Jordyn Coon leads the way with 20 points, 9 rebounds
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
Jordyn Coon saved his best for last. Playing in the Tiger Den for the final time of his prep hoops career, the 6-foot-3 Warsaw Community High School senior scored a season-high 20 points and pulled down nine rebounds, as the Tigers beat Fort Wayne Bishop Luers 53-43 Friday on senior night. "I'm happy for Jordyn Coon," said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle, whose team improved to 13-6. "He was agressive on offense the whole game. He's had some injuries with his hip and his back, and hasn't really been able to get going. Tonight he was agressive and played well." Coon, who was averaging nine points and five rebounds per game, scored 13 of his game-high point total in the second half. He wowed the crowd with a one-handed dunk and a nifty reverse layup and was 8 of 13 from the field while playing all 32 minutes. No other player in the game – for Warsaw or Luers – scored more than 12 points Friday night. "We needed this win big-time," said Ogle, whose team was 11-1 before losing five of its last six games prior to Friday. "This is big for our confidence." Junior Jared Bloom and sophomore Jordan Stookey scored nine points each for the Tigers, while senior Lucas Grose chipped in with eight points and nine boards. Senior Rhett Kesler and junior Taylor Cone rounded out the scoring for Warsaw with two points each. "I thought we did some good things in the second half," said Ogle. "We got off to a good start in the third quarter." Luers, which was playing without sophomore standout and Indiana University recruit James Blackmon Jr. (25 ppg) because of a knee injury, led 17-14 after one quarter of play. The Knights, who fell to 12-8 with their fifth loss in six games, scored just 26 points in the final three quarters and were outscored 27-17 in the second half. "Our defense was better in the second half," said Ogle. "We held them to just 17 points in the second half, that's pretty good. Even without James Blackmon Jr., they have a lot of juice." Senior Colin Stuerzenberger led the Knights with 12 points, all of which came from the arc. The 5-foot-10 sharpshooter made his first four three-point attempts, but finished the game by missing his next six. Junior Jaylon Smith, who will join his older brother Rod and play football at Ohio State University, had 10 points and eight rebounds for Luers, while junior Dwight Richards added nine points. Three nights after turning the ball over 14 times in the second half, 20 overall, in a 10-point loss at South Bend Clay, Warsaw handled the ball better against an athletic Luers team and finished with 13 total turnovers. Prior to the start of Friday's game, Warsaw honored senior players Coon, Grose, Kesler, Jay Holladay, Kevin West and Brock Anson, as well as senior managers Stephen Prater and Landon Hawks. "I'm happy for the seniors," said Ogle. "This group has been a solid part of and contributed to a lot of team championships." Warsaw will close the regular season Friday with a trip to Huntertown to play the Carroll Chargers.
WARSAW 53, F.W. LUERS 43 Luers 17 9 7 10 – 43 War 14 12 14 13 – 53 Luers – Kendrick Mullen 2-4 0-0 4, Colin Stuerzenberger 4-10 0-0 12, Jaylon Smith 3-10 4-8 10, Steven Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Michael Rogers 0-3 1-2 1, Domonique Williams 1-4 0-2 3, Andrew Yane 0-2 0-0 0, Dwight Richards 4-12 0-0 9, Matt Harris 0-0 0-0 0, Braxton Randolph 0-0 0-0 0, Jayond Williams 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 16-47 5-12 43. Warsaw – Jared Bloom 3-8 2-2 9, Jordyn Coon 8-13 2-5 20, Rhett Kesler 1-1 0-2 2, Lucas Grose 3-7 2-4 8, Kevin West 0-0 0-0 0, Jay Holladay 1-4 0-0 3, Taylor Cone 1-1 0-0 2, Jordan Stookey 4-4 0-0 9. Totals 21-38 6-13 53. Three-pointers – Luers 6 (Stuerzenberger 4, D. Williams, Richards), Warsaw 5 (Coon 2, Bloom, Holladay, Stookey); Rebounds – Luers 27 (Smith 8), Warsaw 28 (Coon 9, Grose 9); Turnovers - Luers 11, Warsaw 13; Fouls – Luers 14, Warsaw 13; Fouled out – none; Records: Luers 12-8, Warsaw 13-6 JV – Warsaw 44, Luers 41 Warsaw - John Swanson 16, Rashaan Jackson 11, Jason Ferguson 8, Nate Pearl 7, Jake Mangas 2
