Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
One thing in particular has been a constant over the years in Warsaw's boys basketball matchup with Gary Lew Wallace: free throws.
In a 1997 Tiger win, the two teams combined to shoot more than 70 free throws.
In Friday's confrontation with the Hornets, Warsaw attempted 37 charity tosses. With this in mind, one might think the Tigers cruised. In a 68-58 win, Warsaw did anything but cruise.
The 10-point win improves Warsaw's overall season record to 8-2. Wallace drops to 8-5.
In the first quarter alone last night, the Tigers shot 11 free throws. Wallace's 6-5 senior forward Andre Hendrixs picked up his third foul with 5:33 remaining in the opening quarter.
Given the fact that the Hornets shot 4 of 8 from the charity stripe for the game, and 23 of 62 (37.1 percent) from the field, why wasn't Warsaw able to win by more than 10?
The answer: the Tigers' inability to capitalize on free throw opportunities in the first half, namely the first quarter.
"I was kind of frustrated in the first quarter," said Warsaw coach Al Rhodes. "I thought we outplayed them. We had 5 of 6 missed free throws and we missed six points off layups. Five missed free throws will keep it close."
The Tigers were 6 of 11 (54.5 percent) from the charity stripe and 6 of 14 (42.8 percent) from the field in the opening stanza.
After leading 18-15 after one quarter of play, Warsaw trailed 34-32 at the break.
"At halftime we were down two," said Rhodes. "I was not real upset. I knew if we kept feeding the post, they would foul and we would have a chance to win the game."
And Rhodes was right.
The Tigers turned their free throw shooting misfortunes around in the second half, going 14 of 19 (73.7 percent) to notch the win. For the game Warsaw was 25 of 37 (67.6 percent) from the free throw line.
Senior Steve Siebenmorgen faired the best at the charity stripe for the Tigers, connecting on 7 of 8 (87.5 percent) attempts. The 6-6 forward finished the game with 11 points. Six-foot-six senior center Zach Nelson led the Warsaw offense with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and a 5-of-5 performance from the charity stripe. Seniors Chris Wiggins and Ross Kesler also scored in double figures, adding 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Wallace's Andre Clark led all scorers with 16 points on a 7-of-12 shooting performance from the field. Reuben Gonzalez added 12 in the loss. Brandon Williams and Willie Sease chipped in with 10 points apiece for the Hornets.
Warsaw led 46-44 after three quarters of play, but quickly upped its advantage to 10 with an 8-0 run at the onset of the final frame. Kesler made good on two free throw attempts with 5:48 remaining to give the Tigers a 54-44 lead.
A three-point play by Williams at the 4:49 mark cut Warsaw's advantage to 54-49. But Kesler again put the host team up 10 again, 62-52, with two free throws at the 2:11 mark. Kesler was 6 of 8 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.
"We hit enough free throws in the fourth quarter," said Rhodes. "That shows a good competitive nature. But we have to concetrate throughout the game."
Wallace was whistled for 25 fouls in the contest. Warsaw comitted just 10 fouls in the win.
Warsaw will put its 8-2 overall record and 1-1 conference mark on the line tonight when it host Northern Lakes Conference Rival Goshen (0-7, 0-1 NLC).
With NorthWood's conference win over previously unbeaten Northridge Friday, Warsaw still has a chance to get a share of the conference crown. The Tigers play at NorthWood, the only team undefeated in the NLC, next Friday.
"With the way the Northern Lakes Conference is, it's difficult to go undefeated," said Rhodes. "NorthWood is the only unbeaten team but they have to play a lot of tough teams yet. We can put our destiny in our own hands again. We expected the whole conference to be tough. Now we can be more excited about Saturday's game with Goshen because it's wide open."
WARSAW 68, GARY WALLACE 58
Gary Wallace (8-5) 15 19 10 14 - 58
Warsaw (8-2) 18 14 14 22 - 68
Wallace FG FT R S Pts.
Clark (C) 7-12 0-2 7 3 16
Hendrixs (F) 1-1 0-0 1 0 2
Williams (F) 4-15 1-1 6 1 10
Gonzalez (G) 5-13 0-0 2 1 12
Sease (G) 3-13 1-3 3 4 10
Richardson 1-2 0-0 1 0 2
Crew 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Barber 1-3 0-0 1 1 2
Walker 0-0 2-2 0 0 2
Joyner 1-2 0-0 5 0 2
Total 23-62 4-8 27 10 58
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
B. Seiss (G) 1-4 3-6 6 1 5
Wiggins (G) 4-8 3-5 2 1 12
Kesler (F) 3-6 6-10 4 0 11
Siebenmorgen (F) 2-6 7-8 7 0 11
Nelson (C) 5-10 5-5 6 2 15
Martin 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Buck 0-3 1-2 3 0 1
Henthorn 3-4 0-0 1 0 8
Walmer 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Finnegan 2-2 0-1 3 0 4
Rhodes 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
G. Seiss 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Totals 20-44 25-37 41 4 68
Three-pointers - Wallace 4 (Gonzalez 2, Williams 1, Sease 1), Warsaw 3 (Henthorn 2, Wiggins 1). Turnovers - Wallace 8, Warsaw 19. Fouls - Wallace 25, Warsaw 10. Fouled out - Hendrixs, Clark.
JV: Warsaw 79, Gary Wallace 27
