There were a lot of extraordinary circumstances before the varsity game between Elkhart Memorial and Warsaw could get underway in the Tiger Den Friday night, and that was cause for concern for coach Doug Ogle. When it was finally time to play basketball, Warsaw was indeed ready, however, racing out to an 18-2 lead and never letting Memorial closer than nine points the rest of the way in a 68-57 Northern Lakes Conference win. First the junior varsity game ran way late. Four overtimes passed before the Memorial JV squad pulled out a 75-70 win. Then came a planned program to honor Warsaw students for academic excellence. The varsity game started nearly an hour and a half later than it normally would have. Ogle kept his team busy, thinking it would be vital to get off to a solid beginning when the game finally started. “We watched some of the Memorial-Goshen game from last weekend, we talked, we watched some of the JV game from the corner. It got to be a pretty long time,” Ogle said. “I was honestly quite worried. We talked about which team was going to handle this long delay better. I was proud of how we started the game. We’ve started quickly two weeks in a row now, and quick starts are helpful.” Nick Sands hit a trio of three-pointers in the first quarter, and Tim Swanson added another to help stake the Tigers to a 20-7 margin after the first quarter. Memorial hardly rolled over and played dead. In the second period Charger center Dimitri Giger hit three baskets down low, and Cameron Maxwell began heating up with a pair of threes. Giger got in foul trouble, however, limiting himself to 10 points. But Maxwell played all but 2-1/2 minutes of the game, and scored 19 points after halftime to finish with 28 on the night. “Had Cameron Maxwell not been so terrific, we’d have had a more comfortable win. He played really well,” Ogle said. Warsaw countered with balanced scoring, solid ball handling and avoiding foul trouble. The Tigers had five players in double figures – Nick Sands and Jake Mangas had 15 points each, Kyle Mangas and Rashan Jackson had 11 points each, and Paul Marandet added 10. The Tigers limited Memorial to just three free throws in the game. “We’re getting a little bit better at our ball handling. We had 13 assists against six turnovers,” Ogle said. “Our passing and ball movement was good. We can score from a lot of different places, and when we’re moving the ball we make it challenging to guard us.” Ogle said after the big win over NorthWood, giving the Tigers sole possession of first place in the NLC, he was concerned there might be a let down. “Honestly, I was apprehensive about this game because our week of practice wasn’t as focused as the NorthWood week. I could just feel a little let down in our guys,” he said. “I didn’t know how we were going to play. I use a phrase ‘competitive spirit work ethic.’ The NorthWood game was easy to be ready to go and get jacked up. This game was still important, but it’s not the same vibe.” There’s little rest for Warsaw, as they’ll take a 14-3 overall record with them to Fishers to take on Hamilton Southeastern tonight Friday’s win left the Tigers at 5-0 in the NLC, and combined with Goshen’s win over Plymouth, leaves Warsaw two games clear of everyone but NorthWood in the conference.
WARSAW 68, ELKHART MEMORIAL 57 EM 7 14 12 24 – 57 W 20 13 17 18 – 68 Memorial – Cameron Maxwell 11-14 0-0 28, Dimitri Giger 5-10 0-1 10, Darrius Baker 3-10 0-0 7, Chris Kale 0-0 0-0 0, Mytchell Sellers 0-0 0-0 0, A.J. Gary 0-4 2-2 2, Mikal McGuire 1-1 0-0 2, Jon Bailey 2-7 0-0 5, Michael O’Toole 0-0 0-0 0, Scottie Clark 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 23-49 2-3 57. Warsaw – Kyle Mangas 3-5 4-4 11, Paul Marandet 3-4 4-5 10, Jeremy David 0-1 0-0 0, Peyton Long 0-0 0-0 0, Evan Schmidt 0-0 0-0 0, Tim Swanson 2-4 0-0 6, Nick Sands 4-8 4-4 15. Jake Mangas 7-9 1-2 15, Rashan Jackson 4-6 3-3 11, Riley Rhoades 0-1 0-0 0. Three-pointers – Memorial 9 (Maxwell 6, Baker, Bailey, Clark), Warsaw 6 (Sands 3, Swanson 2, K. Mangas); Rebounds – Memorial 19 (Maxwell 4, Gary 4); Warsaw 25 (K. Mangas 4, Jackson 4); Turnovers – Memorial 7, Warsaw 6; Fouls – Memorial 18, Warsaw 10; Technical Fouls – Baker, R. Rhoades; Fouled out – Giger; Records – Memorial 9-7 (3-2 NLC), Warsaw 14-3 (5-0 NLC) JV – Memorial 75, Warsaw 70 (4OT) Warsaw – Rane Kilburn 24, Braxton Minix 14, Kyle Skeans 10, Jeremy David 6, Evan Schmidt 6, Jacob Burish 5, Ross Johnson 2, Jordan Steffensmeir 2. Bishop Harrison 1
