Warsaw wins triple-overtime thriller with buzzer beater
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
ELKHART – While it may not be in the shape it once was, junior Jordan Stookey and the Warsaw Tigers proved Friday night that Hoosier Hysteria isn’t completely dead. In a Class 4A sectional semifinal game at historic North Side Gym in Elkhart, a running three-pointer by Stookey beat the buzzer in the third overtime session and led the Tigers to a stunning 41-39 win over the Concord Minutemen. After Concord’s Ramon Johnson hit a pair of free throws to give the Minutemen a 39-38 advantage with four seconds remaining in the third extra frame, Stookey took an inbound pass from senior Jason Ferguson and sprinted up the court. With 6-foot-6 Ball State University recruit Franko House trying to defend, Stookey let a shot fly that hit the back of the rim before miraculously finding its way into the net. “I thought it had a chance,” said Stookey, who more than made up for an 0-of-8 shooting performance in Tuesday’s double-overtime win over Elkhart Central. “I let it go, and I didn’t see the rim. Franko (House) had his hand in my face. I was on the floor, and I looked up and saw the ball drop, and then I heard the crowd.” While Warsaw’s fans jumped up and down and celebrated wildly, Stookey’s shot completely silenced Concord’s cheering section. The Minutemen, who beat Warsaw 42-31 in the Tiger Den on Jan. 18, entered the contest with a 19-1 record and as heavy favorites to win the sectional. Stookey and the Tigers, who are now 12-10 on the season, had other ideas. “Our guys are unbelievably resilient,” said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle, whose team will play Northridge in tonight’s 7:30 p.m. championship game. “I had a good feeling about tonight all week after we beat Central Tuesday night.” Northridge (10-11) advanced to the sectional final with a 62-46 win over Goshen (14-8) in Friday’s second semifinal. When the state tournament started Tuesday, neither Warsaw or Northridge had a winning record. One of them will cut down the nets tonight as the sectional champion. “After the Plymouth game, which we lost after giving up a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter, I had the players write on a 3x5 card that we were going to win the sectional,” said Ogle. “I had them write down three things that each of them needed to work on to get better. I believed we could win the sectional. We haven’t yet, but I believe we can.” Senior Jared Bloom, who made the game-winning free throw against Central Tuesday, led Warsaw in scoring with 14 points, while Stookey finished with 13 points. Senior Taylor Cone, whose bucket on an assist from Stookey tied the game at 30 and sent the teams to a second overtime, finished with nine points. Sophomore Rashaan Jackson scored four points for the Tigers, while Ferguson rounded out the team’s scoring with a free throw. Concord led 14-9 after the first quarter, 18-13 at halftime and 20-17 at the end of the third quarter. Warsaw trailed 20-13 at one point in the third quarter, but scored the final four points of the frame. The Tigers’ last basket in the third quarter came after they patiently held the ball for nearly six minutes. It looked like Ogle used coach Marvin Wood’s gameplan from the 1954 state championship game in which Milan’s Bobby Plump stood with the ball against Muncie Central. “We could have come out (and pressured them), but we had the lead and we were in foul trouble and I didn’t want to chase them,” said Concord coach Steve Austin, whose team got 16 points from House, nine from Adam Glanders and seven each from Johnson and Filip Serwatka. “We just didn’t settle down and do the things we have all season.” The Minutemen turned the ball over 14 times, leading to 15 points for the Tigers. “Turnovers killed us,” said Austin. “That and free throws. We just didn’t do what we were supposed to. Both teams had chances, and they hit the final shot. What can you say? Give Warsaw credit.” Concord was 12 of 33 from the field overall, 4 of 12 from three-point range, and 11 of 17 at the free throw line. Warsaw was 11 of 25 overall, 1 of 6 from the arc, and 18 of 28 at the charity stripe. The only trey the Tigers hit in 44 minutes of action put Stookey’s face on the Mount Rushmore of Warsaw’s postseason heroes. There was Marty Lehman’s shot in the 1984 semistate at the Fort Wayne Coliseum. There was Jason McKenzie’s shot in the Coliseum during the 1992 semistate. There was Kevin Ault’s heroic putback in the 1996 regional final against Plymouth. More recently, there was Ryne Robinson’s sectional buzzer beater against Elkhart Central in 2009. And now there’s Stookey’s running three, and the night the Tigers conquered Concord. “I can’t put into words what this means right now,” said Stookey. “We knew all week we had a chance to win this game with the way we fight. We never give up. The longer we kept the game close, the more the pressure was on Concord.”
WARSAW 41, CONCORD 39 (3OT) C 14 4 2 5 5 4 – 39 W 9 4 4 8 5 4 – 41 Concord – Ramon Johnson 1-3 4-6 7, Dylan Wynne 0-1 0-0 0, Adam Glanders 3-6 2-2 9, DuWhan Alford 0-2 0-1 0, Franko House 5-12 5-8 16, Dakota Simon 0-1 0-0 0, Filip Serwatka 3-8 0-0 7. Totals 12-33 11-17 39. Warsaw – Jared Bloom 7-11 0-2 14, John Swanson 0-0 0-2 0, Trae Furnivall 0-0 0-0 0, Nate Pearl 0-0 0-0 0, Jason Ferguson 0-0 1-2 1, Taylor Cone 2-3 5-6 9, Jordan Stookey 2-5 8-10 13, Rashaan Jackson 0-6 4-6 4. Totals 11-25 18-28 41. Three-pointers – Concord 4 (Johnson, Glanders, House, Serwatka), Warsaw 1 (Stookey); Rebounds – Concord 21 (House 6), Warsaw 20 (Jackson 4); Turnovers – Concord 14, Warsaw 9; Fouls – Concord 21, Warsaw 16; Fouled out – Alford; Records: Concord 19-2, Warsaw 12-10 Other semifinal: Northridge 62, Goshen 46 Records: Northridge 10-11, Goshen 14-8
