FORT WAYNE - One team's winning streak had to end. Nic Moore made sure it wasn't Warsaw's.
The 5-foot-9 junior point guard scored a game-high 29 points, pulled down eight rebounds and dished out eight assists Friday, as the Class 4A No. 8 Tigers beat Carroll 66-57 in the Sportscenter Hoops Classic at the Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne."Nic Moore, he's big-time," said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle. "Just when you thought he couldn't top what he's done. He played great."
With the nine-point win, Warsaw improved to 18-2 and ran its winning streak to 11, while Carroll fell to 17-3 and had its winning streak snapped at 14.
"This is a big win for us," said Ogle, whose team has won 37 of its last 42 games. "Our defense was pretty good. Carroll has been smashing people. (Assistant coach) David Wayne put together a great scouting report."
The Chargers, who came into Friday's contest beating their opponents by an average of 17 points per game, hadn't lost since Dec. 18 when they fell 58-53 to conference rival Homestead.
Warsaw's last loss is a 53-47 setback to Noblesville on Jan. 2 in the Super Hoops Classic at Purdue University.
Since that six-point loss, the Tigers have played like a team on a mission.
Friday's game was no different.
After leading 14-12 at the end of the first quarter, Warsaw closed the first half on an 18-5 run.
"A lot of it has to do with the fact that we have a pretty good point guard," Ogle said of how Moore is able to take over a game. "He's able to control the tempo. I don't know how Nic Moore couldn't be a Mr. Basketball candidate for 2011. I think he's vaulted himself into the discussion."
Moore also continues to climb Warsaw's all-time scoring list.
With his 29 points against Carroll, he is now sixth in scoring in Warsaw's storied basketball history with 1,182 points.
In his near-triple-double performance at the Coliseum, Moore, who also made four steals, moved ahead of 1978 graduate Kim Essenburg.
Senior Justin Clemens chipped in with 14 points, while sophomores Jordyn Coon and Lucas Grose scored eight and six points, respetively.
The Tigers led by 18 midway through the third quarter, but the Chargers cut Warsaw's advantage to 11, 49-38, by the end of the third quarter and to five three times in the fourth quarter.
After Carroll's Tyler Ault hit a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to five, 55-50, with 1:58 remaining in the game, Warsaw hit 7 of 8 free throws to stretch the lead to 12 with 58 seconds to play.
"We had enough of a working margin," said Ogle. "When they made a run and started to catch up, we still led by at least five."
Senior Stephen Jones led Carroll with 18 points, while classmate Shane Merryman added 15 points and six rebounds and junior Tyler Ault chipped in with 12 points.
Dating back to the 1981 semistate, Warsaw has won nine of its last 10 games at the Memorial Coliseum.
Friday, because of an accident in Warsaw involving a train, the Tigers arrived in Fort Wayne late.
"We had a hard time getting here," said Ogle. "We literally had to pick up Jalen Roscoe and Lucas Grose in Pierceton."
Warsaw is in action again Friday, playing in the semifinal game of the Elkhart Central Sectional against the winner of Tuesday's game between Concord and Goshen.
WARSAW 66, CARROLL 57
W 14 18 17 17 - 66
C 12 9 17 19 - 57
Warsaw - Andy Conrad 0-1 2-4 2, Joey Sparkman 1-1 0-0 2, Justin Clemens 4-6 6-7 14, Nic Moore 9-17 9-10 29, Jordyn Coon 3-5 1-2 8, Zack Linky 1-3 0-0 3, Jalen Roscoe 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 22-41 18-24 66.
