PLYMOUTH – Warsaw’s varsity boys basketball team, in coach Doug Ogle’s words, can build a lead. The problem is keeping it. For the second game in a row, the Tigers surrendered a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter and lost by a point. Last week, it was Elkhart Memorial that erased a 14-point deficit en route to a 48-47 win at the Tiger Den. Thursday night, in a Northern Lakes Conference contest that had eight ties and eight lead changes, the host Plymouth Pilgrims trailed by 15 in the final frame, only to rally and beat the Tigers 57-56. “We played well enough for a lot of the game,” said Ogle, whose team fell to 9-8 overall and 3-4 in conference play. “We can build a lead, we just can’t keep it. If we can get that riddle answered, we could have a memorable end to the season.” The Tigers had a chance to win the game in the closing seconds, but senior John Swanson’s layup attempt was blocked by 6-foot-9 junior Mack Mercer. Ogle thought Mercer was guilty of goal-tending, but no call was made, and Plymouth’s students rushed the court as the Pilgrims improved to 15-3 overall and 4-3 in the NLC. “(Jared) Bloom made a nice play to get it to Swanson,” said Ogle. “I felt like it was goal-tending.” Warsaw led 16-10 at the end of the first quarter and trailed 28-26 at halftime. The Tigers put on a three-point shooting display in the third quarter, as they were 5 of 5 in the frame and closed the quarter on a 15-0 run. Warsaw’s hot hand turned a 33-32 deficit into a 47-33 advantage. Moments later, the Tigers led 49-34 in the fourth quarter. They, however, were outscored 24-7 the rest of the way. “The way I saw it, we had too many turnovers in the fourth quarter,” said Ogle. “They scored 18 points off our turnovers in the second half.” Warsaw had 14 turnovers in the game, eight of them were in the fourth quarter. Plymouth scored 18 of its 29 points in the second half via turnovers by the Tigers. With coaches from NCAA Division I schools Dayton and Valparaiso in attendance to see him play, Mercer finished with a game-high 23 points and also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Seniors David Lee and Joe Knapp scored 15 and 10 points, respectively, for the Pilgrims. Junior Tom Felke chipped in with seven points. For Warsaw, Swanson led the way with 16 points, while Bloom and Stookey scored 11 points each and sophomore Rashaan Jackson added eight points. Senior Taylor Cone chipped in with six points and a game-high nine rebounds. After the game, Ogle told his players he was “disappointed, but not discouraged.” But as if the sting of the loss didn’t hurt enough, the Tigers may have also lost Stookey. With 3:01 remaining in the game and Warsaw leading 53-50, Stookey drove the lane and went up for a layup over a Plymouth defender. Stookey was whistled for an offensive foul. Not only was it his fifth foul of the game, but Stookey came down hard on his wrist. The 6-1 junior, Warsaw’s third-leading scorer, went back to the locker room with the team trainer. He came back and sat on the bench with his wrist heavily wrapped. Ogle said Stookey was headed to the hospital after the game for X-Rays. The Tigers have three games remaining before the sectional, the next of which is Tuesday when they host South Bend Clay.
PLYMOUTH 57, WARSAW 56 W 16 10 21 9 – 56 P 10 18 5 24 – 57 Warsaw – Jared Bloom 4-7 1-2 11, John Swanson 6-7 4-4 16, Trae Furnivall 0-0 0-0 0, Nate Pearl 0-1 0-0 0, Jason Ferguson 2-4 0-0 4, Taylor Cone 3-6 0-0 6, Jordan Stookey 4-8 0-0 11, Rashaan Jackson 3-6 0-0 8. Totals 22-39 5-8 56. Plymouth – Gabe Vervynckt 0-1 0-0 0, Joe Knapp 2-8 5-9 10, David Lee 7-10 1-4 15, Mack Mercer 10-16 1-1 23, Ike Kastner 0-0 0-0 0, Kyser McCrammer 1-1 0-0 2, Trenton Briles 0-1 0-0 0, Tom Felke 3-7 0-0 7. Totals 23-44 7-14 57. Three-pointers – Warsaw 7 (Stookey 3, Bloom 2, Jackson 2), Plymouth 4 (Mercer 2, Knapp, Felke); Rebounds – Warsaw 27 (Cone 9), Plymouth 18 (Mercer 7); Turnovers – Warsaw 14, Plymouth 10; Fouls – Warsaw 18, Plymouth 10; Fouled out – Stookey; Records: Warsaw 9-8 (4-3 NLC), Plymouth 15-3 (4-3 NLC) JV – Plymouth 35, Warsaw 30 Warsaw – Nick Sands 14, Peyton Long 5, Jake Mangas 4, Tim Swanson 3, Cody Freeman 2, Jonny Hollar 2
