Persistence Pays Off

ELKHART -ÊSeveral years ago during his then annual speech to the Indiana University student body, Hoosier basketball coach Bob Knight talked about consistent and persistent.

He never understood why so many people used the word consistent as a positive basketball term. If you turn the ball over all the time, he said, you are consistent at that.

He wanted persistent basketball players, players who don't quit no matter what.

Elkhart Memorial coach Steve Johnson watched his team run into a persistent bunch of Warsaw players in Thursday's Elkhart Central Sectional. Warsaw (18-3) beat Memorial (9-12) 66-49 to advance to tonight's championship game against Elkhart Central (14-7).

"(Warsaw) is persistent," he said. "They just come at you. They reload then come at you some more. They do so many things well."

On this night, the Tigers did two things well: Get the ball inside on offense and play air-tight defense.

First, the offense. The Tigers hit 25 of 42 field goals (60 percent); 21 of the 25 field goals came in the paint.

Warsaw 6-foot-5 junior forward Steve Siebenmorgen led all scorers with 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting, to go along with eight rebounds. He scored seven of 10 during a key 10-0 run where Warsaw took control.

"We play by what choices the other team makes," Warsaw coach Al Rhodes said. "All five of our starters have led us in scoring in one game or another.

"We went to Steve at crucial times."

With Warsaw up 30-24, Warsaw 6-6 junior center Zach Nelson kicked off the 10-0 run by scoring inside at the 4:30 mark of the third quarter. Ross Kesler hit a free throw, then Siebenmorgen closed the run with the last seven points to put Warsaw up 40-24 with 1:18 left in the third.

"We had a fast-break layup in there," Rhodes said, "and we got the ball inside and finished plays.

"During that one stretch we got the ball to the attack areas, and I think fatigue on their part may have set in."

Now, the defense. Elkhart Memorial had but 12 points with 2:02 left in the first half. The Crimson Chargers hit just 5 of 19 field goals (26 percent) in the first half, including only 1 of 9 (11 percent) in the second quarter.

Memorial's offense eventually picked up, but only after it was too late, after Warsaw took a 40-24 lead. Even then, the Crimson Chargers were only matching the Tigers basket for basket - Warsaw outscored Memorial 26-25 the rest of the way -Êand they were unable to cut into the lead for any amount of time.

Part of the reason Memorial never got going was because 6-3 junior forward Nick Slabaugh never got going. Slabaugh, who scored 25 in Memorial's 77-51 regular-season loss to Warsaw, scored six last night. He came in leading the Crimson Chargers with 16 per game.

"Ross Kesler and Jason Barrett did an excellent job on Slabaugh," Rhodes said. "He hurt us the first time. We didn't want him to catch and shoot. He was our No. 1 concern coming in."

Only one Memorial player - 6-3 senior forward Aaron Maurer -Êscored in double figures. He finished with 18. He did not play against Warsaw in the regular season.

From the beginning, Johnson felt Warsaw's defense had his Crimson Chargers on their heels, and this is why they hit 5 of 19 field goals in the first half.

"They changed defenses on us, but they have changed defenses like that all year," he said. "They used a 1-3-1 trap, but the majority of the time, they went man-for-man.

"We were cautious because they were that good. The more you wait, the deeper they push you out. Their defense caused our cautiousness."

Chris Wiggins added 12 points and Ross Kesler 10 for the Tigers. Kesler also had eight rebounds and six assists.

While Siebenmorgen shouldered the load, Johnson left just as impressed with his teammates.

"When the day comes that a team stops Warsaw's inside game, their outside game will be there," he said. "I'm confident of that. They are a good basketball team."

The Tigers, who have won 13 sectional titles under Rhodes, search for No. 14 when they meet Elkhart Central at 7:30 p.m. The Tigers beat Central 69-53 during the regular season, but Central has won eight of its last nine and starts an all-senior lineup. The Blue Blazers are an up-tempo basketball team that thrives on converting turnovers into points.

"Elkhart Central is a great team," Rhodes said. "I don't like that we won't have any practice time to prepare for them."

Elkhart Central 72

Goshen 55

In the battle of the full- and half-court teams, the full-court team, Elkhart Central, used its transition game in the third quarter to pull away from Goshen in the other sectional game. Elkhart Central, 14-7, advanced to meet 18-3 Warsaw in tonight's Elkhart Central Sectional championship game. Goshen ended its season 9-12.

Central's defense forced the Redskins into nine third-quarter turnovers, several of which turned into long outlet passes down the court for layups. Central's starting backcourt of James Scott and Anthony Kyle combined for 21 points in the quarter as the Blue Blazers outscored the Redskins 23-11 in the third.

What was a 28-26 Central lead at halftime turned into a 51-37 lead entering the fourth quarter. Goshen never threatened Central's lead the rest of the way.

Kyle led Central with 21 points, while Scott added 20. Center Tom Hoogenboom paced Goshen with 24 points and 13 rebounds.

Central sprinted out to a 17-3 lead with 3:31 left in the first quarter. But thanks to good ball-handling in the second quarter, Goshen got Central into a half-court game in the second quarter to pull within two at halftime. Only two turnovers in the quarter gave Central few opportunities to start fastbreaks in the quarter.

"We missed a couple of layuups and four or five free throws," Central coach Mike Drews said. "When we hit the dry stretch, they got the offensive rebounds, and we couldn't fastbreak.

"What triggered the 17-3 run was we played good defense - excellent defense - and had excellent outlet passes to start our fastbreaks."

Sitting outside his locker room on a metal folding chair, Goshen coach Mike Sorrell, toweling the sweat off his face, said nearly the same thing.

"We were able to hurt them when we handled the ball," he said. "They couldn't guard us."

ELKHART CENTRAL 72

GOSHEN 55

E. Central (14-7) 19 9 23 21 - 72

Goshen (9-12) 11 15 11 18 - 55

Elkhart Central FG FT A S R Pts.

Kyle (G) 8-12 3-5 2 2 0 21

Scott (G) 7-15 4-4 2 2 4 20

Riley (C) 5-8 3-7 1 1 12 13

Melvin (F) 5-11 0-0 6 3 3 11

Church (F) 1-4 1-4 0 4 6 3

VanNorman 1-1 2-4 0 0 3 4

Harwell 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 0

Edwards 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0

Johnson 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Hoke 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Totals 27-54 13-24 11 13 29 72

Goshen FG FT A S R Pts.

Hoognbm (C) 10-17 4-7 0 0 13 24

Keister (F) 4-9 1-1 1 1 2 13

Mikel (G) 4-11 2-2 2 2 4 11

Kurtz (F) 1-4 0-0 5 1 4 2

Latham (G) 0-1 1-2 0 1 2 1

Hughes 1-1 2-2 0 0 0 4

Defrees 0-3 0-0 1 0 3 0

Kincaid 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0

Rossi 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0

Faulkner 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0

Mast 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Bartley 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Totals 20-47 10-14 11 5 29 55

Three-point goals -ÊElkhart Central 5-13 (Scott 2-7, Kyle 2-2, Melvin 1-3, Edwards 0-1), Goshen 5-11 (Keister 4-7, Mikel 1-3, Latham 0-1). Turnovers -ÊElkhart Central 12, Goshen 19. Total fouls -ÊElkhart Central 12, Goshen 19. Fouled out -ÊHoogenboom.

Officials -ÊJerry Stieglitz, Mark Sewell.

WARSAW 66

E. MEMORIAL 49

Warsaw (18-3) 8 13 19 26 - 66

E. Memorial (10-12) 9 6 11 23 - 49

Warsaw FG FT A S R Pts.

Sbenmorgn (F) 10-15 4-7 1 2 8 26

Wiggins (G) 5-8 2-2 6 2 2 12

Rs. Kesler (G) 4-6 2-3 6 1 8 10

Nelson (C) 4-7 0-0 0 1 3 8

Rb. Kesler (G) 1-3 4-4 3 2 0 6

Barrett 0-1 2-2 2 0 2 2

Seiss 1-1 0-0 0 1 4 2

Donkers 0-0 0-0 2 1 2 0

Henthorn 0-1 0-0 1 0 1 0

Grossnickle 0-0 0-0 2 0 1 0

Rhodes 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0

Compson 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Totals 25-42 14-1#8 24 10 33 66

Elkhart Memorial FG FT A S R Pts.

Maurer (F) 7-16 3-4 2 1 6 18

Daiber (C) 3-7 3-4 1 0 8 9

Young (G) 3-8 0-0 1 0 3 7

Slabaugh (F) 2-6 2-2 0 2 6 6

Davis (G) 1-5 1-6 4 1 1 4

Stout 0-4 3-4 0 2 0 3

Pierson 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 2

Slayton 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0

Sims 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Kominowski 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Totals 17-48 12-20 8 6 24 49

Three-point goals -ÊWarsaw 2-6 (Siebenmorgen 2-3, Wiggins 0-2, Rb. Kesler 0-1), Elkhart Memorial 3-13 (Maurer 1-4, Davis 1-3, Young 1-2, Slabaugh 0-2, Stout 0-1, Slayton 0-1). Turnovers -ÊWarsaw 14, Elkhart Memorial 12. Fouled out -ÊDavis. Total fouls -ÊWarsaw 20, Elkhart Memorial 18.

Officials -ÊJeff Morrett, Bob Childers.