With Christmas quickly approaching, Warsaw's varsity boys basketball team displayed the ability to give unto others Friday night.
In their first Northern Lakes Conference game of the season, the host Tigers played a very unselfish style of basketball, dishing out assists on 24 of 34 baskets as they beat rival Wawasee 97-82."We're becoming more and more confident," said eighth-year Warsaw coach Doug Ogle, whose team improved to 5-1 on the season with its third-straight win. "I hope we continue to play with confidence as the season plays out."
After missing last week's game at Rochester because of sprained ankle, Warsaw junior Nic Moore returned to the court against the Warriors.
The standout point guard wasn't in the starting lineup, but he finished the game 5 of 8 from the field and 6 of 7 from the free throw line, as he scored 17 points and dished out nine assists in 25 minutes of action.
"We're very glad Nic Moore was able to play tonight," said Ogle, whose team finished the game 34 of 56 (61 percent) from the field and 26 of 39 (67 percent) from the free throw line. "Nic was probably the difference in the game. His passing was exceptional tonight."
Moore directed the Warsaw offense much the way Peyton Manning leads the Indianapolis Colts. Moore was the best player on either team, and even if he was only 80 percent healthy, just having him on the court made the Tigers better.
"He's a heck of a player," 10th-year Wawasee coach Phil Mishler said of Moore. "He's a great player. Obviously his ankle was bothering him, but he played a great game."
Benefitting from Moore's slick passes were teammates Justin Clemens and Jalen Roscoe.
The Warsaw frontliners combined for 39 points and were 14 of 18 from the field, as Moore found them open in the paint time and time again.
"Justin Clemens played a great game tonight," said Ogle. "Jalen Roscoe played the best game of his career. He's really starting to play with more confidence."
Clemens was 9 of 11 from the field and 9 of 14 from the charity stripe, as he scored a game-high 28 points. The 6-foot-3 senior also pulled down six rebounds and dished out five assists of his own.
Roscoe was 5 of 7 from the field and 1 of 3 at the free throw line for 11 points.
In all, six Warsaw players scored in double figures, as sophomores Jordyn Coon and Lucas Grose chipped in with 13 and 12 points, respectively, and senior Zack Linky contributed with 11 points.
Grose led the Tigers with seven rebounds.
Wawasee, which entered Friday's game averaging a state-best 97 points per game, fell to 3-2 with its seccond-straight loss.
In their first three games of the season, the Warriors scored 101, 95 and 122 points, respectively, in wins over Angola, West Noble and Manchester.
In the last week, however, Wawasee has lost 75-71 at Whitko and 97-82 at Warsaw.
"A lot of that has to do with the rebounding factor, that was huge," said Mishler, whose team scored eight second-chance points, while the Tigers scored 18 second-chance points. "We got into foul trouble early, and were weren't able to get into a rhythm. There was a lot of stoppage in play. There were a lot of fouls."
There were 58 fouls called in the game, and the two teams combined to shoot 74 free throws.
Senior Keegan Beer led Wawasee with 20 points, while freshman Jacob Thompson added 19 points, junior Riley Stichter finished with 18 points and junior Trevor McKibben contributed 11 points.
Stichter led the Warriors with eight rebounds, while McKibben pulled down six boards.
Warsaw, which scored 90-plus points in the Tiger Den for the first time since a 100-66 win over Elkhart Memorial on Feb. 1, 1997, led 25-23 after the first quarter and 52-42 at halftime.
The Tigers took a 75-61 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Warsaw, which scored just 35 points and struggled shooting the ball in its only other home game this season against Huntington North on Dec. 5, gave its fans more to cheer about this time around.
The Tigers scored at least 22 points in each quarter and shot 61 percent from the field in the 15-point win, including a 67-percent effort from the floor in the first half.
Wawasee finished the game 24 of 60 (40 percent) from the field overall and 8 of 25 from three-point range.
Warsaw is in action again Dec. 30 when it hosts Fort Wayne Blackhawk at noon and Lafayette Jeff at 8 p.m.
Wawasee hosts Columbia City Tuesday.
WARSAW 97, WAWASEE 82
Waw 23 19 19 21 - 82
War 25 27 23 22 - 97
Wawasee - Chad Schrock 2-6 0-0 5, Keegan Beer 6-13 5-6 20, Luke Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Trevor McKibben 2-7 7-9 11, Jacob Thompson 6-14 3-4 19, Jack Clark 1-3 3-4 5, Riley Stichter 6-13 6-7 18, Logan Hatfield 0-3 0-0 0, Justin Fick 0-0 0-0 0, Cody McBride 1-1 2-5 4. Totals 24-60 26-35 82.
Warsaw - Andy Conrad 2-6 0-0 4, Joey Sparkman 0-0 0-0 0, Justin Clemens 9-11 9-14 28, Brock Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Nic Moore 5-8 6-7 17, Christopher O'Hara 0-0 1-2 1, Jordyn Coon 5-7 3-5 13, Zack Linky 4-9 2-2 11, Lucas Grose 4-7 4-6 12, Cody Bragg 0-1 0-0 0, Jalen Roscoe 5-7 1-3 11, Travis Thomas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-56 26-39 97.
