ARCADIA — Doug Ogle wasn't try trying to be funny. Warsaw's varsity boys basketball coach was right, the difference in Rashaan Jackson’s two performances Friday really was night and day. After scoring just five points in a 54-46 win over Bloomington North in the morning game of the Hamilton Heights Holiday Tournament, Jackson came up big in the championship contest. The 6-foot-2 junior scored 20 points in the title game, including 10 in the pivotal fourth quarter, as the Tigers beat the host Huskies 57-54 in a back-and-forth battle that featured nine lead changes and four ties. “Rashaan Jackson played well,” said Ogle, whose team takes a five-game win streak into 2014. “He was aggressive from the beginning. We’ve been waiting on him to play like that. This is a confidence builder for him. He was out of it in the morning game, and he was in it tonight. It was like night and day.” Jackson’s 20-point effort not only helped the Tigers improve to 6-2 on the season – their two losses coming to Tippecanoe Valley and Homestead by a total of three points – but also earned him tournament MVP honors. Jackson was joined on the all-tourney team by teammates Jordan Stookey and Jake Mangas. Stookey scored 10 points in the title tilt, while Mangas backed up his 17-point performance in the afternoon game with eight points and seven rebounds in the nightcap. “Our confidence continues to grow,” said Ogle, who at the beginning of the season had a team with little varsity experience outside of Stookey and Jackson. “We beat a good (Hamilton Heights) team on their home floor. That’s the same thing we need to do when we travel to Middlebury (to play Northridge) on Jan. 10.” Others selected to the all-tournament team included Grant Weatherford and Hunter Crist from Hamilton Heights, Malik Laffoon from Bloomington North and Isreal White from Indianapolis Shortridge. Bloomington North beat Shortridge in Friday night’s consolation game. Weatherford led the Huskies in the championship game with 19 points, while Crist added 14 points. Jadon White chipped in with seven points and seven rebounds for Hamilton Heights. The Tigers trailed the Huskies 10-4 early in the game, but an 18-2 run that bridged the first and second quarters helped Warsaw eventually build the lead up to as many as 13 points. Hamilton Heighs, now 5-3 on the season, battled back, though, and Warsaw led 30-25 at halftime and the Huskies held a 39-36 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. The final eight minutes of the game was like a boxing match, with the teams trading punch after punch, or in this case point after point. The Huskies cut Warsaw’s advantage to 54-52 when Weatherford hit a pair of free throws with nine seconds remaining. The Tigers hit 3 of 4 charity tosses the rest of the way to prevail. After making 19 of 23 free throws in their win over Bloomington North, Warsaw was 19 of 24 at the charity stripe in the final. “We’re very happy with this tournament championship,” said Ogle. “We’re going to take three days off and then get back to work. We’re very happy with the way today went.” Tim Swanson scored nine points for Warsaw, all from the arc in the second quarter, while Nate Pearl chipped in with six and Paul Marandet added four. The Tigers are in action again Jan. 3 when they host Triton, followed by a key Northern Lakes Conference clash at Northridge on Jan. 10. WARSAW 57, HAMILTON HEIGHTS 54 (Championship) War 17 13 6 21 – 57 HH 12 13 14 15 – 54 Warsaw – Paul Marandet 2-2 0-0 4, Peyton Long 0-0 0-0 0, Nate Pearl 1-2 3-4 6, Tim Swanson 3-5 0-0 9, Jake Mangas 4-6 0-1 8, Jordan Stookey 3-7 4-6 10, Rashaan Jackson 4-9 12-13 20. Totals 17-31 19-24 57. HH – Garrett Paull 1-10 3-4 5, Hunter Crist 4-5 5-5 14, Jadon White 2-10 2-2 7, Kurry Miller 1-2 0-0 3, Bo O'Laughlin 1-1 1-2 3, Grant Weatherford 7-14 1-3 19, Ian Nicholson 0-0 0-0 0, Lukas Sipe 0-0 0-0 0, Conley Hoover 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 17-45 12-16 54. 3-point goals – Warsaw 4 (Swanson 3, Pearl), HH 8 (Weatherford 4, White, Crist, Miller, Hoover); Rebounds – Warsaw 23 (Mangas 7), HH 23 (White 7); Turnovers – Warsaw 10, HH 7; Team Fouls – Warsaw 13, HH 20; Records: Warsaw 6-3, Hamilton Heights 5-3
Warsaw 54, Bloomington North 46
In the morning game against Bloomington North (3-4), Warsaw found its shooting touch in the third quarter and made the most of its opportunities at the free throw line in the final frame. After scoring just 20 points in the first half, the Tigers scored 17 points in both the third and fourth quarters, building their lead to as much as 12 at one point. "In the third quarter we played much better," said Ogle. "We made shots. We didn't play well in the first half. I was much happier about how we played in the third quarter." Warsaw, which finished the game 15 of 32 from the field overall and 5 of 15 from the arc, was 8 of 12 from the field in the second half, which included a 7-of-11 performance in the third quarter. The Tigers were 19 of 23 at the free throw line in the win, which included a 15-of-18 effort in the fourth quarter. "Nate Pearl made his free throws," said Ogle. "Jake Mangas made his free throws...so did Stookey. That was big for us." The trio of Pearl, Mangas and Stookey was 16 of 17 at the free throw line. Pearl and Mangas led Warsaw with 17 points each, while Stookey scored nine points and Jackson finished with five points. Peyton Long and Tim Swanson scored three points each. Sophomore Malik Laffoon scored a game-high 21 points for the Cougars, while seniors Tyler Truesdel and Grant Sims chipped in with 11 and nine points, respectively. Ogle said playing in the tournament at Hamilton Heights was a one-year deal for the Tigers, and that he was using the situation as practice for the state tournament. "We're using it like a practice for the regional, if we should win the sectional," said Ogle. "We see some things we need to work on. But this is a good experience. I feel good about the way we played in the second half, but we were just out of it in the first half. We weren't sharp." WARSAW 54, BLOOMINGTON NORTH 46 (First Round) BN 8 7 13 18 – 46 War 14 6 17 17 – 54 BN – Malik Laffoon 7-11 2-2 21, Ken Montgomery 0-1 0-0 0, Tate Stewart 0-0 0-0 0, Jacob Treadway 1-6 0-0 2, Grant Sims 3-13 2-6 9, Adam Sowder 0-2 0-0 0, Kaleb Ferrell 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Truesdel 3-9 3-3 11, Connor Basye 1-1 0-0 3, C.J. Nolting 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-43 7-11 46. Warsaw – Paul Marandet 0-1 0-0 0, Peyton Long 1-1 0-0 3, Cameron Hoskins 0-3 0-0 0, Nate Pearl 4-7 6-6 17, Tim Swanson 1-3 0-0 3, Jake Mangas 5-6 7-7 17, Moses Marandet 0-0 0-0 0, Jordan Stookey 3-7 3-4 9, Rashaan Jackson 1-4 3-6 5. Totals 15-32 19-23 54. 3-point goals – BN 9 (Laffoon 5, Truesdel 2, Basye, Sims), Warsaw 5 (Pearl 3, Long, Swanson); Rebounds – BN 21 (Sims 9), Warsaw 30 (Swanson 9); Turnovers – BN 11, Warsaw 14; Team Fouls (fouled out) – BN 22 (Sims), Warsaw 14.
