Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
As if this season was one big puzzle, the pieces continue to fall in place for Doug Ogle and his Warsaw boys basketball team.
Now playing at full strength with the return of starters Michael Moore and William Knepper, the Tigers continued their turnaround with a 59-39 win over visiting Northern Lakes Conference foe NorthWood Friday night.
Something Warsaw hasn't been able to do until the last two games, the Tigers won Friday with team depth - as well as an extremely efficient offense and stingy defense.
"I think our depth wore them down," Ogle said. "I scripted our minutes, something I've never done in 18 years of coaching. Our team depth was big. The game was physical. We got the ball into the post, and the fouls being 6-2 (in Warsaw's favor) at the end of the third was huge. That was big. We got in the 1-and-1 bonus pretty quick."
Subbing players in and out proved key for Warsaw's defense down the stretch, as the Tigers had fresh legs in the fourth quarter - a quarter that saw the Tigers hold NorthWood to three points on 1-of-15 shooting.
The Panthers, who led the biggest share of the first half, missed their first eight shots from the floor in the fourth quarter and scored just 12 points in the second half.
Wherever NorthWood's shooters went, Warsaw's defenders were there in stride, challenging every shot.
In all, the host Tigers outscored NorthWood 20-3 in the fourth quarter, turning a 39-36 advantage into a 20-point blowout.
"We started the game in zone, and that didn't work," Ogle said of his team's defensive game plan. "We talked at halftime and went to the 2-3, we knew we had to stay in front of them. We played tight, hard-nosed defense and all their shots were challenged in the second half."
The win improved Warsaw to 8-5 on the season overall, 3-2 in the Northern Lakes Conference. NorthWood falls to 8-4 and 2-3.
Despite starting the conference season 0-2, Warsaw is very much in title contention, just one game behind Goshen, which improved to 4-1 in NLC action with a 77-46 win over Elkhart Memorial Friday. Warsaw, Wawasee, Concord and Northridge are all tied for second at 3-2, while Plymouth and Memorial are 1-4.
"We're right back in it," Ogle said of the conference race. "We're doing our job, now we need Wawasee to beat Goshen. We're right back in the thick of things. That's gratifying after starting 0-2 and losing a heartbreaker to Northridge."
The Tigers didn't leave their fans with broken hearts Friday, dazzling a healthy home crowd with a hot-handed offense that shot 24 of 40 (60 percent) from the field.
On two occasions in the fourth quarter the Tigers ignited the crowd, once when Moore, a silky smooth 5-6 sophomore, drained a three-pointer from well beyond the arc to give Warsaw a 44-36 lead with 6:08 remaining. The other came when Knepper, made a breakaway for the basket, spun and kissed the ball off the glass - quite impressive for a 280-pound All-State defensive linemen playing his second game after ACL surgery.
Already playing with a renewed confidence, the Tigers appeared to feed off the roaring crowd.
"We're much more confident (with Moore and Knepper)," Ogle said. "The other players are less stressed, more relaxed. Hoss is exciting just because of his persona, just having him on the floor helps."
Six-foot-5 senior Ryan DeGeeter led the Tigers in scoring with 15 points, 13 of which came in the first half. Junior Todd Braddock added 14, while Moore had eight, Ryan Schultz and Knepper six each, Michael Wienhorst and Erik Fussle four each and Dan Gensinger two.
NorthWood, which shot 14 of 45 (31.1 percent) from the field overall and 5 of 21 (23.8 percent) from the arc, was led in scoring by junior Ryne Bradley's 15 points. Robbie Lightfoot added 11, while Adam Leeper, Ryan Lightfoot and Wes BeMiller scored four each. Phil BeMiller rounded out the Panther scoring with a free throw.
The Tigers host Elkhart Memorial next Friday before hitting the road for five straight games.
WARSAW 59, NORTHWOOD 39
NorthWood (8-4, 2-3) 18 9 9 3 - 39
Warsaw (8-5, 3-2) 16 11 12 20 - 59
NorthWood FG FT R S Pts.
* Leeper 2-3 0-0 1 0 4
* Ry. Lightfoot 2-9 0-0 2 1 4
* Ro. Lightfoot 4-10 0-0 1 2 11
* W. BeMiller 1-4 1-2 2 2 4
* Bradley 5-11 4-4 3 1 15
Hall 0-2 0-2 1 1 0
Shields 0-1 0-0 0 2 0
Sabo 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
P. BeMiller 0-4 1-2 1 1 1
Totals 14-45 6-10 11 10 39
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Moore 3-6 1-2 3 1 8
* Braddock 5-8 4-5 4 0 14
* Fussle 2-2 0-0 8 0 4
* DeGeeter 6-11 2-3 7 1 15
* Knepper 3-5 0-0 4 0 6
Wienhorst 2-3 0-1 3 2 4
Schultz 2-2 2-2 3 0 6
Gensinger 1-2 0-0 1 0 2
Griggs 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Burnley 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Miller 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Allison 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 24-40 9-13 34 4 59
Three-point goals - NorthWood 5-21 (Ro. Lightfoot 3-8, W. BeMiller 1-4, Bradley 1-4, P. BeMiller 0-2, Ry. Lightfoot 0-2, Shields 0-1), Warsaw 2-5 (DeGeeter 1-3, Moore 1-1, Gensinger 0-1). Fouls - NorthWood 17, Warsaw 11. Fouled out - none.
JV - NorthWood 36, Warsaw 35
