Second-Half Surge Lifts Warsaw Over GoshenAs the temperatures and snow fell outside Friday night, Warsaw’s varsity boys basketball team heated up inside the Tiger Den.
In a 49-39 Northern Lakes Conference win over the Goshen RedHawks, Warsaw went from shooting 44 percent in the first half to making 59 percent of its attempts in the second half, improving to 9-3 overall and 2-1 in league play.
To the contrary, the RedHawks shot 44 percent from the field in the first half, but just 31 percent over the final two quarters, as they fell to 7-4 overall and 1-2 in the NLC standings.
Goshen, now 0-16 in games in the current Tiger Den, led 13-11 after one quarter of play and 20-19 at halftime.
The Tigers have won 29 of the last 35 games in the series with Goshen.
“It’s difficult for us to score inside, we don’t have a great inside scoring presence and Warsaw does a really good job of making it even more difficult with their defense,” said Goshen coach Michael Wohlford.
“We got some shots on the perimeter in the first half, and they kind of shut that down. Credit the Warsaw defense, I would say that was the difference in the game.”
After giving up 13 points in the first quarter, Warsaw allowed just 15 points over the next 16 minutes. The Tigers built up a lead of 12 points in the second half multiple times.
“I was expecting Goshen to play well, and they did in the first half,” said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle. “They shot well.
“Offensively, we weren’t bad. We said at halftime that on 10 missed shots we had three offensive rebounds, and that’s not gonna get it done. I had told our players earlier in the week that Goshen is good at blocking out. I thought the difference in the game really was our offensive rebounding in the second half. We got some extra possessions, and our depth kind of wore them down.”
In the 10-point win, the Tigers rebounded in more ways than one.
Warsaw dominated Goshen on the boards, 29-15, including a 9-4 advantage on the offensive glass.
It went a long way in the Tigers halting a two-game skid and keeping them in the hunt for a sixth-straight conference title.
Northridge and Plymouth are 3-0 in NLC play after Friday night, while Warsaw and Memorial are both 2-1.
Northridge is responsible for Warsaw’s one conference loss this season.
“All things considered, this is a good win for us … Goshen was 7-3 for a reason,” said Ogle. “We feel good about this win.”
As they have been the majority of the season, the Tigers were balanced Friday night in terms of scoring.
Senior Blake Marsh and junior Luke Adamiec scored 14 points each, while senior Jaylen Coon finished with 11 points.
Sophomore Jackson Dawson made his return from a knee injury and scored six points, and senior Keagan Larsh rounded out the Tigers’ attack with four points.
Senior Zack Barker paced Goshen with 14 points, while sophomore Drew Hogan and senior Jarah Byler scored nine and seven points, respectively.
Freshman Quinn Bechtel was in the starting lineup for Goshen and finished the game with three points.
“Goshen is young … their guards are a sophomore and a freshman,” said Ogle. “I have a great deal of respect for Drew Hogan. Barker is a senior, Byler is a senior, but Hogan is a guy that is a good player.”
Warsaw will be in action again Friday when it travels to Dunlap to play the Concord Minutemen, followed a week later with a trip to Nappanee to face the NorthWood Panthers.
The Tigers won Friday’s JV game by the same 49-39 score, with Jaxson Gould scoring a game-high 20 points, while Kyle Dawson and Judah Simfukwe scored 14 and 12 points, respectively.
Prior to the start of the varsity game, recently retired Grace College men’s basketball coach Jim Kessler - Dawson’s grandfather - was honored for his handprint on the Warsaw program.
Kessler coached the Lancers for 42 seasons and number of former Tigers, including Warsaw legends Jeff Grose, Rick Fox, Kevin Ault, Nic Moore and Kyle Mangas, attended Lancer Camp.
“It was a special night for us because almost all of our players attended Lancer Camp growing up,” said Ogle.
“When you honor someone like a Jim Kessler, who is an icon in our community and who has had a handprint on our program more than people realize, we wanted to play well to add to the honoring of Jim Kessler. He’s been a very meaningful mentor to me over the years as a coach. I just love him, and I was glad we were able to show him how we feel about him.”
