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Photo by GARY NIETER, Times-Union
A production crew from New Urban Entertainment in Marina Del Rey, Calif., films Warsaw coach Al Rhodes (top) for its documentary on basketball. In the bottom photo, Plymouth junior guard Kevin Stuckmeyer fouls Warsaw senior guard Ross Kesler (R) as he shoots in Friday's Northern Lakes Conference game at the Tiger Den.
Some things never change.
In the 10 previous boys basketball games between Plymouth and Warsaw, the difference has been less than 10 points on eight occasions.
And last night was no execption, as the Tigers topped No. 6 (3A) Plymouth 50-44, winning for the third consecutive time and sixth in 11 tries.
Warsaw now owns an overall 68-42 edge over the Pilgrims.
"It's unbelievable really," said Warsaw coach Al Rhodes. "It's always a great game. Coach (Jack) Edison has a great program, and we have a great program. I thought our fans gave us an advantage there in the fourth quarter. It got kind of loud in there."
Sophomore Ben Snyder nailed a three-pointer just before the third-quarter buzzer to put Plymouth up 33-32, but Warsaw outscored the Pilgrims 18-11 in the final frame, setting up the six-point win.
Warsaw improves to 12-4 overall and 4-2 in the Northern Lakes Conference with the win. The Pilgrims, ranked sixth in the latest 3A poll, fall to 12-4 overall and 3-2 in league play.
With a production crew from California on hand to film a documentary, the Tigers won in cinematic fashion.
With the score 39-38 in Plymouth's favor, 6-foot-6 Tiger senior Steve Siebenmorgen rebounded a Chris Wiggins miss and scored two of his six fourth-quarter points, giving Warsaw a lead at the 2:42 mark it did not relinquish.
"When you take a look at it, he leads us in scoring and he does in it low minutes," said Rhodes of Siebenmorgen. "His shape isn't good but he played with a lot of heart."
Siebenmorgen, who did not start, returned after a four-game hiatus due to a second concussion to lead the Tigers with 12 points, including a 4-of-4 performance from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter.
Two other Tigers scored in double figures, Wiggins with 11 and Ross Kesler with 10. Wiggins and Kesler also combined for 12 rebounds.
The Pilgrims were led in the scoring column by junior Jeff Stetler's 12 points. Senior John Pettibone, who came in averaging 15.5 points per game, added 11 points in the loss and was 2 of 6 from beyond the arc in the game.
"I thought the kids chased Pettibone really well," said Rhodes. "Chris Wiggins and Ross Kesler did that."
Pettibone put the Pilgrims up 4-0 early in the game with a three-pointer and then a free throw. Plymouth was 4 of 7 from three-point land in the opening quarter but only led 17-15 going into the second stanza.
"They were ahead in the first quarter because four times we lost their three-point shooters," said Rhodes.
The Pilgrims finished the game 6 of 18 from three-point land and 16 of 38 (42.1 percent) from the floor overall. Plymouth was also 6 of 10 at the charity stripe.
The Tigers shot 17 of 34 (50 percent) from the field and connected on 14 of 20 free throws.
Warsaw used an 8-0 run to turn a two-point deficit at the onset of the second stanza into a 23-17 lead with 3:25 remaining in the half. In outscoring Plymouth 12-2 in the second quarter, the Tigers were 6 of 10 from the field. The Pilgrims, on the other hand, were a dismal 1 of 7 from the field.
"In the second quarter I thought we executed our half-court defense," said Rhodes. "We made them earn everything, and that gave us a run."
Warsaw, now on a two-game win streak, will host Gary Wirt Friday at 6:15 p.m.
"We just need to get that next notch of consistency," said Rhodes. "That'll be a big factor for us."
As far as the filming of the documentry goes, Rhodes said: "It's been a very interesting day. I don't know how things went around town but at school the kids were excited. Indiana was represented well tonight."
