ELKHART – Though it had its share of tense moments, Warsaw senior Jared Bloom made sure Saturday night's sectional championship game against Northridge wasn't nearly as dramatic as the Tigers' two postseason wins earlier in the week. Following a double-overtime win over Elkhart Central Tuesday and a triple-overtime victory over heavily favored Concord on Friday, the Tigers beat the Raiders 64-57 in regulation as Bloom poured in a career-high 33 points at historic North Side Gym. “To do this – five overtimes and three games over five days – is quite an accomplishment for our guys,” said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle, whose team improved to 13-10 on the season and advanced to Saturday's Michigan City Regional, where it will play South Bend Adams (21-2) at 11 a.m. ET. Second-ranked Munster (25-0) and Merrillville (20-3) will square off at approximately 12:30 p.m. The regional championship game is slated for 8:30 p.m. ET Saturday, with the winner advancing to a 4A semistate at either Huntington North or Lafayette Jeff. “I guess the way we could look at it is those five overtimes bolstered our aerobic conditioning a little bit,” grinned Ogle, who has guided the Tigers to four sectional championships in the past eight years. Bloom, who scored 25 points and hit the game-winning shot against the Raiders in their regular-season matchup on Jan. 4 in the Tiger Den, was 9 of 12 from the field and 12 of 14 at the free throw line Saturday night. Sporting a sectional championship T-shirt and smiling ear to ear, Bloom said the thought of a let-down in the championship game after stunning Concord Friday night never crossed his mind. “You can’t survive both those first two games and then not win the sectional,” said Bloom, who entered the state tournament averaging 17 points per game. “I think the energy came from within. We wanted it so bad. And for me, it’s something I’ve dreamt about my whole high school career.” With All-State guard Nic Moore, the Tigers made a run to the state finals in 2010. The past two years, however, they had lost the sectional opener. “We made it out alive,” Bloom said of winning the sectional, which upped the Tigers’ program total of sectional titles to 38. “We believed we could win.” Jordan Stookey, whose buzzer-beating three-pointer against Concord Friday night will be talked about for years to come, had 12 points and six assists against Northridge. Rashaan Jackson scored nine points in the win, while Taylor Cone and Jason Ferguson added seven and three points, respectively. “I think we’re just a little bit stronger than them phyiscally,” Ogle said of the Raiders, who finished their season with a 10-12 record. “We wore them down a little bit.” Warsaw trailed 16-11 after one quarter of play and 26-24 at halftime. The Tigers outscored Northridge 18-9 in the third quarter and 40-31 in the second half all together en route to the win. “I knew in the second half I had to do something to take over,” said Bloom, who scored 19 points in the second half. “I put my team on my back. I wanted to do whatever I had to do for us to win.” Nate Richie led Northridge with 21 points and six rebounds, while Joey Ganyard and Pete Smith added 13 and 11 points, respetively. Sam Ahonen chipped in with eight points in the loss.
WARSAW 64, NORTHRIDGE 57 W 11 13 18 22 – 64 NR 16 10 9 22 – 47 Warsaw – Jared Bloom 9-12 12-14 33, Darren Walcott 0-0 0-0 0, John Swanson 0-0 0-0 0, Trae Furnivall 0-0 0-0 0, Nate Pearl 0-0 0-0 0, Jason Ferguson 1-1 1-2 3, Taylor Cone 1-4 5-6 7, Jordan Stookey 5-10 0-2 12, Rashaan Jackson 3-7 3-5 9, Jake Mangas 0-0 0-0 0, Nick Sands 0-0 0-0 0, Peyton Long 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-34 21-29 64. Northridge – Collin Utley 0-0 0-0 0, Pete Smith 3-10 2-2 11, Sam Ahonen 2-8 4-5 8, Arick Doberenz 0-0 0-0 0, Michael Presnall 0-1 0-0 0, Austin Moniot 0-3 1-2 1, Joey Ganyard 6-10 1-3 13, Tom Morrison 1-3 1-1 3, Nate Richie 8-12 5-6 21, Shannon Baker 0-0 0-0 0, Christian Bach 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-47 14-19 57. Three-pointers – Warsaw 5 (Bloom 3, Stookey 2), Northridge 3 (Smith 3); Rebounds – Warsaw 28 (Cone 7), Northridge 21 (Richie 6); Turnovers – Warsaw 11, Northridge 8; Fouls – Warsaw 19, Northridge 19; Fouled out – Moniot, Ganyard; Records: Warsaw 13-10, Northridge 10-12
