Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
MIDDLEBURY - For the second consecutive game, Warsaw's varsity boy basketball team watched as the opposing team's big man stole the show.
Last Saturday, in a 64-60 Tiger loss, it was Fort Wayne North's 6-foot-8 Ross McGregor who burned Warsaw with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting.
Friday it was Northridge's 6-7 Aaron Thomas who lit the nets on fire with his 47 points on 15-of-21 shooting from the field. The senior was also 13 of 14 at the charity stripe and pulled down 11 rebounds.
Northridge, 5-0 and 1-0 in the Northern Lakes Conference and ranked No. 2 in Class 3A, topped the Tigers 75-56. Warsaw, who came in ranked sixth in Class 4A, falls to 4-2 overall and 1-1 in league play.
Thomas' offensive outburst broke Northridge's school record for points in a game. The previous record of 46 was set in 1972.
Those who sat in the stands would say Thomas was the difference in this highly touted conference matchup. Warsaw coach Al Rhodes said he disagreed.
"The difference in this game was how poor we played in the first quarter," said Rhodes. "We had 10 turnovers in the first quarter. That set the tone of the game. That put us in a hole at that point and got us scrambling. Aaron did a nice job of taking over. He had three big threes that helped maintain their lead."
Thomas' three treys came in the first three minutes of the third quarter and stretched Northridge's advantage from 15-8 to 24-8 with 5:23 remaining in the quarter. Thomas scored 15 in the second stanza to give the Raiders a 32-19 advantage at the half. Thomas was 8 of 9 from the field in the first half after missing his first shot of the game.
Thomas added six points in the first 2:30 of the third quarter as Northridge ran out to a 40-22 lead. The Tigers were able to close within nine, 45-36, at the end of three quarters after junior Trent Martin made good on three trey attempts in the final three minutes of the third quarter.
Martin ended the game with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting. Senior Steve Siebenmorgen led Warsaw in the scoring column with 21 points. Seniors Ross Kesler and Zach Nelson added nine points each.
The Tigers were as close as eight in the fourth quarter but spent much of the second half trailing by 10 to 12 points.
A Siebenmorgen field goal at the 3:24 mark of the final frame cut Northridge's advantage to 53-45.
"The game was winable when we had it down to eight points," said Rhodes. "We get it under seven and anything can happen. We just couldn't get it under seven. The last 2:30 we were just practicing."
Northridge outscored the Tigers 17-13 in the third quarter and 30-20 in the fourth quarter, accounting for the 19-point win.
Warsaw hosts 1-3 Elkhart Central tonight at 6:15 p.m.
"They're an improving team," said Rhodes of Central, last year's state runner-up. "They're picking up the pieces. We're picking up the pieces. It's a preview of a sectional oppenent. We should be excited. We put a lot in this game (Northridge) and got bad results. Now it's about mental toughness."
NORTHRIDGE 75
WARSAW 56
Warsaw (4-2) 6 13 17 20 - 56
Northridge (5-0) 15 17 13 30 - 75
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
B. Seiss (G) 0-2 0-0 1 0 0
Martin 3-5 0-0 0 0 9
Buck 1-4 1-2 1 2 4
Wiggins 1-4 0-0 2 0 2
Henthorn 1-2 0-0 0 0 2
Walmer 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Kesler (G) 4-8 1-2 3 0 9
Finnegan (F) 0-3 0-0 3 0 0
Rhodes 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
G. Seiss 0-0 0-0 2 0 0
Siebenmorgen (F) 6-8 8-9 4 2 21
Nelson (F) 4-10 1-2 1 1 9
Total 20-48 11-15 20 5 56
Northridge FG FT R S Pts.
Fayze (G) 3-4 3-4 3 2 9
Pletcher (G) 0-1 6-8 2 3 8
Thomas (F) 15-21 13-14 11 1 47
Weirich (G) 2-4 4-6 0 0 9
Anderson (F) 0-2 3-5 4 1 3
Toth 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
Mast 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
Totals 20-32 29-38 24 7 75
Three-point goals - Warsaw 5 (Martin 3, Buck 1, Siebenmorgen 1), Northridge 5 (Thomas 4, Weirich 1). Turnovers - Warsaw 15, Northridge 13. Fouls - Warsaw 25, Northridge 15. Fouled out - Siebenmorgen, Anderson
JV - Warsaw 47, Northridge 19
