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It was a blistering pace that Southwood set, but just could not keep up.
The visiting Knights came out very comfortable at the Tiger Den, hitting 7 of 9 shots from the field in the first quarter.
But Warsaw was equal to the task, and more so, as it pulled away for a 78-61 win Friday.
Despite Southwood's pace in the first quarter, Warsaw was hitting fairly well itself (7 of 12 in the first) and came out of the first quarter with a 19-19 tie.
The Knights kept their hot shooting going in the second with a 7 of 12 performance, but the Tigers just kept getting hotter with a 10 of 11 performance of their own. At one point in the second quarter, Southwood was shooting 83 percent from the field, while Warsaw was at 71 percent.
Warsaw led 47-35 at halftime and just kept pouring it on in the second half as Southwood could not sustain its hot shooting. The lead went to 20 points, and the Tigers were never threatened again.
"We shot the ball well in the first quarter, but we just could not contain them on defense," Warsaw coach Al Rhodes said. "They moved the ball well and hit the open shots. You have to give their kids credit for coming in tough and not being intimidated and doing a good job.
"It made for an interesting start to the game, probably different than people expected," he said.
The thought entering the game was that the Knights (5-9) were going to be no match for the Tigers (13-2). That was right, it just took awhile.
"I thought in the second quarter we were able to get a bit of control of the ball game," Rhodes said. "We pressed and sped up the game a little bit in that quarter. That made a difference. Our press and halfcourt trap in the third widened the lead and put the game away."
Southwood hit only 11 of 23 from the field in the second half after shooting 14 of 21 in the first half. It was due in large part to a better effort by the Tigers' defense.
"Our defense was much better in the second half, and that was very important especially if you look at tomorrow with a very similar team in Elkhart Memorial, except with better players," Rhodes said.
Tom Krizmanich, who is averaging 30 points per game this month, led the Tigers with 34 points on 13 of 20 shooting from the field.
"Tom is shooting a tremendous field goal percentage," Rhodes said. "He is really improving as a scorer. I am pleased with the progress we see in him."
Tyler Charlton added 13 points and 4 assists. P.J. Wiley returned from his two-game absence with four points and led the Tigers with six assists.
Wiley, who suffered a breathing spell in practice on Jan. 23, has been given a clean bill of health.
