NAPPANEE – With the effort his squad gave Friday night, Warsaw boys basketball coach Doug Ogle said his team would probably win most games. Against Northern Lakes Conference rival NorthWood, however, it wasn’t quite enough, as the short-handed Tigers trimmed a 13-point deficit to three before falling 54-47 to the host Panthers. “I told the players I’m proud of the way they competed, especially in the second half,” said Ogle, whose team fell to 9-5 overall and 2-2 in the NLC standings. “Against a normal team, that effort would be good enough to win most games.” Ogle said Class 3A No. 8 NorthWood isn’t a normal team however, and the veteran coach complimented the program that coach Aaron Wolfe, a former Warsaw assistant, has built. The Panthers, whose only loss this season was a 54-52 setback to conference frontrunner Northridge, shot 63 percent from the field overall, 11 of 13 from the free throw line, and outrebounded Warsaw 21-16. With the win, NorthWood improved to 12-1 and 4-1. “First of all, NorthWood is an unusual 3A team when you look at their length and athleticism,” said Ogle. “They’re good, really good.” It also didn’t help the Tigers that they were playing without junior starter Rashaan Jackson. Jackson, who was averaging 11 points per game, and classmate Nick Sands were suspended for violating Warsaw Community High School’s athletic code. Sands hasn’t played yet this season, though he was expected to play soon after recovering from a knee injury. Ogle said their suspension “will likely be 10 games.” Warsaw raced out to a 5-0 lead, but NorthWood led 17-12 after one quarter of play, 29-16 at halftime and 41-33 at the end of the third quarter. A basket by junior Jake Mangas brought the Tigers within three, 50-47, with 1:21 remaining, but a bucket by senior Jonathan Wilkinson and a pair of free throws from sophomore Braxton Linville helped the Panthers ice the game. Senior Zach Zurcher, who was 8 of 12 from the field and 4 of 4 at the charity stripe, led NorthWood with a game-high 22 points, while Wilkinson made 5 of 7 shots and 3 of 4 charity tosses en route to 14 points. “Zach Zurcher has been playing well for us,” said Wolfe. “He’s a senior, and his leadership showed up, especially in the first half.” Zurcher scored 12 points in the first half, including 10 in the first quarter. “I thought we established ourselves early in the basket area,” said Wolfe, whose team made 20 of 32 attempts from the field. “Our guys were able to make some plays around the basket, and that helped us shoot a high percentage.” Linville and senior Will Stueve scored six points each for the Panthers. Warsaw finished the game 19 of 40 from the field overall, 5 of 10 from the arc, and 4 of 8 at the free throw line. Senior Jordan Stookey led the Tigers with 16 points, while Mangas added 13 and senior Tim Swanson and senior Nate Pearl scored seven and six, respectively. Sophomore Riley Rhoades saw his first action of the season. After recovering from a hip injury, Rhoades scored two points in six minutes of action in the JV game and play four minutes in the varsity game but didn’t score. “This is a starting point for the group we’re going to play with the rest of the season,” said Ogle. “I was proud of the way we competed, but NorthWood is good, really good. We are finding our way. All things considered, I’m not discouraged. We’re going to use these next six games to get ready for the sectional.” The Tigers are in action again Tuesday when they travel to Dunlap for a rescheduled game with conference rival Concord. NorthWood is slated to host Class 3A No. 7 West Noble Tuesday.
