Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
ELKHART - Knowing what kind of shooter Kevin Sindle is, fourth-year Warsaw boys basketball coach Doug Ogle said he didn't think the Elkhart Memorial senior would repeat Tuesday's performance.
Ogle was right.
Three days after missing all six of his three-point attempts in a game against South Bend Riley, Sindle buried five three-pointers against the Tigers Friday night, scoring a game-high 34 points and leading the Crimson Chargers to a 65-46 win at historic North Side Gym.
"Sindle played really well throughout the game," said Ogle, whose team fell to 7-8 overall and 2-4 in Northern Lakes Conference action. "He's very good."
Sindle finished the evening 13 of 22 from the field, 5 of 11 from three-point range, and made 3 of 4 free throw attempts. He also pulled down a team-high six rebounds, as the Crimson Chargers improved to 15-2 overall and 5-1 in the NLC.
Warsaw, which is guaranteed its first losing record in the NLC since the 1987-88 season and just its third in 28 years, opened the second quarter with an 8-0 run to take a 19-14 lead.
It was a lead, however, that was short-lived, as Memorial scored the game's next 15 points and finished the first half on a 19-2 run.
"We became impatient on offense," said Ogle. "At the same time, they got hot."
The Crimson Chargers, who have won eight in a row since a nine-point loss to Plymouth on Jan. 6, finished the game 26 of 52 (50 percent) from the field.
Their percentage was brought down by the fact that they shot 6 of 15 from three-point range.
The Tigers, who have lost three in a row and four of their last five, finished the game 15 of 43 (34.9 percent) from the field and 2 of 15 from three-point range.
Lost in the fact that Sindle treated Elkhart Memorial's fans to an impressive individual scoring performance was the fact that the Crimson Chargers turned the ball over just four times in the game.
Warsaw finished the game with 12 turnovers.
"They execute well," Ogle said of Elkhart Memorial. "They got a lot of open threes. Sindle was 0 of 6 (from three-point range) Tuesday. I knew it probably wasn't going to be like that again."
Sindle scored 15 points in the first half, 12 of which came in the first quarter, as Memorial led 14-11 after eight minutes of play.
He scored 10 points in the third quarter and nine points in the final frame.
To go with Sindle's 34 points, the Crimson Chargers got 12 points, six rebounds and four assists from Ryan Strausborger.
"Strausborger is very good," said Ogle. "He's the heart of the team. He's solid."
Jamaal Pittman scored seven for Memorial, while Phillip McCray scored six points.
The Crimson Chargers led 33-21 at halftime and 48-30 after three quarters of play.
Memorial stretched the lead to as much as 24, 59-35, in the fourth.
"They're a regional championship-caliber team," said Ogle. "They're the best team we've played this year."
The competition won't get any easier for Warsaw, as the Tigers host Marion (12-4) tonight.
The Giants, who didn't play Friday night, beat the Tigers 70-47 last year.
Warsaw then hosts Plymouth (12-4) Thursday.
Senior Shaun Cabrera led Warsaw with 13 points and nine rebounds, while classmate Colin Clemens finished with 11 points and five rebounds.
After Warsaw opened the second quarter with an 8-0 run, Memorial outscored the Tigers 51-27 the rest of the way.
"They went on a 19-2 run to finish the first half," said Ogle, now 49-31 overall and 15-12 in NLC action as coach of the Tigers. "That was too much to overcome."
MEMORIAL 65, WARSAW 46
Warsaw 11 10 9 16 - 46
Memorial 14 19 15 17 - 65
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Cabrera 2-11 9-10 9 0 13
* T. Reinholt 1-2 0-0 5 0 2
* Maierle 1-1 0-0 2 0 2
* M. Reinholt 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
* Clemens 5-13 1-2 5 0 11
Truman 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Mi. Plumlee 2-4 0-0 1 0 4
Blanton 0-0 0-0 1 1 0
Lemasters 3-7 0-1 4 0 8
Fuller 0-0 0-2 0 0 0
Ma. Plumlee 0-3 4-6 2 1 4
Team 0-0 0-0 3 0 0
Totals 15-43 14-21 32 2 46
Memorial FG FT R S Pts.
* Strsbrger 5-11 1-1 6 1 12
* Kemp 0-2 0-0 4 0 0
* K. Sindle 13-22 3-4 6 1 34
* McCray 2-5 2-2 2 0 6
* Pittman 3-6 1-1 3 1 7
R. Sindle 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Love 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Lane 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
Macon 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Harris 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
House 2-3 0-0 0 0 4
Team 0-0 0-0 3 0 0
Totals 26-52 7-8 26 3 65
Three-point goals - Warsaw 2-15 (Lemasters 2-6, Cabrera 0-5, Clemens 0-2, Truman 0-1, Ma. Plumlee 0-1), Memorial 6-15 (K. Sindle 5-11, Strausborger 1-2, Kemp 0-1, McCray 0-1). Turnovers - Warsaw 12, Memorial 4. Fouls - Warsaw 10, Memorial 17. Fouled out - none.
JV - Memorial 47, Warsaw 43 OT
Warsaw scoring - Poe 14, Higgins 10, Waikel 9, Conrad 5, West 3, Harman 2
