC)

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

Coaches: Phil Mishler (Wawasee), Brian Bechtel (Goshen)

Records: Wawasee 4-11, 1-5 NLC; Goshen 8-7, 4-2 NLC

Last game: Wawasee 69, Northridge 65; Plymouth 54, Goshen 40

Last year: Goshen 71, Wawasee 62

Matchup: Last week Wawasee ended a nine-game losing streak dating back to mid-December. The Warriors did it by beating a 6-10 Northridge team that has lost five in a row and seven of eight. Andrew Packer, who leads Wawasee with 12.5 points per game, delivered 22 in the win over Northridge. Also having a big night was Justin VanLue, who hit four three-pointers and scored 14. After Packer, Scott Beasley adds 8.2 ppg, and VanLue chips in with 6.4 ppg. Packer leads Wawasee with 8.9 rpg. Brandon Hughes scores 14 ppg for Goshen and is followed by Andrew Hershberger with 13 and Jeremiah Gamauf with 13. Hershberger leads with 9.0 rpg. These two teams met in December when Wawasee hosted and lost to Goshen 68-55 in the NLC Tournament. The first quarter has been troublesome for the Warriors this year as opponents have outscored them by 69 points, 253-184. The most teams have outscored Wawasee in any other quarter is 39 in the third.

Mishler: "The win adds a little bit of life. The winter months are long anyway, and when you're not winning, that makes playing even tougher. I think Goshen depends on penetration. When we first played, they were just discovering themselves. Now Brandon Hughes has stepped up as a leader, and our players need to be aware of that and try to keep the ball out of his hands as much as possible."

Bechtel: "I think our pressure defense was pretty good against Wawasee the first time, and we were able to create some turnovers. We shot the ball pretty good and were able to get some easy shots, whether we got the ball to the basket by dribble penetration or by feeding the post. Since then, Wawasee has seemed to open up its offense. You now have Packer stepping out on the perimeter, something he did often against Northridge, and their guards are attacking the basket off the dribble."

BREMEN AT TRITON (NSC)

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

Coaches: Gary Hudson (Bremen), Joe Bennett (Triton)

Records: Bremen 6-8, 3-2 NSC; Triton 10-4, 4-1 NSC

Last game: Bremen 59, Jimtown 41; Triton 101, LaVille 55

Last year: Bremen 64, Triton 60 (OT)

Matchup: The Trojans hit 11 of 17 three-pointers in their 101-55 win against LaVille. Six players scored between nine and 18 points for Triton. Jim Read leads a balanced Triton attack with 11.9 ppg and is followed by Tyson Blackford (9.2 ppg), Jake Burnett (8.9 ppg), Steven Boyer (8.6 ppg) and Joey Potter (8.6 ppg). Triton is outrebounding opponents by an average of 27-18. The Trojans have won six of their last seven, while Bremen has lost four of its last six. Bremen's Kevin Faulstich and Greg Neeley each average 9.5 ppg, and Nick Bragg adds 8.0 ppg. Faulstich also leads in rebounding (4.5) and assists (3.0) per game.

Hudson: "Triton seems to be very athletic at every position on the court. They shoot the ball well, they have a really aggressive defense, especially guarding the basketball, and they are an excellent transition team. They love to get up and down the floor. On any given night, any Triton player can hurt you. Blackford is a great point guard, but Potter and Read are athletic in the post. [Burnett] can shoot the ball well, and [Boyer] is a great defender."

Bennett: "Bremen is well-balanced offensively, they rebound well, and they are well-coached defensively. They'll play man, 2-3 zone or 1-3-1 zone. I'm sure for teams who play us it's a matter of our balance on offense. It's hard to know who to try to take away on our team."

TIPPECANOE VALLEY AT NORTH MIAMI

Tip-off: 6 p.m. Friday in Denver

Coaches: Bill Patrick (Valley); John Burrus (North Miami)

Records: Valley 11-4, 5-1 TRC; North Miami 6-8, 2-4 TRC

Last game: Tippecanoe Valley 73, Oak Hill 60; Whitko 64, North Miami 60

Last year: Valley 74, North Miami 49

Matchup: Tippecanoe Valley is coming off a big Three Rivers Conference win over Oak Hill last weekend. A win over North Miami would secure Valley's second consecutive TRC Championship. However, a loss by Valley and wins by Manchester and Oak Hill would make a three-way tie for the TRC title. The Vikings will look to Cody New to lead the team. New averages 23.9 points per game, while pulling down 9.0 rebounds per game and grabbing 1.6 steals per contest. Trey Eaton is another force to be reckoned with, scoring 17.8 points and pulling down 7.8 rebounds per game. North Miami is looking to be the spoiler for the Vikings. After a close loss to Whitko, the Warriors are loooking to end the TRC season with a victory. Matt Deeds leads North Miami in both scoring (13.4 ppg) and rebounding (6.9 rpg). The Warrriors will also look to Brandon Fouts (11.3 ppg, 2.6 assists per game, 2.4 steals per game) add to their offensive production.

Patrick: "North Miami has lots of players who can play. They can go eight or nine deep. They handle the ball well. They play really hard and hustle. We will have to be ready to play hard for 32 minutes. We will have to be patient with their zone defense. This is a big game."

Burrus: "Cody New and Trey Eaton are the keys to Valley's team. They build their team around them. Most of their offense depends on what kind of game they are having. What we are trying to do is not to stop them, but to find ways to slow them down. I think we match up pretty well with their other players. We fell against Valley we will need to use the advantages we have. We will try to make them be very patient and work for good shots. Offensively, we want to execute and make them play more defense. We are very excited about this game. They play us at home, and we have not been blown out at home this year. The kids are very excited."

NORTHWOOD AT ELKHART MEMORIAL

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

Coaches: Dan Gunn (NorthWood); Steve Johnson (Elkhart Memorial)

Records: NorthWood 10-7, 4-2 NLC; Elkhart Memorial 5-10, 3-3 NLC

Last Game: NorthWood 69, Westview 41

Last Year: NorthWood 65, Elkhart Memorial 55

Matchup: NorthWood is on a four game winning streak and hopes to extend it to five with a win over Northern Lakes Conference opponent Elkhart Memorial Friday. The Panthers will look to three players for a majority of their scoring. Rory Clouse leads the NorthWood squad with 16.5 ppg, while Ryan Bradley chips in 14.6 and Willy Will adds 14.1. Closue also leads the Panthers in rebounding with 5.9 rpg, while Will pulls down 5.3 rpg. Elkahrt Memorial is coming off an NLC loss to Warsaw. Against Warsaw, Erik Smith and Quennel Young led the scoring attack with 22 and 14 points, respectively. Young also pulled down eight rebounds for Elkhart Memorial.

Gunn: "Elkhart Memorial is a lot better at home than on the road, and they have three scorers who are likely to erupt an any time. [Erik] Smith, Quennel Young and [Kyle] Sears are very good players. This is a team that goes to the offensive board very hard. We could have [part of the NLC title], but a lot of things have to happen. Warsaw has to win at Plymouth, and that's never easy to do, and we have to beat Memorial. Against Westview, we shot the ball well and played good defense, got people in the passing lanes and disrupted their offense."

Johnson: Johnson did not return phone calls.