For the first 16 minutes of Saturday night's boys basketball game, the Warsaw Tigers didn't look like a team that entered the contest with a 10-1 record and an eight-game win streak. The Culver Military Academy Eagles didn't look like a squad with an 0-9 mark that had lost its games by an average of 30 points either. The second half, however, was a different story, as the Tigers were dominant in the third and fourth quarters en route to a 62-33 win. "I'm really happy about how we played in the second half," said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle, whose team led 26-22 at halftime. "In the first half, we didn't shoot well. We took bad shots. I don't think you could ask much more of our guys in the second half." After shooting 37 percent from the field in the first half, the Tigers made 50 percent of their shots after the intermission. The Eagles, who were 56 percent from the field through the first 16 minutes, made just 5 of 15 shots in the third and fourth quarters and were outscored 36-11 in the second half. As a result, both teams' streaks continued – Warsaw improving to 11-1 with its ninth-straight win, and CMA falling to 0-10 a year after it was the Class 3A state runner-up. Senior Lucas Grose led Warsaw with a game-high 18 points, including two rim-rocking dunks in the second half. The 6-foot-6 senior was 6 of 8 from the field and 6 of 7 from the charity stripe. Seniors Jordyn Coon and Rhett Kesler added 10 and eight points, respectively, while senior Kevin West and sophomore Jordan Stookey scored six points each and senior Brock Anson and junior Jared Bloom added five points in the win. The Eagles, who had eight assists but committed 22 turnovers, got 12 points each from seniors Willie Strong and Alex Dodane. The Tigers, whose assist-to-turnover ratio was much better, scored 29 points off the Eagles' miscues. "Any time you look at your stats and you've got 17 assists to seven turnovers, you've got to be happy," said Ogle. "The way we played in the second half is good momentum as we try and make a push toward a conference championship." After winning three games in the Tiger Den last week, Warsaw now hits the road for a critical three-game tour of Elkhart County to face conference foes Concord (Friday), NorthWood (Jan. 27) and Elkhart Memorial (Feb. 3). Two-time defending conference champ Warsaw and Class 4A No. 7 Memorial are both 3-0 in the NLC, while Plymouth is 2-1. The rest of the eight-team has at least two losses. "We're trying to win the conference," said Ogle. "These next three games are very important. In the 48-year history of the NLC, only one team has won three straight outright titles." That team was Concord in the mid-1980s with Shawn Kemp.
WARSAW 62, CMA 33 CMA 8 14 6 5 – 33 War 12 14 21 15 – 62 CMA – Hayes Barnes 1-7 0-0 2, David Dilts 1-1 0-0 2, Charlie Kennedy 0-0 0-0 0, Eljay Murray 1-4 0-0 2, Aramonti Phillips 0-1 0-0 0, Sebastian Litchfield 0-0 0-0 0, Nick Zalduendo 1-3 0-0 2, Alex Dodane 5-7 1-1 12, Willie Strong 6-10 0-0 12. Totals 15-33 2-3 33. Warsaw – Brock Anson 2-4 1-1 5, Jared Bloom 1-4 2-2 5, John Swanson 0-0 0-0 0, Jordyn Coon 4-12 2-2 10, Rhett Kesler 3-8 2-2 8, Jason Ferguson 0-0 0-0 0, Lucas Grose 6-8 6-7 18, Kevin West 2-6 1-1 6, Jay Holladay 0-2 0-0 0, Taylor Cone 1-1 0-0 2, Jordan Stookey 3-6 0-0 6, Darren Walcott 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 23-53 14-15 62. Three-pointers – CMA 1 (Dodane), Warsaw 2 (Bloom, West); Rebounds – CMA 19 (Strong 6), Warsaw 29 (Coon 6); Turnovers – CMA 22, Warsaw 7; Fouls – CMA 15, Warsaw 12; Fouled out – Zalduendo; Records: CMA 0-10, Warsaw 11-1 JV – Warsaw 41, CMA 31 Warsaw – John Swanson 14, Rashaan Jackson 8, Peyton Long 5, Trae Furnivall 5, Michael Miller 3, Nate Pearl 3, Jake Mangas 2, Darren Walcott 1
