While no player on Warsaw's varsity boys basketball roster has played in a regional, the Tigers are familiar with the “underdog” role they’ll be in Saturday. That doesn’t seem to bother 11th-year coach Doug Ogle, whose team will face South Bend Adams (21-2) at 11 a.m. (EDT) in the Michigan City Regional. “I know we’re going to be viewed as the underdog, if you at look the four teams’ records,” said Ogle. “We view it as another opportunity to go out and play. We know the pressure isn’t on us.” The Tigers, who posted a 10-10 record in the regular season and were losers in six of their last eight games heading into postseason play, weren't favored to win last week’s Elkhart Sectional – but they did. In a week of nail-biting action at Elkhart’s North Side Gym, the Tigers beat Elkhart Central in double overtime Tuesday, toppled heavily-favored Concord in triple overtime Friday on a buzzer-beating three-pointer, and pulled away late from Northridge in the title tilt. And now the Tigers, with their 13-10 record, find themselves in a regional in which the other three teams sport a combined record of 66-5. “We feel like if we play well, meaning we handle the ball well, keep the turnovers down to a manageable number and rebound, we have a chance,” said Ogle, who guided the Tigers to a regional championship in Michigan City in 2010. “We're going to have to play very well, but we believe we have a chance.” Second-ranked Munster (25-0) and Merrillville (20-3) square off in the second semifinal, following the Warsaw/Adams game. The regional final is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. (EDT), with the winner advancing to a Class 4A semistate at either Huntington North or Lafayette Jefferson. “I don’t see how you can look at our team and not view us as the underdog,” said Ogle. “We’re 13-10, and South Bend Adams is a very good team, so are Munster and Merrillville.” How good are the South Bend Adams Eagles. “I talked to Coach (Al) Rhodes and to (Elkhart Memorial coach) Mark Barnhizer, and they both said South Bend Adams is good enough to win state,” said Ogle. “Coach Rhodes knows what a state championship-caliber team looks like, and Mark Barnhizer is a very good coach. I respect both of those guys, and they both said South Bend Adams is good enough to win state.” The Eagles enter Saturday’s regional semifinal against Warsaw on a nine-game winning streak. Adams’ two losses this season came Dec. 29 at Noblesville (70-67) and on Feb. 1 at Penn (62-55). The Eagles avenged the loss to conference rival Penn in a big way, as they beat Rhodes’ Kingsmen 93-72 in the championship game of the Mishawaka Sectional. Adams averages 70 points per game, while giving up 57 points per contest. “Their three-point shooting is very good,” Ogle said of the Eagles. “And they are very aggressive on defense. We want to shorten the game. They’re not going to let us hold the ball like Concord did. No way would they stand back and let us do that. We need to take smart shots and try and dictate the tempo of the game.” Fresh off a career-high 33 points in the sectional final, senior Jared Bloom leads the Tigers in scoring with 17.9 points per game. Junior Jordan Stookey, whose three-pointer lifted Warsaw to the 41-39 win over Concord, averages nine points and five assists per game. Seniors John Swanson and Taylor Cone average eight and seven points respectively, for Warsaw. For South Bend Adams, Terry Davis leads the way with 15 points per game, while Juwan Johnson and Michael Bush average 14 and 10 points per game, respectively. Five Adams players average at least seven points per game. Saturday’s regional matchup marks the first time the Tigers and Eagles have played on the hardwood since Jan. 23, 1999, when Warsaw beat South Bend Adams 79-72.
