The Northern Lakes Conference championship wasn't on the line. Warsaw's varsity boys basketball team sure played like it was though.
With three players in double figures, and aided by some strong team defense, the host Tigers beat Class 3A No. 7 Plymouth 50-41 Wednesday night in the last home game of the regular season."I told the kids this game doesn't mean anything for the conference," said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle. "But Plymouth-Warsaw means a lot to the communities. It's a great rivalry. I'm very proud of our defensive effort."
Offensively, the Tigers got 16 points from freshman Nic Moore, 13 points from junior Ryne Robinson and 10 points off the bench from sophomore Andy Conrad.
Defense, however, is how Warsaw won the game.
The Pilgrims, who average 56 points per game, were held below 50 points for just the sixth time this season, as they fell to 17-3 and saw their win streak end at 11 games.
Plymouth turned the ball over 23 times, and the Tigers capitalized by scoring 18 points off the Pilgrims' miscues.
"It's hard to tell when the last time Plymouth had 23 turnovers," said Ogle, whose team improved to 11-8 on the season. "I'm very proud of our half-court defense. The kids played hard and wanted to win."
Senior Randy Davis, who scored 31 points for Plymouth in its win over Glenn Tuesday, was held to 13 points by the Tigers. The all-state senior guard was just 4 of 13 from the field, including a 1-of-7 effort from three-point range.
Senior Nick Neidlinger was the only other Pilgrim in double figures, finishing with 12 points. Senior Sam Faulstich added five points, while juniors Caleb Hadden, Austin Hodges and Jeremy Renz scored three points each and senior Ryan Welch added two points.
For Warsaw, junior Justin Clemens tallied six points and seven rebounds, while junior Taylor Long and sophomore Zach Owens scored two points each and junior Chase Byerly rounded out the Tigers' scoring effort with a free throw.
Though he scored just two points, Long's offensive output was critical for Warsaw, as he gave the Tigers a 36-29 lead when he beat the third-quarter buzzer.
"I thought Taylor's shot at the end of the third quarter really gave us some momentum," said Ogle. "We needed this win. I think it gave us some of our mojo back."
The Tigers, without any seniors and with just one player with real varsity experience, opened the season with an 8-2 record. Since then, however, Warsaw has won just three of its last nine games.
Ogle hopes that Wednesday's win over Plymouth will carry over to Friday's regular-season finale at Carroll and then into the sectional.
"We're trying to get our swagger back," said Ogle. "We needed this win."
The Pilgirms certainly would have liked to win, but nonetheless they still won the NLC championship outright with a 6-1 record.
Warsaw, Northridge, Wawasee and Elkhart Memorial all finished 4-3 in NLC actional, while NorthWood finished 3-4, Goshen 2-5 and Concord 1-6.
In Wednesday's win, the Tigers led 11-8 after the first quarter and held a 23-21 advantage at halftime.
After Long's buzzer beater at the end of the third quarter, Moore opened the fourth quarter with a basket to give the Tigers a nine-point lead. Moore then took a charge, Randy Davis' fourth foul, with 6:20 remaining in the game.
Plymouth got within five points three times in the final 2:45 of the game but the Tigers found a way to win.
"I'm really proud of the way we played tonight," said Ogle. "We made enough plays in the second half to win."
