Second-half run leads Tigers to 67-49 win over Wawasee Warriors
Posted
Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
Coach Doug Ogle challenged his players at halftime Friday night, and they responded in a big way. In the Northern Lakes Conference season opener, Warsaw’s varsity boys basketball team bridged the third and fourth quarters with a 16-0 run, as the Tigers pulled away for a 67-49 win over the visiting Wawasee Warriors. Warsaw led 28-25 at the intermission, and then clung to a 30-29 advantage early in the third quarter. That’s when senior Jordan Stookey and the Tigers took over the game. Stookey, who finished with a game-high 21 points, tallied nine in the third quarter, as Warsaw scored the final 14 points of the quarter and outscored its guest 16-4 in the frame. The Warriors trailed by at least 13 points through the entire fourth quarter. Warsaw, which hadn’t score more than 52 points in a game this season, is now 4-2 overall, while Wawasee fell to 1-6. “(Alex) Clark hit that shot in the third quarter, and then I liked how our players responded with poise,” Ogle said of his team turning the one-point lead into a 46-29 advantage. “Stookey had a nice third quarter,” continued Ogle. “I think we wore them down a little bit. I challenged our players at halftime because Wawasee just outcompeted us.” The second half was a different story, as the Tigers made simple plays as well as hustle plays and outscored the Warriors 39-24 over the final 16 minutes of action. Friday’s 18-point victory was Warsaw’s seventh-straight win over Wawasee. The Tigers lead the all-time series 54-14. “We didn’t handle their physicalness in the second half,” said first-year Wawasee coach Steve Wiktorowski. “Our belief bubble sort of burst right there when they got something going.” To go with Stookey’s 21 points, the Tigers got 15 points from junior Tim Swanson, while classmates Jake Mangas and Rashaan Jackson chipped in with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Jackson didn’t score the most points, but few would argue that he scored the game’s most exciting basket, as he threw down a thunderous dunk in the third quarter that gave the Tigers a 54-37 lead at the time. Jackson led the Tigers in rebounds with six and steals with four. “When he’s active, he’s a deal breaker,” Ogle said of Jackson. Wawasee got 12 points each from juniors Gage Reinhard and Alex Clark and 11 points and nine rebounds from junior Stori Bright. After several years in Phil Mishler’s run-and-gun offense, the Warriors are learning a more conventional system under Wiktorowski. Wawasee lost its first five games of the season, then beat Whitko Tuesday. Despite the team’s record, Wiktorowski said his squad is improving. “We lost by 18, two or three weeks ago we’d have been down 18 at halftime,” said Wiktorowski. “We were able to hang in there with Warsaw for a half. We’ve made a lot of improvement with our ball handling.” The Warriors turned the ball over 12 times, while Warsaw committed six turnovers. “Wawasee, I think, is better than I thought they were,” said Ogle. “They have some good players, but we have more good players.” Warsaw will be in action again Friday when it plays Bloomington North at 11:30 a.m. in the Hamilton Heights Holiday Tournament. Indianapolis Shortridge and the host school will open the four-team tournament at 10 a.m. A consolation game is scheduled for 6 p.m., followed by the championship game. Wawasee is off until it hosts Columbia City on Jan. 4
WARSAW 67, WAWASEE 49 Waw 8 17 4 20 – 49 War 15 13 16 23 – 67 Wawasee – Aaron Voirol 1-1 0-0 3, Jeffrey Moore 1-1 0-0 3, Gage Reinhard 4-8 2-2 12, Jake Hutchinson 2-2 0-0 6, Chase Myers 0-5 0-0 0, Sam Clark 1-1 0-0 2, Alex Clark 5-15 1-3 12, Stori Bright 5-10 1-2 11, Elijah Solina 0-0 0-0 0, Kody Carpenter 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-43 4-7 49. Warsaw – Paul Marandet 2-2 2-2 6, Peyton Long 0-1 1-2 1, Cameron Hoskins 0-4 2-2 2, Nate Pearl 0-3 0-0 0, Tim Swanson 3-3 6-6 15, Jake Mangas 6-8 0-1 12, Moses Marandet 0-0 0-0 0, Jordan Stookey 8-12 5-5 21, Rashaan Jackson 5-10 0-0 10, Lucas Cone 0-0 0-0 0, Kyle Mangas 0-0 0-0 0, Luke Wilson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-43 16-18 67. Three-pointers – Wawasee 7 (Reinhard 2, Hutchinson 2, Voirol, Moore, A. Clark), Warsaw 3 (Swanson 3); Rebounds – Wawasee 21 (Bright 9), Warsaw 25 (Jackson 6); Steals – Wawasee 4 (A. Clark 2), Warsaw 7 (Jackson 4); Assists – Wawasee 14 (A. Clark 6), Warsaw 12 (P. Marandet 4); Turnovers – Wawasee 12, Warsaw 6; Fouls – Wawasee 16, Warsaw 9; Fouled out – none. Records: Wawasee 1-6 (0-1 NLC), Warsaw 4-2 (1-0 NLC) JV – Warsaw 30, Wawasee 25 Warsaw – Kyle Mangas 13, Lucas Cone 6, Luke Wilson 4, Evan Schmidt 3, Jeremy David 2, Xavier Lynch 2 Wawasee – Aaron Beer 8, Jeffrey Moore 5, Elijah Solina 4, Tyler Smith 2, Parker Hatfield 2, Stephon Miller 2, Riley Weber 2, Chase Rookstool 2
