Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
ELKHART - After his team fell to top-ranked Marion Friday night, Warsaw boys basketball coach Al Rhodes said Saturday's game with Elkhart Memorial would be a test of his team's character.
And in the second half of Saturday's game, the Tigers were tested.
After building a 17-point lead by halftime, Warsaw won 65-63.
Warsaw's junior varsity team won 34-33 in the waning seconds on a three-point play by sophomore Jerad Shaw. The win was the JV team's 31st consecutive win.
The two-point win improves Warsaw's varsity team record to 11-4 overall. Elkhart Memorial falls to 6-7.
In the opening minute of the game, it looked as if the Tigers were going to make a residency of the free throw line. The Crimson Chargers committed three fouls in the first 58 seconds of the game. With just under three minutes remaining in the first quarter, Memorial had seven fouls.
The Tigers made good on 6 of 9 charity tosses in the opening quarter and 6 of 11 field goals (54.5 percent), outscoring Memorial 18-10.
In leading 42-25 at the half, Warsaw was 9 of 15 at the free throw line and 15 of 26 (57.7 percent) from the field. The Crimson Chargers were 7 of 14 in the first half.
"Obviously I was pleased with the way we played in the first half," said Rhodes. "We came out and started with good intensity. Everybody that came off the bench played well. A special note, Jason Henthorn had some tremendous minutes in the first half."
Henthorn, subbing in and out for Chris Wiggins, was 4 of 4 from the field in the second quarter, including 3 of 3 from beyond the arc and 2 of 2 at the charity stripe, for 13 points. All of Henthorn's offense came in the second stanza. The 6-foot-2 senior guard had scored only nine points on the season coming into Saturday's game.
Senior Zach Nelson led all Warsaw scorers with 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field and 1 of 2 from the free throw line. Nelson also pulled down five rebounds and made three steals. Senior Ross Kesler added 13 points, five assists and a pair of rebounds in the win.
But the first half was the first half, and that's where Warsaw's domination stopped.
"Something we always say at halftime is 'good half', and that it's just a half," said Rhodes. "In the third quarter we didn't stay in front of No. 22 (senior Matt Davis). He had countless drives. Too many mistakes allowed them to take control of the second half."
Davis scored 10 points in the third quarter and finished with 15. Sophomore Erik Smith led the Crimson Chargers in the scoring column with 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting. He was also 3 of 3 at the charity stripe. Sophomore Clint Adell added 16 points and nine rebounds in the loss.
After Kesler hit two free throws 10 seconds into the third quarter, Memorial went on a 7-0 run, cutting Warsaw's lead to 12, 44-32. Junior Josh Buck scored two of his 10 points with 5:45 remaining in the quarter, but Memorial went on a 9-3 run and trailed 49-43 with 2:16 left in the third quarter.
Memorial outscored the Tigers 19-9 in the third and trailed 51-44 going into the final frame.
After Warsaw turned the ball over two times in the first half, it turned the ball over nine times in the second half. Memorial committed just two turnovers in the final two quarters.
Memorial outscored the Tigers 19-14 in the final quarter to make the game close, but when Warsaw got in trouble Nelson and Kesler bailed them out.
The two seniors combined for 13 of Warsaw's 14 fourth-quarter points.
"The reason we won was the play of Zach and Ross," said Rhodes. "Zach made one shot where he was falling over."
Memorial was within two points on two occasions in the fourth quarter. With 1:13 remaining in the game a Smith field goal knotted the game at 63.
A Nelson rebound and bucket with 53 seconds remaing sealed the win.
The Tigers (11-4, 3-2 NLC) will host Northern Lakes Conference rival Plymouth Friday. Plymouth, ranked tenth in the latest 3A poll, brings a 14-3 overall and 3-1 conference record into Friday's contest.
WARSAW 65
ELKHART MEMORIAL 63
Warsaw (11-4) 18 24 9 14 - 65
E. Memorial (6-7) 10 15 19 19 - 63
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
B. Seiss (G) 1-4 2-4 3 2 4
Martin 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Buck (F) 3-5 4-5 5 3 10
Wiggins (G) 0-5 2-2 2 0 2
Henthorn 4-4 2-2 1 0 13
Walmer 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Kesler (F) 5-6 3-4 2 0 13
Finnegan 2-3 0-0 4 1 4
Rhodes 0-0 0-1 1 0 0
G. Seiss 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Nelson (C) 9-13 1-2 5 3 19
Totals 24-35 14-20 27 8 65
E. Memorial FG FT S R Pts.
Smith (G) 6-9 3-3 2 0 19
Stemm 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Sears (F) 1-3 3-4 1 0 6
Roundtree 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Davis (G) 4-9 7-8 4 1 15
Young 1-2 5-6 3 0 7
Kominowski 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Slabaugh (F) 0-5 2-2 0 0 2
Adell (C) 5-8 6-12 9 4 16
Totals 17-37 26-34 22 5 63
Three-pointers - Warsaw 3 (Henthorn 3), Memorial 5 (Smith 4, Sears 1). Turnovers - Warsaw 13, Memorial 14. Fouls - Warsaw 23, Memorial 16.
JV: Warsaw 34, E. Memorial 33
Warsaw scoring - Johnson 8, C. Clay 7, Shaw 7, G. Clay 6, Bolesky 4, Fawley 2
