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PLYMOUTH AT WARSAW
Tipoff: 6:15 p.m. Friday in Warsaw
Coaches: Jack Edison (Plymouth), Al Rhodes (Warsaw)
Records: Plymouth 12-3, 3-1 NLC; Warsaw 11-4, 3-2 NLC
Last Game: Plymouth 66, LaPorte 52; Warsaw 65, Elkhart Memorial 63
Last Year: Warsaw 50, Plymouth 47
Matchup: Earlier in the season Plymouth did not have much of an inside presence with underclassmen frontcourt players, but that's changed over the last month. The Pilgrims have knocked off NorthWood and Northridge to put themselves in a position to win a share of the Northern Lakes Conference title with NorthWood, also 3-1 in the NLC. Plymouth's one conference loss? To Wawasee. Edison attributed the loss to Wawasee's outstanding play on that night. Rhodes downplays Warsaw's conference chances, as the Tigers no longer control their own destiny with NorthWood ahead of them -ÊNorthWood played Warsaw earlier this season and won. Senior guard John Pettibone leads Plymouth with 16.5 points per game. Reserve center Jeff Stetler scored a career-high 24 points in Plymouth's last game. With a diagnosis today yet to take place, Rhodes is optimistic senior forward Steve Siebenmorgen, sidelined with a concussion the last four games, will return against Plymouth to play 15 to 20 minutes. Siebenmorgen's headaches stopped last Thursday. He's been running in practice this week but has not competed in contact drills. Siebenmorgen leads Warsaw with 13.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Senior guard Chris Wiggins adds 12.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Zach Nelson, a 6-foot-6 senior center, adds 12.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Senior guard Ross Kesler scores 8.8 points per game on 60 percent shooting from the field.
Edison: "We're pretty inconsistent. One quarter we play decent, the next quarter we let up. The last couple of games we've shot well and held on from there. The nights we do not shoot the ball well at the start, we seem to struggle the rest of the game. Warsaw is the type of team that defensively, they take so much away and don't let you get off to good starts. We present them no match-up troubles. We don't match up with them in the post at all, and we have nobody to match up with Wiggins. Then Kesler drives the ball to the basket so well. Our biggest concern is that Warsaw is a strong rebounding team, probably the best rebounding team we've faced all year. Whether we shoot the ball well or not at the start is the key for us."
Rhodes: "I think since the Holiday Tournament, Plymouth seems to have improved with wins over Northridge and NorthWood. (Plymouth) is starting to rebound better, and they're getting good play from Stetler inside. This Plymouth team runs their offense very well. Plymouth has had good teams the last two years, but this team runs its offense better than those teams did. You have to focus on Pettibone, but all of their guards can shoot the three. Plymouth playing for a share of the conference makes them tough to beat."
TIPPECANOE VALLEY AT WABASH
Tipoff: 6:15 p.m. Friday in Wabash
Coaches: Bill Patrick (Valley), Mike Noszka (Wabash)
Records: Valley 11-3, Wabash 0-14
Last Game: Valley 55, Manchester 44; Northfield 75, Wabash 49
Last Year: Valley 83, Wabash 58
Matchup: The Vikings are in the midst of a seven-game winning streak. Wabash, on the other hand, is looking for its first win of the season. Senior Brandon Eaton spearheads the Valley offense with his 21.2 points per game average. He also pulls down 5.9 rebounds per game. Cody New has played in two games this year and is averaging 12 points per game. Freshman Trey Eaton adds 9.9 points and 5.5 caroms per contest. Wabash is led by Greg Ripple's 18 points and six rebounds per game. Jeremy Landis averages 10 points per game. Pete Lundy chips in with six boards per game.
Patrick: "I'm real concerned because it's tough to go through a season with no wins. Somewhere they're going to beat somebody. Obviously we have to play there, that's tough. They play solid man-to-man defense and they work real hard not letting you get the ball where you want it to go. Basically they force you to the baseline. We can't let them do what they want defensively. Most people assume when a team doesn't have any wins that all you have to do is show up and you'll win. That's not the case."
Noszka: "Their size will be a problem. Size has been a problem for us. The Eatons, Brandon and Trey, are talented. They are very disciplined in what they do offensively. They set good screens. One thing we have to do is help each other defensively and recover. We have to cover the Eaton kids and get to the others. If we just let them execute their offense they will. We have to take them out of their game, and that won't be easy."
MANCHESTER AT CHURUBUSCO
Tipoff: 6:15 p.m. Friday in Churubusco
Coaches: Gary Goshert (Manchester), Ross Hales (Churubusco)
Records: Manchester 6-8; Churubusco 7-8
Last Game: T. Valley 55, Manchester 44; Angola 63, Churubusco 60
Last Year: Manchester 57, Churubusco 50
Matchup: Both teams come in battling to get to the .500 mark. The Squires are on a five-game losing streak after being 6-3 at one point. Senior Lee Shafer leads the Squires in the scoring column with 13.6 points per game. David Bazzoni averages 10.6 points per game, and Anthony Frieden comes in averaging 8.8 points per game. Shafer leads Manchester with 5.5 rebounds per contest as well. Churubusco is led by David Keister's 16 points and 11 rebounds per contest average. James Ford adds 14 points and six assists per contest for the Eagles. Jacob Shearer chips in with 11 points per game.
Goshert: "They have two players that have been playing varsity for three years, in Ford and Keister. Ford is the high-scoring point guard type and Keister is strong and long-armed and very physical. As those kids go so does their team. They're pretty deliberate with the basketball in the half court set. They like to drive with the basketball but then they have two 6'4' kids inside. We have to control Ford and Keister and not let anyone else go crazy on us, and we need to put some points on the board."
Hales: "I definitely know they are well coached. They've kind of struggled in a couple of games. I'm very happy we have them at home, a definite plus. Manchester is a very tough place to play at. I know it will be a good, fundamentally sound team coming here. Consistency has been our biggest problem."
NORTHWOOD AT GOSHEN
Tipoff: 6:15 p.m. Friday in Goshen
Coaches: Dan Gunn (NorthWood), Brian Bechtel (Goshen)
Records: NorthWood 11-3, 3-1 NLC; Goshen 3-11, 1-3 NLC
Last Game: Plymouth 52, NorthWood 49; Penn 52, Goshen 45
Last Year: NorthWood 65, Goshen 48
Matchup: After a loss to NorthWood last week, Plymouth can't afford to lose another conference game. The Panthers are tied with Plymouth with a 3-1 record in the Northern Lakes Conference. Senior Charlie Roeder leads the Panthers in the scoring column with nearly 18 points per game. He also adds 6.5 rebounds per game. Senior Brock Doty adds 15.4 points per contest.
Gunn: "They play good zone defense. We have to be rebound conscious and shot-selection conscious. I think those things are going to be very important. We wanna win every game, but to win the conference this is a must-win."
Bechtel: "They're a very good team in transition. We have to take care of the ball offensively. We need to mix up defenses and keep them on their toes. We want to put good pressure on the ball so they can't just pass the ball and get comfortable in their offensive patterns."
CONCORD AT WAWASEE
Tipoff: 6:15 p.m. Friday in Syracuse
Coaches: Ryan Culp (Concord), Robb Berger (Wawasee)
Records: Concord 4-9, 1-3 NLC; Wawasee 3-10, 1-3 NLC
Last Game: SB Adams 60, Concord 44; Wawasee 55, East Noble 52
Last Year: Concord 63, Wawasee 49
Matchup: One of these teams will walk away with its second Northern Lakes Conference win of the season. Jeremy High is the only Warrior averaging in double-figure scoring at 14.4. He also averages 6.1 rebounds per game. Five Wawasee players average either five or six points. Sophomore John Morningstar, a 6'9' center, leads Concord with 9.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per contest. Brant Fowler and Tom Martin add nine points per game each.
Culp: "#They play super-aggressive defensively. They look to the trap. It's like having six or seven guys on defense. Their inside play is strong with High and Packer. And they have leadership there (in the post)."
Berger: "We're going to try and defend him (Morningstar) and pack him in a little bit and try and deny him the ball. The biggest threats for us are Martin and Fowler. It's tough to guard a big guy and then get back to their shooters. We have to take care of the ball. They press a little bit, so we have to take care of the ball."
WHITKO AT OAK HILL
Tipoff: 6:15 p.m. Friday in Converse
Coaches: Steve Pickett (Whitko), Flava Sirk (Oak Hill)
Records: Whitko 3-11, 0-3 TRC; Oak Hill 9-4,3-1
Last Game: Whitko 44, Fort Wayne Wayne 43: Peru 100, Oak Hill 85
Last Year: Oak Hill 64, Whitko 57
Matchup: If Oak Hill is to earn at least a share of the Three Rivers Conference, it must win this game. The Eagles stand at 3-1 in the conference and still have a matchup with Tippecanoe Valley, the only undefeated team in the TRC. Ty Henderson is second in the conference in terms of scoring with 19.3 per game. Marcus Hall adds another 18.6 points per contest. Hall leads the team in rebounding with just over eight per contest. Tyler Planck adds 7.3 boards per game. Shane Henderson spearheads the Wildcat offensive attack with 13.2 points per game. Ben Ryan adds another 11.4 points per contest. Brandon Waller is averaging just under 10 points per game. J.R. Manuel leads the Wildcats with 5.3 rebounds per game.
Pickett: "I know they have a couple good scorers. They are very well coached. We're playing there so that'll obviously be difficult. We need to meet their hunger and intensity. It's a conference game so it shouldn't have to do a lot to get the kids motivated."
Sirk: "I know from last year we have to handle Henderson and Ryan. I know they've been playing well recently. They had a huge win over a good Fort Wayne team. We have three games in the TRC and we can't have any slip-ups. We have to take care of Whitko and then Southwood and Valley. The good thing is they're all at home. If we lose one of those games we're on the outside looking in and Valley is the champ. We have to take one at a time."
ARGOS AT TRITON
Tipoff: 6:30 p.m. Friday in Bourbon
Coaches: Doug Snyder (Argos), Joe Bennett (Triton)
Records: Argos 4-9, Triton 8-6
Last Game: Westville 64, Argos 57 OT; Triton 62, New Prairie 45
Last Year: Argos 62, Triton 56
Matchup: These two teams met twice a year ago and split 1-1. Triton has the bragging rights after topping the Dragons in the sectional championship. Senior Brandon Zeider leads the Trojan scoring attack with 18.8 points per game. He also averages 5.4 rebounds per game. No other Trojan averages in double figures, but Joey Potter is the closest, with 8.3 points per contest. Senior Austin Unterbrink, a four-year starter, averages 6.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. Josh VanVactor leads the Dragon offense with an average of 12 points per game.
Snyder: "They have an experienced team back from last year. Good varsity experience is what we've lacked. We basically have last year's JV team. We have no seniors. They have height with Read and Klingerman and that'll be a problem for us. They can hurt you outside as well. We want to extend the court a bit and get some turnovers. We can't allow them second chance shots."
Bennett: "They play awfully hard. Defensively they are very sound. They get balanced scoring from a lot of kids. They can bring a couple freshmen off the bench and get scoring. We have to match their aggressiveness and hunger. We also have to take care of the ball and end well."
