The seniors on Warsaw’s varsity boys basketball team were honored prior to the start of Friday’s regular-season finale. Carroll sophomore Chandler White, however, made sure the Tigers didn’t have a reason to celebrate after the game. The 6-foot-2 White hit a jumper with 19 seconds remaining in overtime, as the Carroll Chargers snapped their five-game losing streak with a 44-43 win over the host Tigers. “He’s been solid for us,” Carroll coach Marty Beasley said of White. “He’s kind of a matchup problem for a lot of people. He struggled at times, but he came back and hit the game-winning shot. That was a tough shot.” White finished the game with a double-double, scoring a game-high 17 points and pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds. Senior Mason Miller added 14 points for the Chargers, who improved to 9-13 on the season. The Tigers, who got 14 points from senior Jared Bloom and nine points from both senior Jason Ferguson and sophomore Rashaan Jackson, fell to 10-10 on the season. “It was a combination of defensive breakdowns, and probably more so our offensive struggles,” said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle, whose team enters Tuesday’s sectional matchup with Elkhart Central having lost five of its last seven games. “We had too many turnovers in the fourth quarter to win a close game,” added Ogle. Carroll led 11-9 at the end of the first quarter, 20-19 at halftime and 28-26 after three quarters of play. The Tigers didn’t take their first lead until a free throw by senior Taylor Cone gave them a 33-32 advantage with 4:09 remaining in regulation. Warsaw pushed its lead to 37-34, but the Chargers scored five unanswered points and led 39-37 until a rebound and putback by Ferguson with three seconds left sent the game to overtime. The Tigers held leads of 41-40 and 43-42 in overtime, but White’s jumper was the difference. Warsaw had a chance in the closing seconds but couldn’t convert. “I’m proud of the guys for haning in there,” said Ogle. “There were just too many times we didn’t execute in the fourth quarter.” The Tigers were 17 of 41 from the field overall (42 percent), 1 of 10 from the arc, and 8 of 13 from the free throw line. Carroll was 12 of 32 from the field (38 percent), 3 of 13 from three-point range, and 17 of 23 from the charity stripe. In a game as close as Friday’s, the nine-point advantage at the free throw line was huge for the Chargers. “We keep a stat, paint touches,” said Beasley. “We want to get the ball in the paint. We only had four (paint touches) in the first half. I didn’t feel like we were getting the ball inside. In the second half, we were able to get the ball inside, get the ball to Chandler. We got them in foul trouble. We were in the bonus in the third quarter and the double bonus in the fourth quarter.” The Chargers were 10 of 13 at the free throw line in the second half and 3 of 6 in the extra session. “Free throws were big,” said Ogle. “There were several points there that we let go. There were also three or four 50-50 balls we had a chance to get and didn’t. The same things that have been present in our other losses showed up again tonight.” The Tigers don’t have time to feel sorry for themselves, however, as the state tournament starts Tuesday. Warsaw will play Elkhart Central at 6 p.m. at North Side Gym in Class 4A Sectional 4 action. The Tigers beat Central 47-45 on Jan. 8. If they beat them again, they will advance to Friday’s sectional semifinal against Concord. Warsaw hasn’t won a sectional game since 2010. “Now we turn our focus toward the tournament,” said Ogle. “The regular season is over. We play a team in Elkhart Central that I think we can defeat. We’ve got two practices to get ready. This isn’t the time to feel sorry for ourselves or point fingers in blame. This is not the time to do that.”
CARROLL 44, WARSAW 43 (OT) C 11 9 8 11 5 – 44 W 9 10 7 13 4 – 43 Carroll – Chandler White 4-9 9-10 17, Tony Orr 1-1 0-0 2, Adam Freiburger 0-1 0-0 0, Alex Hammond 0-3 0-0 0, Kyle Mallers 0-4 5-8 5, Mason Miller 4-10 3-4 14, Jeremy Kalonji 0-1 0-0 0, Keller Gutierrez 3-3 0-1 6. Totals 12-32 17-23 44. Warsaw – Jared Bloom 4-12 5-6 14, John Swanson 1-3 0-0 2, Quim Romans 0-1 0-0 0, Nate Pearl 0-0 0-0 0, Jason Ferguson 4-7 1-2 9, Taylor Cone 1-2 1-2 3, Jordan Stookey 3-8 0-0 6, Rashaan Jackson 4-8 1-3 9. Totals 17-41 8-13 43. Three-pointers – Carroll 3 (Miller 3), Warsaw 1 (Bloom); Rebounds – Carroll 28 (White 10), Warsaw 24 (Cone); Turnovers – Carroll 15, Warsaw 14; Fouls – Carroll 15, Warsaw 19; Fouled out – Cone; Records: Carroll 9-13, Warsaw 10-10 JV – Carroll 46, Warsaw 44 Warsaw – Nick Sands 12, Cody Freeman 10, Jonny Hollar 8, Peyton Long 6, Tim Swanson 5, Jake Mangas 3
