Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
If fifth-year coach Doug Ogle and his Warsaw varsity boys basketball team were looking for a confidence builder heading into Friday's Northern Lakes Conference opener at rival Wawasee, they found it Saturday against Penn.
Led again by 6-foot-3 senior Steve Lemasters, the host Tigers upended the Class 4A No. 9 Kingsmen 46-43 in overtime and improved to 5-2 on the season with their third straight win.
"This game legitimizes us to some degree," said Ogle. "This is the type of confidence builder we need to go to Wawasee and be competitive. Wawasee is obviously a really good team. This is a huge win for us, to beat a top 10 team as inexperienced as we are."
The Tigers and Class 3A No. 7 Warriors (5-0) will square off Friday in Syracuse.
Saturday's thrilling win gave Warsaw a 9-5 all-time advantage in the series against Penn and halted a three-game losing streak to the Kingsmen.
Lemasters scored four of Warsaw's seven points in overtime and finished with a game-high 24 points. He was 6 of 13 from the field, 10 of 14 from the free throw line, and pulled down seven rebounds.
Senior Eric Blanton added eight points and four steals for the Tigers while classmates and fellow starters Ben Truman scored six points and Tommy Reinholt scored five points and pulled down 12 rebounds.
In Warsaw's last three games, Lemasters has scored 29 in a six-point win over Huntington, 26 in a three-point win over Rochester and 24 in Saturday's victory over Penn.
"Steve Lemasters is playing very well right now," said Ogle. "He made some big free throws for us in overtime. Tommy pulled down 12 rebounds. Eric Blanton hit two big threes and hit another shot in the lane. Steve has been leading our team, but we have other options. We need more production from some other guys, but we have other options."
Blanton gave Warsaw a 39-34 lead on a three-pointer from the top of the key with 3:15 remaining in regulation.
The Kingsmen cut the Tiger advantage to 39-37 with 2:04 to play in the fourth quarter when Caleb Laidig made a steal and turned it into a three-point play.
Ryan Choiniere brought the Kingsmen within one with a free throw. He missed the second charity toss and Reinholt collected the rebound for the Tigers.
Penn knotted the game at 39-all when Pat Hess hit the second of a two-shot free throw opportunity with 32 seconds remaining in regulation.
Warsaw turned the ball over with 16 seconds left but Penn couldn't capitalize.
In the four-minute overtime session, Reinholt gave the Tigers a 42-39 lead when he converted a rebound into a three-point play.
Laidig followed with a basket of his own, cutting Warsaw's lead to 42-41 with 2:39 to play.
Penn took the lead 22 seconds later when John Green made a steal and Laidig scored another bucket. Laidig was fouled on the play but missed the free throw.
Lemasters tied the game at 43-all with a free throw with 2:02 left in the overtime frame and then gave the Tigers a two-point lead with a pair of free throws with 34 seconds left.
Lemasters hit another free throw but missed the second with 19 seconds left, leaving the Kingsmen with a chance to tie with a three-pointer.
Reinholt had a chance to add to Warsaw's lead with 10 seconds remaining but missed both free throws.
Penn then had a chance to tie in the waning seconds but Green's three-point attempt fell short and Warsaw's players, fans and coaches had reason to celebrate.
Talking about the matchup with Penn after Friday's win over Rochester, Ogle said his players could play relaxed against the state-ranked Kingsmen because few people would think the inexeperienced Tigers could win.
Warsaw led after the first quarter, at halftime, after the third quarter and when it mattered most - when time ran out in overtime.
"This is a big win for us," said Ogle. "I'm proud of the kids. I thought we were gritty. I thought we kept playing. We made a lot of ball handling mistakes, but we kept playing."
The Tigers, who have countered their inexperience by outworking their opponents this season, outrebounded Penn 35-25. Warsaw had 14 second-chance points to Penn's three.
Warsaw finished the game 13 of 38 (34 percent) from the field and 16 of 27 from the free throw line. The Tigers turned the ball over 16 times.
The Kingsmen were 16 of 41 (39 percent) from the field and 7 of 18 from the free throw line. Penn turned the ball over 14 times.
Tommy Kurth and Laidig led Penn in scoring with 10 points each, while Hess added nine points and Choiniere scored six points. Laidig pulled down 11 rebounds to finish with a double-double.
WARSAW 46, PENN 43 OT
Penn 10 7 10 12 4 - 43
Warsaw 12 7 14 6 7 - 51
Penn FG FT R S Pts.
* Kurth 4-10 0-0 2 1 10
* Choiniere 2-3 1-4 2 1 6
* Laidig 3-11 4-7 11 2 10
* Williams 0-4 0-0 1 0 0
* Hess 4-5 1-2 2 2 9
Hakanen 1-2 0-0 0 1 2
Green 1-5 0-3 1 1 3
Wright 1-1 1-2 1 2 3
Totals 16-41 7-18 25 12 43
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Clemens 0-2 0-1 3 1 0
* Truman 2-9 2-3 2 0 6
* Reinholt 1-5 3-7 12 1 5
* Blanton 2-7 0-0 3 4 8
* Lemasters 6-13 10-14 7 0 24
Robinson 0-1 1-2 3 1 1
Waikel 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Harman 1-1 0-0 2 0 2
Totals 13-38 16-27 35 7 46
Three-point goals - Penn 4-14 (Kurth 2-4, Green 1-5, Choiniere 1-1, Laidig 0-3, Hakanen 0-1), Warsaw 4-11 (Lemasters 2-5, Blanton 2-3, Truman 0-3). Turnovers - Penn 14, Warsaw 16. Fouls - Penn 19, Warsaw 16. Fouled out - Hess.
JV - Warsaw 37, Penn 34
Warsaw (7-0) - Andy Conrad 12, Jesse Sharp 10, Taylor Long 7, Ryne Robinson 5, Chase Byerly 3
