Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
MISHAWAKA - In a hole from the get-go, Warsaw's varsity boys basketball team simply got buried by host Penn Saturday night.
Unable to finish plays they made look routine at other times this season, the Tigers fell 64-49 to a Penn team that shot 20 of 28 from the field and 22 of 28 from the free throw line to win its home opener.
"Penn's torrid first-half shooting, which a lot of the shots we were on them they just hit their challenged shots," said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle as to what did his team in. "That went along with our inability to finish shots in the basket area."
The Kingsmen, who shot 67 percent the night before in their win over South Bend Washington, led 13-6 after the first quarter and 26-13 at halftime.
Through two quarters of play Penn shot a remarkable 12 of 17 from the field, while Warsaw struggled and was 5 of 20 from the field at halftime.
Penn shot 8 of 11 from the field in the second half and 20 of 28 (71.4 percent) for the game, while the Tigers warmed up and shot 13 of 31 through the third and fourth quarters but finished just 18 of 51 (35.3 percent) for the game.
"Penn's defense was good throughout the game," Ogle said. "We didn't have many easy shots. If Penn continues to shoot like they have the last two games, they won't lose many games. Penn played exceptional and we just didn't play that well."
The 15-point win improved the Kingsmen to 3-0, while the Tigers had their three-game win streak snapped and fell to 4-2.
After trailing by as much as 20, 37-17, in the third quarter, Warsaw cut the Penn lead to as little as 11 three times in the fourth but the Kingsmen got the job done at the free throw line time after time when the Tigers fouled in the closing stages.
Penn took just three shots in the final eight minutes of action, but kept the game out of reach by hitting 19 of 24 free throws in the fourth quarter.
Six-foot-4 sophomore Tyler Brown led the Kingsmen with a team-high 21 points, while Kyle Beaudway scored 13 and A.J. Graft eight.
Senior Adam Griggs led the Tigers with a game-high 25 points, while junior point guard Michael Moore added 12 and Todd Braddock four.
"The way we started out shooting eroded our confidence quicker than I would have liked," Ogle said. "Nothing really went right for us. We have to put this behind us and move forward. We're looking forward to playing Wawasee Friday and opening the NLC schedule."
Warsaw is in action again Friday when it opens up Northern Lakes Conference play by hosting rival Wawasee.
PENN 64, WARSAW 49
Warsaw (4-2) 6 7 12 24 - 49
Penn (3-0) 13 13 15 23 - 64
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Schultz 1-7 0-0 1 0 3
* Griggs 10-20 2-5 3 0 25
* Wienhorst 1-7 0-0 6 5 3
* Moore 4-9 2-2 4 1 12
* Braddock 2-6 0-1 6 2 4
Holladay 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Sherman 0-1 2-2 2 0 2
Allison 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Totals 18-51 6-10 23 8 49
Penn FG FT R S Pts.
* VanOverloop 2-4 0-0 5 1 4
* Beudway 3-5 6-8 1 0 13
* Dunaway 1-1 0-0 1 0 3
* Brown 8-9 5-7 7 0 21
* Graft 3-4 2-2 3 1 8
Maure 1-2 3-5 2 2 5
DeLong 1-2 4-4 1 0 6
Laird 1-1 2-2 2 0 4
Totals 20-28 22-28 22 4 64
Three-point goals - Warsaw 7-18 (Griggs 3-5, Moore 2-3, Schultz 1-6, Wienhorst 1-4), Penn 2-6 (Beudway 1-2, Dunaway 1-1, VanOverloop 0-2, DeLong 0-1). Turnovers - Warsaw 9, Penn 13. Fouls - Warsaw 23, Penn 10. Fouled out - Griggs.
JV - Warsaw 59, Penn 55 OT
Warsaw scoring - Maierle 16, Reinholt 13, Clemens 12, Cabrera 9, Fuller 8, Moore 1
