Tigers Close, But Fall To Adams At RegionalMICHIGAN CITY — The magical run of the Warsaw boys basketball team nearly continued Saturday afternoon. Entering the Michigan City Regional with a 13-10 record, the Warsaw Tigers were widely considered underdogs to the 21-2 South Bend Adams Eagles, but they didn't play that way in a 48-46 loss. "I'm extremely disappointed we lost, but at the same time, I know how far we've come," Warsaw coach Doug Ogle said. "Could we have done that three weeks ago? Played a game like that? No. Our guys have really improved here at the end. We were playing our best basketball at the end. If you can do that, you might be good enough to win the regional." After winning Class 4A Sectional 4 by using two overtimes to defeat Elkhart Central in the opening round, then three extra periods and a buzzer-beating three-pointer by junior Jordan Stookey to take down Concord in the semis, the Tigers came out of nowhere to win the tournament with a win over Northridge in the finals. Against the athleticism of the Eagles, Warsaw seemed up to the task early, jumping out to a 13-5 lead and didn't trail until Adams senior Juwan Johnson hit a three-pointer with 4:24 remaining in the third quarter. In that quarter, Warsaw gave in to Adams' pressure defense, committing seven turnovers, while only scoring seven points, to trail 39-35 going into the fourth. "They just wear you down," Ogle said. "Eventually, the pressure gets to you. For us, it was right in the third quarter." Warsaw fought back in the fourth and retook the lead when senior Jared Bloom hit a field goal with 1:45 remaining, putting the Tigers on top 45-44. But just as fast as the Eagles lost the lead, Adams' senior Joe Beard scored six seconds later, causing Ogle to take a timeout with his team down 46-45 with 1:35 remaining. Out of the timeout, Bloom missed a jumper, which was rebounded by senior Taylor Cone, who missed the putback, but got the board again to draw the foul and go to the line to make 1 of 2. Knotted at 46-46, Beard held on to the ball for over a minute before dribbling just inside the three-point arc, where he rose up and nailed a jumper with two seconds left. "Beard is clutch," Ogle said of the 5-foot-10 guard. "He's been doing that. I didn't want him to get to the basket, so I'd take my chances with him shooting a 17-foot jump shot." Following a timeout with 1.5 seconds remaining, Stookey's long in-bound pass glanced off the fingers of Bloom and landed out of bounds, giving it back to Adams with 0.6 left on the clock. With under a second remaining, Adams simply in-bounded the ball and tossed it in the air to advance to the championship game, where it was dominated by Merrillville, 76-55. For Warsaw, it's season came to a close but not without a fight. Entering the season with inexperience all over the court, the Tigers began the season at 3-4 before winning five-straight. Just as it appeared they'd turned a corner, the Tigers then lost six of eight to close the regular season, making their postseason run an unexpected one. "You say you're going return this group players, then win a sectional that Concord's in? I could say it's fair that you overachieved," Ogle said. "Especially when you lose six out of your final eight regular season games." Bloom entered the season as the team's leader and proved it all along the way, scoring the game-winning point four times this season, then leading all scorers with 14 against Adams. "He had a strong finish to the season," Ogle said of the 6-foot guard. "He's going to make somebody a good college basketball player. "He averaged six points a game last year," he added. "He goes from six to 18. It's wasn't because, last year we should have gotten him more shots, it was just that he wasn't good enough to do anything more than catch and shoot. Now, he can score off the dribble. He really is a guy we're really proud of for how he just kept improving." Bloom's running mate for much of the season was Stookey, and he had the regional semifinal's top performance, netting 13 points to go with a game-high eight rebounds and five assists. Cone finished his final high school game with nine points and seven rebounds, while sophomore Rashaan Jackson had six points and seven boards before fouling out. Held to 22 points below their season average, the Eagles were led by A.J. Glick's 13 points on 4-of-4 shooting, going 2 of 2 at the free throw line, where Adams shot just 5 of 15 as a team. They may have struggled at the free throw line, but it's their quickness that has led the Eagles to their success this season. Despite that, Warsaw was right there at the end, but this postseason thriller didn't end like it had in the sectional. "I appreciate how our guys competed today and how they fought," Ogle said. "Tell me we have a chance to win at the end - that's where we want to be," he added.
S.B. ADAMS 48, WARSAW 46 (Michigan City Regional, Semifinal) W 15 13 7 11 – 46 A 15 10 14 9 – 48 Adams – Joe Beard 3-9 0-5 6, Jalen White 2-8 0-2 4, Terry Davis 0-2 1-2 1, Juwan Johnson 2-7 2-3 8, A.J. Glick 4-4 2-2 13, Michael Bush 4-10 0-0 9, Stevie Thomas 1-3 0-1 3, Mike Bishop 0-0 0-0 0, J.T. Gavin 0-0 0-0 0, Demar Wright 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 18-47 5-15 48. Warsaw – Jared Bloom 5-15 3-3 14, Jason Ferguson 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor Cone 4-9 1-2 9, Jordan Stookey 4-9 4-5 13, Rashaan Jackson 3-4 0-0 6, John Swanson 2-2 0-0 4, Trae Furnivall 0-0 0-0 0, Nate Pearl 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-41 8-10 46. Three-point goals – Adams 7-21 (Glick 3, Johnson 2, Bush, Thomas), Warsaw 2-7 (Bloom, Stookey); Team Fouls (fouled out) – Adams 14, Warsaw 13 (Jackson); Turnovers – Adams 6, Warsaw 16; Rebounds – Adams 25 (Bush 3, Davis 3, Thomas 3, Johnson 3), Warsaw 35 (Stookey 8); Assists – Adams 9 (Beard 6), Warsaw 8 (Stookey 5); Steals – Adams 8 (Beard 3), Warsaw 1; Blocks – Adams 4 (Johnson 2), Warsaw 3; Records: Adams 22-2, Warsaw 13-11
