Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
ROCHESTER - While host Rochester started Wednesday evening's varsity boys basketball game with an impressive spurt, it was Warsaw that finished in fine fashion.
Led by senior Colin Clemens' 26-point performance, a double-double from junior Tommy Reinholt and an energizing dunk by 6-foot-7 freshman Mason Plumlee, the Tigers overcame a nine-point deficit in the first quarter and beat the Class 2A No. 8 Zebras 70-63 in overtime.
"We hung in there," said fourth-year Warsaw coach Doug Ogle, whose Tigers improved to 4-4 on the season. "Our free throw shooting for most of the game was horrific. In the overtime, between Tommy Reinholt and Colin Clemens, we made a few. I'm proud of the team. Rochester is a good team."
The Tigers knotted the game at 57-all with 47 seconds remaining in regulation when senior Shaun Cabrera dished out an assist to Clemens, who finished with a reverse layup.
Sophomore Kory Barnett tried to give Rochester the lead, but his three-pointer bounced off the rim and 6-foot-7 Warsaw junior Miles Plumlee came up with the rebound.
The Tigers then called time out with 26.7 seconds left to draw up the winning play and chose to stall and hold for one shot.
Warsaw worked the ball inside to Clemens, but the 6-4 senior's shot in the lane in the closing seconds was his only miss of the fourth quarter, a quarter in which he scored 10 of his team-high 26 points.
Rochester got the rebound and called time out with 3.2 seconds left, but couldn't get a shot to fall either.
In the overtime session, the Tigers took control of the game with an 8-0 run, racing out to a 65-57 lead that the Zebras couldn't rebound from.
In all, Warsaw outscored Rochester 13-6 in the four-minute extra session.
The Zebras' offensive output in the overtime frame came from all-state senior guard Luke Smith, who made a pair of long, desperation three-pointers after the Tigers stole the game's momentum.
Warsaw made just 2 of 5 free throw attempts in the first half. Through the second half and overtime session, however, the Tigers scored 18 points at the free throw line.
Clemens and Reinholt combined to shoot 15 of 19 at the free throw line for Warsaw.
Clemens finished the game with 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting, while Reinholt scored 11 points and grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds. Miles Plumlee added eight points and 10 rebounds in the win, while Mitch Reinholt had five points and five rebounds. Cabrera scored just two points, but finished the game with nine assists to just two turnovers.
"When we're patient we get good shots," said Ogle. "I told the players in the third quarter, 'no more threes.' We went to the free throw line 33 times, and we only shot five free throws in the first half."
When the Tigers drove the lane and attacked the basket, they were hard to stop, and after making just 2 of 12 three-point attempts, not allowing his players to shoot long-range jumpers proved to be a wise choice on Ogle's part.
Take away their three-point shooting woes, and the Tigers were 22 of 37 (59.5 percent) from the field.
Warsaw finished the game 24 of 49 (49 percent) from the field and 20 of 33 from the free throw line, while Rochester shot 20 of 48 (41.7 percent) from the field and 16 of 23 from the charity stripe.
Rochester, using an in-your-face press, jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the first quarter and got Warsaw in foul trouble.
The Tigers fought back and trailed just 13-10 at the end of the first quarter, and in the second stanza used a 10-0 run to take a 26-19 lead with 1:30 left in the first half.
The final two points of the run came when Mason Plumlee crashed the boards and dunked the ball as it came off the rim following a missed shot by Cabrera.
The spectacular put-back sent the Warsaw bench and fan section into a frenzy.
Plumlee's dunk was the first dunk by a Tiger since the semistate semifinal game in 2000 when then-seniors Ross Kesler and Greg Seiss dunked against Merrillville.
"Mason had a big play," said Ogle. "He scored four points and got a rebound for us. Miles continues to play strong. He got his first start tonight and finished with 10 rebounds. The Plumlee brothers certainly helped us."
Warsaw led 30-24 at halftime but Rochester led 44-39 going into the fourth quarter.
The Tigers outscored the Zebras 31-19 the rest of the way.
To go with Smith's 29 points, Rochester got 10 points and nine rebounds from Scott Thomas and nine points and three rebounds from Barnett.
The Zebras, who fell to 5-2 on the season, have lost the last 15 meetings with Warsaw, which holds a 60-28 advantage in the all-time series. The Tigers last lost to Rochester in 1982.
Warsaw is now off until Dec. 30 when the Tigers will host Whitko.
WARSAW 70, ROCHESTER 63 OT
Warsaw 10 20 9 18 13 - 52
Rochester 13 11 20 13 6 - 49
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Cabrera 1-6 0-4 0 2 2
* Mi. Plumlee 4-9 0-1 10 0 8
* Lemasters 5-8 2-5 2 1 14
* M Reinholt 2-2 1-2 5 0 5
* Clemens 9-15 8-11 4 0 26
Truman 0-3 0-0 0 0 0
T. Reinholt 2-5 7-8 11 1 11
Fuller 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Ma. Plumlee 1-1 2-2 2 0 4
Team 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Totals 24-49 20-33 35 4 70
Rochester FG FT R S Pts.
* Barnett 3-8 0-0 3 0 9
* Smith 10-23 6-8 3 3 29
* Gibbons 1-2 1-2 3 1 3
* Thomas 1-5 3-4 1 0 5
* Stoops 3-3 4-7 9 1 10
Good 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Showley 2-4 0-0 2 0 5
Overmyer 0-0 2-2 2 0 2
Walley 0-3 0-0 1 0 0
Team 0-0 0-0 7 0 0
Totals 20-48 16-23 31 5 63
Three-point goals - Warsaw 2-12 (Lemasters 2-3, Cabrera 0-3, Truman 0-3, Mi. Plumlee 0-1, T. Reinholt 0-1, Clemens 0-1), Rochester 7-19 (Smith 3-10, Barnett 3-7, Showley 1-2). Turnovers - Warsaw 8, Rochester 13. Fouls - Warsaw 20, Rochester 26. Fouled out - Barnett, Overmyer, Thomas.
JV - Warsaw 55, Rochester 29
