To listen to coach Doug Ogle Wednesday night, one might think his Warsaw boys basketball team lost to visiting Elkhart Central.
Ogle wasn't pleased with his team's patience on offense, or its shot selection, or its effort rebounding the ball.As it was though, the Class 4A No. 8 Tigers still played well enough to beat the Blue Blazers 61-49, improving to 17-2 with their 10th-straight win.
"I'm happy for our players, I'm happy we won," said Ogle. "But I didn't like the way we played tonight. We took bad shots. We hadn't been taking bad shots. We've been playing pretty well, but tonight we played selfishly at times. We weren't patient enough on offense. When we're patient on offense, and we play unselfishly, we're a pretty good team. If we're going to make any kind of run at all in the tournament, we're going to have to play better."
Playing its final home game of the season, Warsaw finished the game 21 of 41 (51 percent) from the field overall, 5 of 13 from three-point range, and 14 of 20 from the free throw line.
The Tigers, who were outrebounded 27-26, dished out eight assists in the win and had 13 turnovers - eight of which came in the first quarter.
Warsaw trailed 14-8 after the first quarter, but then outscored Elkhart Central 34-13 in the second and third quarters to take control of the game.
"We got things going in the second quarter," said Ogle, whose team closed the first half on an 18-4 run. "I didn't like how we played in the first quarter, I thought we were impatient offensively. I'm glad we got things turned around in the second quarter."
A big reason for the Tigers' 26-20 lead at halftime was 5-foot-9 junior point guard Nic Moore.
With various coaches on hand to watch him, including those from Division I programs Butler and Evansville, Moore scored 20 points in the first half and finished the game with a career-high 32.
Moore was 10 of 19 from the field overall, 5 of 10 from three point range, and 7 of 9 at the free throw line.
Moore is now seventh on Warsaw's all-time scoring list with 1,153 points. In the second half of Wednesday's win, he passed 1981 graduate Ron Brandenburg and is now 28 points behind 1978 graduate Kim Essenburg.
"If Nic doesn't shoot well in the first half, we're in big trouble," Ogle said of Moore, who was 5 of 7 from the field in the first half, 3 of 5 from three-point range, and 7 of 8 at the charity stripe. "We can't count on Nic to have 20-point halves, even if he is capable of it."
Sophomore Lucas Grose added 11 points in the win, while senior Justin Clemens scored eight points, senior Andy Conrad and sophomore Jordyn Coon scored four points each and junior Christopher O'Hara finished with two points.
Clemens, Conrad and Zack Linky played their final game in the Tiger Den Wednesday night.
That trio has helped Warsaw to a 36-5 record the past two seasons, including a 13-1 mark in the Northern Lakes Conference and an 18-2 record in the Tiger Den.
"I appreciate those guys, as well as (senior statistician) Bryce Scott," said Ogle. "Those four have meant a lot to our program."
Senior Josh Riikonen, who scored a school-record 44 points against South Bend Clay on Feb. 11, led the Blue Blazers with 12 points and 16 rebounds.
Juniior Jalen Culbreath added nine points for Elkhart Central, while classmates Chris Holt and Mason Braden scored eight points each.
The Blue Blazers are now 11-11 on the season and will play city rival Memorial in Tuesday's first round of the sectional at North Side Gym.
Prior to playing in the March 5 semifinal round of the Elkhart Sectional, Warsaw, which received the bye and will play the winner of Concord and Goshen, will play Carroll Friday.
Warsaw and Carroll, which is 17-2 and on a 14-game winning streak, will play at 7 p.m. at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne.
Summit Athletic Conference rivals Bishop Luers and North Side will play after the Tigers and Chargers, as Luers star Deshaun Thomas plays his final game in Fort Wayne.
"They're good," Ogle said of Carroll, which beat Warsaw 55-52 in overtime in the Tiger Den last year. "It'll be a good challenge for us before we start sectional play."
