Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SOUTH BEND - Played on the city's west side, things went south for Warsaw's boys basketball team in the second half Tuesday evening.
Leading host South Bend Washington by 14 early in the third quarter, the Tigers failed to adjust to the Panthers' defensive changes, allowed unchallenged three-pointers and committed numerous turnovers in the third and fourth quarters.
All this added up to a 79-72 loss, snapping the Tigers' six-game winning streak.
"We played inconsistenly," first-year Tiger coach Doug Ogle said. "It seemed like we had a lot of turnovers, which turned into baskets for Washington. We were up six at halftime, and then I was happy with the start of the third quarter, but we just didn't play well from that point on. I'm anxious to watch the tape and see what happened."
The loss drops Warsaw to 11-6, and was the first setback since the return of 5-foot-6 sophomore point guard Michael Moore, who made an immediate impact with his ball-handling and passing to a then 5-5 Tiger team.
In the third and fourth quarters of Tuesday's game at Washington, the Panthers' defense didn't allow Moore's often-sweet passes, but instead stole the ball and converted with fast-break points and open three-pointers.
"Michael Moore had a bad game," Ogle said. "This is the first time he's played like that. And Adam Griggs was in foul trouble the whole game."
The win was the second in a row for Washington, which improved to 8-11. The Panthers, whose record is a bit deceiving, beat a talented South Bend Adams team the last time out.
Washington raced out to 15-5 lead when senior guard Anthony Grundy drilled a trey with 3:43 left in the opening quarter.
For two quarters, the Tigers offset Washington's perimeter play with the inside game of 6-foot-5 senior Ryan DeGeeter, who proved too much for the Panthers in the first half.
With his team trailing by 10, DeGeeter shouldered the work load for Warsaw, scoring 20 points in the first half on an 8-of-8 performance from the field to go with a 3-of-3 effort at the charity stripe.
DeGeeter scored 12 in the first quarter alone, bringing Warsaw to within four, 22-18, by quarter's end.
A DeGeeter field goal with 5:09 left in the first half gave Warsaw its first lead of the game at 27-26. The Tigers then led 40-34 at halftime.
It was a different story in the second half, however, as Washington's defense centered around the 6-5 inside force, allowing DeGeeter just three points, which came on a trey with 38 seconds left in the fourth.
"They had three guys around him in the second half," Ogle said of DeGeeter. "We tried to get it in to him, but he had a crowd around him. We didn't adjust very well to that."
With the game knotted at 60 midway through the fourth, the host Panthers used an 11-2 run to take control.
A three-point play by junior Todd Braddock brought Warsaw within six, 75-69, with a minute to play, but some key free throws from junior Byran Davis and Grundy sealed the deal for Washington.
The Panthers hit seven three-pointers in the game, while Warsaw had but two.
"We gave up too many unchallenged threes," Ogle said. "We had our hands down and let them rise up and shoot. Grundy made some big shots for them, and their dribble penetration hurt us, I was worried we couldn't stay in front of them. They took to the ball to the basket."
Junior Chris Henderson led Washington with 22 points, while Grundy added 18 and Henderson 17.
DeGeeter paced Warsaw with a game-high 23, while Braddock added 14, Moore 11 and Griggs nine.
The Tigers are in action again Friday at Huntington North, followed by a trip to Kokomo Tuesday and the regular season final next Friday at home with Carroll.
"I hope this (loss) helps us," Ogle said. "I hope it points out to our players that we need to continue to improve, or else we have no chance to win the sectional."
SOUTH BEND WASHINGTON 79, WARSAW 72
Warsaw (11-6) 18 22 16 16 - 72
Washington (8-11) 22 12 22 23 - 79
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Griggs 3-5 3-3 2 1 9
* Moore 2-2 7-8 5 1 11
* Braddock 6-10 2-3 5 2 14
* Fussle 2-3 2-3 3 1 6
* DeGeeter 9-12 3-3 4 0 23
Schultz 2-2 0-0 2 0 4
Gensinger 0-2 2-2 1 1 2
Burnley 0-1 1-2 0 0 1
Wienhorst 1-5 0-0 5 1 2
Totals 25-42 20-24 27 7 72
Washington FG FT R S Pts.
* Davis 6-17 5-8 5 5 17
* Grundy 6-12 2-2 3 1 18
* Henderson 10-16 2-4 9 0 22
* Jamerson 3-9 0-1 3 1 8
* Batteast 0-1 0-0 2 0 0
Johnson 2-4 0-0 1 2 5
Gunn 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Townsend 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Finn 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
Northern 3-5 1-1 4 7 7
Totals 31-65 10-16 28 16 79
Three-point goals - Warsaw 2-5 (DeGeeter 2-3, Gensinger 0-1, Wienhorst 0-1), Washington 7-19 (Grundy 4-10, Jamerson 2-5, Johnson 1-2, Davis 0-1). Turnovers - Warsaw 19, Washington 13. Fouls - Warsaw 15, Washington 22. Fouled out - Griggs.
JV - Warsaw 52, South Bend Washington 49
